Head Coach Hirings

Let’s take a look around the league to see who ended up in each HC vacancy.

1. Arizona Cardinals – Mike LaFleur

• The Cardinals decided to hire an offensive minded coach this time around, choosing to hire former Rams OC Mike LaFleur. Mike will stay in the division and will be expected to bring that vaunted Rams offense to Arizona. First order of business is deciding what to do at QB. Do they keep Kyler Murray? Do they draft a rookie?

• Rating 7/10 – I think this is a good hire. Mike spent 5 years as an OC with two different teams and is the brother of successful Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, so these are good bloodlines. He should turn the offense around. The only reason I didn’t give this hire a higher rating is because of the QB situation. Kyler ain’t it and this draft is short of legit QB prospects if you aren’t picking first, so this will be a challenge for Mike.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers – Mike McCarthy

• The Steelers went with a recycled veteran coach to lead the team. McCarthy offers years of experience as a HC and a respectable coaching record of 174-112-2 in the regular season and 11-11 in the postseason with a Super Bowl championship. It helped that he had future Hall of Famer QB Aaron Rodgers for much of his career and underrated QB Dak Prescott. Pittsburgh will look to its native son to keep the franchise going in the right direction, as this is a homecoming for Mike.

• Rating 6/10 – This is a decent, yet uninspiring hire. Although Mike is a solid HC, Pittsburgh doesn’t have a plan at QB in place. Rodgers will likely move on to another team or more than likely retire. McCarthy is used to having a great passer on the team which led to his success. That is not the case anymore. He is also 62 and likely isn’t keen to adapt to the changing landscape of the league. Time will only tell.

3. New York Giants – John Harbaugh

• The Giants landed the big fish in this year’s coaching cycle. This was a surprise as no one expected the Ravens to let John go. He is arguably a top 3 HC in the league and NY is lucky to get him. Although he specializes in special teams, he is known to work in all 3 facets of the game; offense, defense, and special teams. He has a 180-113 coaching record in the regular season and a 13-11 coaching record in the playoffs with a Super Bowl championship to his name as well. He hired Matt Nagy away from the Kansas City Chiefs to coach the Offense and Dennard Wilson away from the Tennessee Titans to coach uo the Defense. These are two great hires to help him out.

• Rating 8/10 – This is a spectacular hire and arguably the best one of the coaching cycle. Not much needs to be said for Harbaugh as his resume speaks for itself. He has a promising young QB in Jaxson Dart and great talent at other positions. The only reason this hire didn’t get a hire rating is because of the unknown success of Dart as he first needs to show he can stay healthy.

4. Tennessee Titans – Robert Saleh

• The Titans went with former San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh at HC. He was also formerly the HC of the New York Jets where he didn’t do so well, but who could blame him…. it’s the Jets we are talking about after all. He owns a 20-36 record as a HC and has never made the playoffs yet. I think this is more of a character coach hire. He is also a strong defensive mind, but I believe the Titans wanted a leader the players could rally around. Sort of like their previous HC, Mike Vrabel. It also helps that they have promising young QB Cam Ward.

• Rating 7/10 – I like this hire. I believe in giving second chances to HCs. I also believe Saleh made the best out of the dumpster fire situation in New York when he was HC. He will have his players playing tough every week and Cam Ward should take a step forward with offensive guru Brian Daboll manning the Offense in Nashville as the OC. The unknown development of Ward and Saleh’s previous poor stint as HC took the rating down a notch.

5. Baltimore Ravens – Jesse Minter

• The Ravens hired former Los Angeles Chargers DC Jesse Minter to be their HC. This one was a head scratcher on paper as Minter wasn’t really a name that was making the rounds in league circles, but it could be sneaky good. He did a good job coaching the Chargers Defense for two years, having them post a top 5-ish Defense both years. I thought the Ravens would have gone with an offensive minded coach to maximize QB Lamar Jackson, but this could work as he hired Declan Doyle (former Bears OC) to be the OC in Baltimore. I don’t think he was calling plays in Chicago, but he learned from HC Ben Johnson and now he will have a chance to call plays and possibly replicate the success he had with mobile QB Caleb Williams.

• Rating 6/10 – I have mixed feelings about this hire. It is a true boom or bust move. I believe there are too many variables and unknowns to have given this a hire score. Atleast he will have Lamar Jackson at QB I guesss. We will just have to take a wait and see approach.

6. Miami Dolphins – Jeff Hafley

• The Dolphins decided to hire former Green Bay Packers DC Jeff Hafley to coach the team. This might be an even bigger head scratcher than the Ravens hiring Minter. Hafley coached the Packers to a top-5 Defense in 2024, but that dropped to a top 12 unit this past season. I don’t know what to make of this hire. He wasn’t an elite defensive minded coach by any means and he just had 2 years in that role in the NFL. Maybe the Dolphins were impressed with his character and his ability to rally a team.

• Rating 5/10 – I wasn’t impressed with this hire. Nothing really stood out on TV about Hafley and his defense this year. This isn’t to say he is a bad coach. It’s just he wasn’t a star candidate and they have an issue at QB. Tua Tagovailoa is owed too much money to be performing poorly and it’s likely they just cut their losses and move on. They also aren’t picking first overall to land a legit QB option. Maybe Qunn Ewers takes the league by surprise and proves to be a franchise QB? Too many unknowns. I am not sure this move works out. I am not optimistic.

7. Las Vegas Raiders – Klint Kubiak

• According to multiple sources, the Raiders want to make Seattle Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak their next HC, but have to wait for their season to end (they are in the Super Bowl). This might challenge the Giants’ hire of John Harbaugh as the best in this cycle. What Kubiak did in his first year as OC with the Seahawks is nothing short of extraordinary. He got a career year out of QB Sam Darnold (has him playing like a top 10 QB) and helped steer Seattle to the Super Bowl. He also has another year experience as OC in New Orleans previous to this. The Raiders own the 1st overall pick and just happen to have a need at QB. This should be fun.

• Rating 8/10 – I love this hire. Kubiak is a genius at Offense and if he could learn to lead a group of men and manage the other aspects of being a HC, then this could be grand slam hire. The Raiders will likely draft impressive college QB Fernando Mendoza with the 1st overall pick in April’s draft. I will talk about Mendoza some more before the draft, but by all metrics and just watching him play, he is as spectacular as they come. Vegas also has other nice offensive pieces in LT Kolton Miller, RB Ashton Jeanty, TE Brock Bowers, and WR Jack Bech. I have a feeling the Raiders will be a force in the near future. It all depends on Kubiak and Mendoza realizing their massive potentials.

8. Buffalo Bills – Joe Brady

• The Bills stayed in-house and promoted OC Joe Brady to be their HC. I was against them letting Sean McDermott go, but this might make up for it. I have been pounding the table for Brady to get a chance as HC. I think he has a brilliant offensive mind and has chemistry with All-Pro QB Josh Allen. He served as OC for the Bills for about 3 years, and 2 years for the Carolina Panthers before that. Although the Panthers didn’t do too well in his 2 years, it wasn’t his fault as everyone was to blame for that mess. He did however help turn the Bills Offense around and made it more balanced by including the running game and having Allen spread the ball around. The Bills finished 13-4 in 2024 and made it to the AFC Championship game, in large part because of the Offense playing well. I think he has what it takes to help the team over the hump and into the Super Bowl finally. It also helps that he hired Jim Leonhard to coach the Defense. Leonhard is an and up coming sharp defensive minded coach. He was a former player and spent the last 2 years coaching the Broncos pass defense where they have been top 2 in that regard. He was so good that HC Sean Payton made him the Assistant HC this past year.

• Rating 9/10 – The Bills absolutely crushed this hire. I love it. He has great chemistry with Allen and I believe that he will keep refining the Offense, so that it is nice and oiled to go the distance. He made a promising hire in Leonhard to coach the Defense, so that he can focus on the Offense. I think this upcoming season is finally the year that the Bills make the Super Bowl and likely even win it. I will be keeping tabs on them, it should be exciting!

9. Atlanta Falcons – Kevin Stefanski

• The Falcons hired former Cleveland Browns HC Kevin Stefanski to be their HC. This is a SOLID hire. Maybe, not the most spectacular, but it could work. Stefanski did some wonders during his 6 years as Browns HC, even if his overall record doesn’t show that. He owns a 45-56 coaching record in the regular season and a 1-2 record in the postseason. I believe it was magical that he was able to take the Browns to the playoffs TWICE in his 6 years and even win 1 game. The Browns also won 11 games each time in those 2 years. Stefanski’s specialty is offense and while he was on the Vikings’ coaching staff before that, he was exposed to all of the positional knowledge, so he understands how an offense works and how each position is important. I believe he favours leaning on the run game that happens to work because Atlanta has an elite RB in Bijan Robinson. He also has a couple of decent options at QB; young passer Michael Penix Jr. and the vet Kirk Cousins who he actually coached in Minnesota originally. I believe he tries to rekindle that magic with Kirk as he gives them the best chance to win.

• Rating 7/10 – As I said, this is a SOLID hire. Not spectacular by any means, but not horrible either. Somewhere in the middle. As I mentioned, I believe it’s in his best interest to go with Cousins at QB to give them their best chance to win some games. Also helps to have Robinson running the ball and Alpha WR Drake London catching it. In a generally weak NFC South conference, this could work and they could win the division next season.

10. Cleveland Browns – Todd Monken

• The Browns go with the worst hire of the cycle, grabbing former Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken to be their HC. I believe everyone who follows football can agree when I say, what the heck are the Browns doing?!?!?!? Monken is 60 and has never been a HC, instead bouncing around as an OC on multiple teams. He did coach in College and was quite successful as an OC in those ranks as well, but the NFL is a different animal. He some success as an OC in the NFL as well, but he isn’t young or doesn’t carry the pedigree to instill confidence that he will do well as a HC in this league. How will the locker room react to him when he tries to lead the team out onto the field? This just feels like a lame duck hire, because nobody else wanted to coach the Browns as multiple candidates withdrew their names from the process. I mean can you blame them? The Browns’ situation is one to set you up for failure and no serious candidate wants to ruin their prospects of becoming a successful HC. The QB room is just as bad with inadequate QB Shedeur Sanders likely starting next season. This will probably be a one and done for Monken. To make matters worse, highly respectable DC Jim Schwartz resigned from the team after they passed on him at HC. I can’t even blame him.

• Rating 3/10 – This was by far the worst hire of the HC cycle. Not much more needs to be said. I think I am being generous by giving this a 3/10 and I wish Todd all the luck in the world and hope he proves me and the league wrong. They will be lucky to win 2 games next season. This will be a one and done for Monken in Cleveland and likely in the league as HC.