NFL coaching grades are in: Cardinals sign Mike LaFleur, Raiders closing in on Klint Kubiak
Breaking down all of the hires, biggest risks and what each move means for 2026 and beyond
The NFL hiring cycle is as robust as it's been in recent memory. In all, 10 openings popped up across the league this go-around, meaning over 30% of franchises were looking for new head coaches.
When we look at the array of openings, they are quite different. On the one hand, teams like the Browns, Giants, Raiders, Titans and Cardinals all fired their head coaches -- some midseason -- after years that left them with some of the league's worst records and in the top 10 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Then, there are clubs like the Bills, Ravens and Steelers that moved on from their head coaches after their tenures -- which were considered successful overall -- ran stale and failed to meet expectations.
Now, each of those teams will have new faces leading their organizations into what they all hope will be a brighter tomorrow. With nine of the coaching positions filled and one more expected to be finalized after the Super Bowl, let's begin rolling out our grades for each hire.
Kevin Stefanski: B+
The new brain trust in Atlanta, headlined by president of football Matt Ryan and head coach Kevin Stefanski, is quite powerful.
With Stefanski, he found himself in a quarterback tornado as head coach of the Browns, particularly over the last few seasons -- beginning with the arrival of Deshaun Watson and double-dipping in last year's draft with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Even with that instability under center, Stefanski was still able to win two NFL Coach of the Year awards (2020 and 2023), so he comes to the Falcons with a strong reputation.
Similar to the Browns, however, Stefanski's tenure could be defined by how he develops the quarterback position, particularly with Michael Penix Jr. Unlike Cleveland, Stefanski will now have a plethora of weapons at his disposal to help Penix, most notably Bijan Robinson and Drake London.
He also has Kirk Cousins currently in the fold as a veteran backup option. Stefanski was the offensive coordinator for the Vikings in 2019, when Cousins earned a Pro Bowl nod after posting a career-high 107.4 passer rating.
From an offensive standpoint, this is a strong attempt by the Falcons brass to maximize what they have in Penix. It was also a savvy move to retain defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich as well.
Jesse Minter: A
While some may have expected Baltimore to go with an offensive-minded head coach to pair with Lamar Jackson, I believe hiring Minter is the better approach.
One of the biggest obstacles in the Ravens' pursuit of a Super Bowl berth has been their defense falling short, despite having elite talent like Kyle Hamilton and Roquan Smith. Injuries played a major role, but the unit also simply didn't perform to its level.
Minter should help fix that, as his Chargers defense ranked top five in the NFL in several key categories this season as defensive coordinator.
| Chargers defense in 2025 | Stats | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|
Total YPG | 285.2 | 5th |
Passing YPG | 179.9 | 5th |
TD-INT ratio | 16-19 | 1st |
INT | 19 | T-3rd |
Passer rating | 75.0 | 1st |
Of course, Minter also has ties to the organization, having worked as a defensive assistant under John Harbaugh from 2017 to 2020. From there, he rose through the ranks largely under Jim Harbaugh — first as his defensive coordinator at Michigan and then with the Chargers.
The biggest X-factor will be who Minter brings in as offensive coordinator, but he comes from a strong coaching tree and should be able to find the right conductor for Baltimore's high-octane offense.
Jeff Hafley: C+
When Miami hired former Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as its next general manager, the writing was on the wall that the Dolphins would keep that Green Bay pipeline flowing with the hiring of Jeff Hafley.
This move leans into what made Miami feisty down the stretch, as it went 6-4 over its final 10 games thanks in part to improved defensive play. The Dolphins allowed 21.9 points per game over that span after surrendering 29.3 points per game in the seven games prior. With Hafley's bread and butter on defense, that unit should remain a strength in 2026.
Under Hafley, Green Bay allowed 20.5 points per game, 5.1 yards per play and 108.5 rushing yards per game over the last two seasons -- all top-10 marks in the NFL. Hafley's group did stumble a bit down the stretch of the 2025 campaign, however.
The bigger concern as Hafley ascends to head coach, despite his experience at the college level (he led Boston College from 2020 to 2023), comes on the offensive side of the ball. Miami appears poised to part ways with Tua Tagovailoa this offseason, and given the team's cap constraints, there's no clear path to a suitable replacement.
With Hafley not coming from an offensive background, he may not be able to mask those deficiencies as effectively as a coach with more experience on that side of the ball. That could result in a lean 2026 for the franchise.
John Harbaugh: A
This is a great marriage between the Giants and Harbaugh.
From New York's perspective, the team needed to bring in a head coach with immediate credibility, particularly after three of its previous four hires were first-time head coaches. The Giants were searching for a Tom Coughlin-like figure who can stabilize the organization, and Harbaugh is certainly capable of that.
Harbaugh is also the first head coach the Giants have hired who has previously won a Super Bowl, so he brings a winning pedigree that no recent coach has carried into the building.
| Giants during/post Tom Coughlin era | During | Since |
|---|---|---|
Span | 2004-15 | 2016-25 |
W-L | 102-90 | 55-109-1 |
Rank | 15th | 31st |
From Harbaugh's standpoint, this was the top job on the market when he accepted the gig (Buffalo had not opened up yet). New York already has a franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart, intriguing skill-position weapons in Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo, and a defensive line stocked with stud pass rushers like Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Abdul Carter.
The Giants also hold the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, creating even more avenues to add blue-chip talent. It wouldn't be surprising to see a Harbaugh-led rebound in 2026.
Robert Saleh: B
There's an argument to be made that the Titans should have opted for an offensive-minded head coach to pair with rising second-year quarterback Cam Ward. After all, the franchise finished 30th in points per game (16.7) and 31st in total yards per game (259.6) during the 2025 season.
That said, Saleh is worthy of a second stint as a head coach. While his offenses with the Jets never fully panned out, he did have New York's defense playing at a high level. If he's able to provide a similar boost in Tennessee, that would be a welcome development, particularly after the Titans have given up 27.6 points per game over the last two seasons (31st in the NFL over that span).
Saleh was saddled with Zach Wilson to begin his tenure with the Jets, and after that pick flamed out, the team pivoted to Aaron Rodgers, who tore his Achilles just a handful of plays into his first season. That prevented Saleh from ever truly getting off the ground in New York, but he won't have that same problem in Tennessee, particularly if Ward carries over his second-half leap into Year 2.
| Cam Ward | First 10 games | Last 7 games |
|---|---|---|
Team PPG | 14.3 | 20.1 |
Completion percentage | 58.4% | 62.0% |
Total TD-TO | 6-12 | 11-2 |
Passer rating | 73.8 | 90.5 |
With his quarterback secure, Saleh will need to hire the right offensive coordinator, but the head coach is positioned to succeed. Beyond already having Ward in place, Saleh inherits a Titans team holding the No. 4 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and the most available cap space in the NFL, with a projected $100.7 million. That's an awfully strong starting point.
Mike McCarthy: C+
It seems clear that the Steelers are not going to be starting over here, having hired a 62-year-old coach to replace the departed 53-year-old Mike Tomlin. They're going to keep trying to win right now, and just do so with more of an offensive bent than what they've had over the last decade or so.
And McCarthy is a perfectly cromulent head coach if you want that to be your plan as an organization. His overall coaching resume is actually quite similar to that of John Harbaugh, if you just look at their regular-season and playoff records and the fact that they each won one Super Bowl over a decade ago and have struggled to reach the same playoff heights since then.
The difference is that Harbaugh has shown an ability and a willingness to change with the times, and to adjust his schemes (through his coordinator hiring) to fit his personnel, rather than trying to fit square pegs into round holes. The issues that plagued McCarthy during his tenure in Dallas -- stagnant, uncreative offenses and game management, mostly -- were the same as the ones that he ran into toward the end of his time in Green Bay.
There's also the question of what will happen if McCarthy doesn't have the same type of quarterback play in Pittsburgh that he did in Green Bay and Dallas with Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott. He didn't show the same type of ability to succeed with poor quarterback play that Tomlin showed over the last several years.
All in all, this just seems like a rearranging of deck chairs type of hair, rather than the fresh start the Steelers probably needed.
Joe Brady: B
The Bills decided to go with an internal hire following Sean McDermott's firing, promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach. Because it's a promotion, it's not exactly the most dynamic hire this cycle, and it will be interesting to see how much of a culture change Brady can actually bring after already being in the building since 2022.
It's also curious considering that owner Terry Pegula effectively threw the coaching staff (which includes Brady) under the bus during his press conference after McDermott's firing when asked about the Keon Coleman draft selection.
All that said, Brady has been a notable head coaching candidate for the last few years and has been a good offensive play-caller for Buffalo since taking over the role. Most importantly, he has the trust of Josh Allen, and the two already have a rapport that will help this transition, especially if Brady continues to call plays offensively.
Is this a home run? No. Overall, it's a pretty lukewarm hire, but we give it a modest "B" because of the continuity it provides Allen, who likely gave his stamp of approval on the hire. The next steps will revolve around Brady hiring a capable defensive coordinator and collaborating with GM Brandon Beane to revamp the roster around Allen.
Todd Monken: C-
On the one hand, Monken is a great offensive mind who helped Lamar Jackson to an MVP award-winning season in 2023 and back-to-back first-team All-Pro campaigns in 2023 and 2024. Those seasons, Baltimore's offense was arguably the best in the league. While 2025 was more lean for the Ravens, that was due more to injury than any sort of regression on Monken's part. So, we are looking at a coach who can help elevate talent. That said, Cleveland is starved for talent, particularly at quarterback.
Given the unclear future at the position with Sheduer Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, and Deshaun Watson currently making up the depth chart, coupled with the salary cap constraints (projected to be $18.6 million over the cap), it was not surprising to see the Browns' job become one of the least desirable this cycle, with various coaching candidates withdrawing from consideration. That makes this hire of Monken feel somewhat like both sides settled. Cleveland couldn't land one of the hotter candidates, and Monken was primarily looking at offensive coordinator jobs, so this may have been his only shot at becoming an NFL head coach. It's hard to see this one having the legs to run for years to come.
Klint Kubiak: A
It was very apparent during the NFC title game broadcast just how much admiration Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has for Kubiak, so it's not exactly surprising that the Raiders are on the verge of landing him as their man.
Arguably the most sought-after offensive head coach on the market this cycle, Kubiak seemingly had his choice between the last two available head coaching jobs, and ended appears to be choosing the one in Las Vegas. He's the latest branch off the Shanahan tree, as his father Gary and Kyle's father Mike worked together for years and then Klint himself worked under Kyle in San Francisco as the 49ers' passing game coordinator in 2023.
The Shanahan/Kubiak style of offense makes for a good fit with presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza, who obviously had to be on the Raiders' mind when making this hire. Finding an offensive play-caller as the head coach is something most teams preparing to draft a young quarterback tend to do these days, and this offseason, there probably wasn't a better option available to fill that role than Kubiak.
Mike LaFleur: C
With the last job available this season, the Cardinals landed on LaFleur, who has had two mostly successful stints as the working for Kyle Shanahan (2017 through 2020) and Sean McVay (2023 through 2025) sandwiched around a disastrous two-year run as the offensive coordinator for Robert Saleh's Jets. LaFleur was the passing game coordinator in San Francisco before heading to New York with Saleh, then landed in L.A. as the offensive coordinator for the last three seasons after various other McVay assistants moved on to different roles around the league.
One thing to note is that he obviously didn't call plays when working under either Shanahan or McVay, who handle that role themselves. The one time he did call the offense, it didn't go well because the Jets' quarterback situation was a disaster. We don't yet know whether LaFleur plans to call the plays in Arizona, but it's worth noting that the Cardinals' quarterback situation is very much up in the air with Kyler Murray seeming at least somewhat unlikely to be back. Is LaFleur capable of scheming a different quarterback into position to succeed? He couldn't do it in New York, but that doesn't necessarily mean he can't do it now, several years later and in a different role. We just don't know.
What may be most interesting about LaFleur's situation is that the Rams' pass game coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Nate Scheelhaase, was arguably an even hotter name on the market this cycle despite the fact that LaFleur was ahead of him on the depth chart. Scheelhaase ultimately didn't end up landing a top job and LaFleur did, though, so it'll be interesting to track where they each go from here.
