NFL head coaching predictions for every opening, including Giants, Browns, Falcons

Black Monday took a week to finish, but it looks like teams are done firing head coaches for now. We have eight teams in need of a new coach as we head into the second round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs. More assistants will become available as teams are eliminated, but we know who will likely garner interest. We also have a group of assistants and ex-head coaches interviewing already and we should see some teams ink their new head coach sooner than later.

John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski look to be the most wanted coaches this offseason after they were let go. Harbaugh is likely the most coveted of the group and after he is hired, we could see jobs start to fill quickly. The question is, where will he go?

As for the team that has the most appeal to a coach, that’s Harbaugh’s old team, the Ravens. With two time MVP Lamar Jackson at the helm, there really is no comparison. After the Ravens, you can rank the jobs, but they are all uphill battles. The Giants are probably second on the list, with Jaxson Dart showing well in his rookie season, but after that, quarterbacks and roster strength are a big problem.

Baltimore Ravens: Robert Saleh

Saleh is going to make your defense better, period. Whoever gets him as a head coach is banking on that first and foremost. Yes, his tenure with the Jets was a disaster, but it is tough to blame all of that on him. Getting saddled with late career Aaron Rodgers AND Nathaniel Hackett is an untenable situation.

I could see the Ravens going after Kevin Stefanski as well, but I do believe they want to get their defense to an elite spot while letting Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry use their talent over the next year or two to buoy the offense as it should. Of course, Saleh will need to make a good hire at offensive coordinator. If Mike McDaniel has the urge to work with Lamar, that would be nice, but whoever they get, it needs to be the right pick.

New York Giants: John Harbaugh

Harbaugh can probably choose wherever he wants to coach in 2026, so a lot will be based on his personal preference and how much cash he’s getting. But, if I were him, the Giants look like the team with the best situation pother than his old team. Sure, the Falcons have a lot of great skill players, but finding a quarterback is something that never happens for some teams. As long as Harbaugh believes Dart has the ability to lead a team into the playoffs, I see the Giants getting their man.

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

The Falcons could be one of the worst jobs of this cycle if they can’t get the quarterback position right sooner than later, but there’s no doubt the Falcons have some strong offensive playmakers in Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. Stefanski can turn average quarterbacks into useable pieces, as he has gotten more than expected out of Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, and (Old) Joe Flacco.

Sure, it’s hard to wash out the smell of the Browns from him, but he proved he could handle a bad situation and make it positive more often than you would expect. And how the Deshaun Watson signing went down is something that no team could recover from.

Miami Dolphins: Jesse Minter

The weather might be the best selling point to coach Miami at the moment, but someone will want the job! There are rumors that Harbaugh could end up in Miami, as he has ties to ownership, but I expect the situation there is one Harbaugh would like to avoid. Mike McDaniel probably is thanking his lucky stars to get out from under Tua Tagovailoa’s contract. But, a younger coach looking to prove himself should be more than happy to get to work.

Minter looks like he’s high on a lot of team’s lists and if those teams cant get Harbaugh or Stefanski, Minter should be next up. The Dolphins had success offensively with McDaniel, but the defense was always a weak spot. With the team coming off a young offensive mind as their last hire, I think they’ll lean defensively and Minter has proven he can get the job done on every level.

Cleveland Browns: Jim Schwartz

The Browns are another team that will be all in on Harbaugh and his ties to the area are strong. It wouldn’t be shocking if he ended up here, but he can only coach in one place! And, the Browns’ cap space and quarterback situation is truly a hard sell.

There are coaches I’d rather the Browns pick than Schwartz, but he feels safe and his hiring would also keep Myles Garrett happy. I don’t see the Browns offense turning things around with a young new offensive minded hire at this point and you can get that at offensive coordinator anyway. Schwartz has led the defense well in Cleveland and has plenty of experience to lead during an offensive transition while keeping the defense as one of the best in the league.

Arizona Cardinals: Vance Joseph

The Cardinals have some offensive talent to work with, but overall the situation is bleak. It at least looks like the team is done with Kyler Murray, but that isn’t set in stone. Jacoby Brissett put up much better numbers than Murray, but the defense was so awful and their competition in the NFC West so good, that they really had no chance. But Brissett isn’t the answer either. They need a change at quarterback, while also improving the defense by a whole lot.

No coach is going to be a quick answer in Arizona, but Vance Joseph would improve the defense quicker than most, while bringing experience and a gravitas that players will follow. The Cardinals learned that their offense can be competent, even with Brissett at the helm, so I’d expect a new offensive coordinator would be able to get the ball to Trey McBride, Michael Wilson, and Marvin Harrison Jr. while they look to upgrade at quarterback and improve the defense.

Tennessee Titans: Klint Kubiak

The Titans’ overall roster is probably the weakest of the group, but it’s also hard not to like Cam Ward at least a little. This is a situation where I see the Titans needing to get a young offensive mind, as not many experienced head coaches will want to dig out of such a deep hole.

Kubiak has shown he can get offense out of average quarterbacks and the thought of him working with Ward is at least a little exciting. And of all the young assistants, Kubiak is my favorite for creating offense where there was none.

Las Vegas Raiders: Brian Flores

Does the NFL want Flores to have a head coaching job? Probably not, but the Raiders are one team that I could see defying an unwritten edict. Flores has proven that he can build a defense that will get to the quarterback, and quickly. He’s also a coach I’d consider a “culture setter” who can be a disciplinarian without losing the respect of his players. There needs to be a reset in Vegas and Flores is the guy I’d want for the job.