The first thing you notice, if you follow the NFL closely enough, is the sound. Not the crowd. Not the music. The sound of a fan base collectively exhaling, then immediately arguing.
A head coach goes, and suddenly every clip gets replayed like it’s evidence in court. Fourth and short. That timeout. The weird challenge flag. The press conference where someone smiled at the wrong moment. Then the new coach arrives, and everyone pretends they can read tea leaves from a handshake photo and a blazer.
And in the 2026 cycle, it’s been chaos with a capital C.
Ten teams made head coaching changes, which multiple trackers have called the most in one hiring cycle since 2006. That alone tells you this isn’t a “normal” year where two struggling clubs shuffle staff and call it progress. It’s a league-wide mood swing. A snap decision era.
The bigger story, though, isn’t just the number. It’s the mix. Big-name veterans switching cities. Coaches are getting second chances fast. A clear swing back towards defence in places that spent the last few years chasing the next genius play caller.
So, if you’re asking, “New NFL coaches 2026, who are they, and what does it mean?”, here’s the version that’s grounded in what’s actually been reported and what that reporting hints at.
NFL Coaching Carousel 2026: Status & Strategy Tracker
| Team | Status | Head Coach / Top Candidate | The “Identity” Move |
| NY Giants | Hired | John Harbaugh | A “grown-up” hire designed to stabilise the building and maximise QB Jaxson Dart. |
| Atlanta Falcons | Hired | Kevin Stefanski | A “no-panic” hire focused on organisational structure and staff stability. |
| Miami Dolphins | Hired | Jeff Hafley | A total pivot from “offensive guru” to a defensive identity on a 5-year deal. |
| Tennessee Titans | Hired | Robert Saleh | Bringing an intense, culture-first approach to a roster needing a spark. |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Vacant | Brian Flores / Chris Shula | Looking for only their 4th coach since 1969 after Mike Tomlin stepped away. |
| Buffalo Bills | Vacant | Joe Brady / Klay Kubiak | Moving on from McDermott to find a “final hurdle” leader for Josh Allen. |
| Baltimore Ravens | Vacant | Vance Joseph / Todd Monken | The league’s “1A” job opening is a rare reset for a historically stable club. |
| Las Vegas Raiders | Vacant | Mike McDaniel / Ejiro Evero | Rolling the dice again after the Pete Carroll “one-and-done” 3-14 experiment. |
| Arizona Cardinals | Vacant | Joe Brady / Jesse Minter | Shopping carefully for a “fork in the road” hire after firing Jonathan Gannon. |
| Cleveland Browns | Vacant | Jim Schwartz / Dan Pitcher | Searching for a new voice after parting with two-time COTY Kevin Stefanski. |
New York Giants: John Harbaugh
When the Giants went big, they went properly big.
John Harbaugh leaving Baltimore after a long run was already headline material. His landing in New York? That’s the sort of move that makes you check the date to make sure it’s not April Fools. Multiple reports described the Giants’ move as a major deal, and it instantly became the loudest hire of the cycle.
Here’s the bit that matters: the Giants didn’t hire a vibe. They hired a grown-up. Harbaugh’s reputation is built on structure, staff building, and keeping a locker room from drifting into madness when the season goes sideways. New York has had talent flashes. What it lacks is calm authority that lasts past Halloween.
And yes, the pressure is brutal. It’s New York. If a punt returner drops one in Week 2, someone will blame the head coach’s soul. But Harbaugh’s whole thing is surviving storms without turning everything into a rebuild every 18 months.
That’s why people can’t stop talking about it.
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Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski
Atlanta’s move felt less like theatre and more like a boardroom decision.
Kevin Stefanski’s name has been tied to “steady, organised, don’t panic” football. In a year where several teams looked at chaos and said, “No thanks,” Atlanta did the same and made him the new head coach. This official announcement from January 17, 2026, details Stefanski becoming the 20th head coach in franchise history.
What’s interesting is the timing. Stefanski didn’t sit around waiting for the perfect situation. The Falcons wanted a reset, and they wanted someone who’s been through the weekly grind of being the main voice, not just the bright coordinator with a hot scheme.
Fans will argue about style, of course. But the logic is easy to follow. If your club keeps wobbling between “almost” and “meh”, you pick the coach who’s least likely to lose the plot after two ugly losses in a row.
Anyway, it’s the kind of hire that looks boring on social media and then looks smart in December.
Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley
Miami didn’t just change the coach. It changed the identity it wants to lead with.
The Dolphins have reportedly hired Jeff Hafley, most recently a defensive coordinator, as their head coach on a five-year contract, according to the reports that were widely disseminated by prominent outlets. This press release from Jan. 19, 2026, announced that the Dolphins hired Hafley for a five-year deal.
That’s a statement. For years, the trend has been offensive head coaches, especially if you’ve got a quarterback you want to protect and develop. Miami’s choice reads like a reaction to the modern AFC problem: you can draw up all the clever stuff you like, but you still have to stop someone else’s clever stuff when it’s 31 to 31, and your lungs are on fire.
So, Hafley arrives with one job straight away. Make the defence more reliable, more violent at the point of attack, and more consistent on third down. The kind of defence that doesn’t collapse just because an opponent goes no-huddle for two drives.
And if he does that, the whole team breathes.
Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh
If you’ve watched Robert Saleh on the sideline, you know the look. The intense stare. The sprint down the touchline like he’s been personally insulted by a tight end screen.
The Titans hired Saleh as head coach in a move widely tracked in the 2026 carousel coverage.
Tennessee’s situation has been crying out for a clear personality. Not just a playbook, a personality. Saleh brings that. He’s a defensive coach, and that fits the wider swing this year: a few teams have decided that stopping points is the quickest way to stop the weekly panic.
There’s also a cultural angle. Players tend to know where they stand with him. That sounds basic, but it matters. A lot. When clubs wobble, uncertainty becomes a disease. Saleh’s style, for better or worse, doesn’t allow that fog to hang around.
Pittsburgh Steelers: The Mike Tomlin Exit and the Vacancy
This one landed with a strange quiet. Mike Tomlin stepping away after a long run in Pittsburgh didn’t feel like a normal firing story. It felt like an era ending. Reporting around the move made it clear this is now one of the league’s marquee openings.
And here’s why it matters more than the usual coaching gossip. The Steelers’ job comes with real expectations but also real structure. Fans can be intense, sure, but the organisation isn’t built to flail. So when that seat opens, every serious candidate pays attention.
You’ll hear a lot of names thrown around. You’ll hear rumours dressed up as facts. But as of late January, what’s real is simple: Pittsburgh is open, and that changes the market for everyone else.
Because the minute the Steelers move, it triggers more movement. Assistants get poached. Coordinators renegotiate. Other teams speed up interviews so they don’t get left holding the empty bag.
Also Read: How Many Trophies Did Micah Richards Win in His Career?
Buffalo Bills: The McDermott Split And The High-Stakes Replacement
Buffalo moving on from Sean McDermott has been treated as one of the defining moments of this cycle, and it’s easy to see why. It’s not a club starting from scratch. It’s a club trying to get over the final hurdle. This official announcement from January 19, 2026, details owner Terry Pegula’s decision to seek a “new structure within our leadership.”
That changes what “good hire” even means.
When a team has an elite quarterback and serious expectations, the next coach has to win quickly while also keeping the building stable. No ego trips and no three-year philosophical experiments. Just results, and the ability to handle a January loss without everything turning toxic.
So when people talk about “New NFL coaches 2026”, Buffalo is part of the story even before the hire is final. Because the decision there isn’t about hope. It’s about pressure.
Baltimore Ravens: Life After Harbaugh, And The Weirdness Of Starting Over
When a coach stays somewhere for a very long time, the club starts to feel like his habits. Training camp routines. Staff networks. Even the way players talk to the media.
Baltimore now has to build a new rhythm after Harbaugh’s exit, and that’s why the Ravens’ opening has been treated as one of the most attractive jobs of the cycle.
The challenge is awkward. You don’t want to copy the past. You also don’t want to throw away what worked. So the Ravens have to pick someone who respects the building but still brings a sharp edge.
That’s harder than it sounds. Most clubs either cling or torch. The smart ones adjust.
Las Vegas Raiders: Another Reset, Another Roll Of The Dice
The Raiders moving on from Pete Carroll after a short stint has been part of the wider churn this year, according to multiple trackers following the cycle. The team’s official report filed on January 5, 2026, states that the Raiders dismissed the 74-year-old Carroll after a disastrous 3-14 season.
At this stage, Las Vegas already seems like a place where coaching decisions have become an ongoing plot. New staff, new tone and new plan. Fans have heard it all before.
So the next hire has to be more than a name. It has to create a clear identity that shows up on Sundays. The kind of identity even casual viewers can spot. Otherwise, it’s just another press conference and another reset by Halloween.
Arizona Cardinals: Still Open, Still Tricky
Arizona needs to be in the mix too.
The Cardinals fired Jonathan Gannon after a miserable season, and as of late January, the job is still vacant. That alone tells you it isn’t a quick hire. They’re shopping carefully, because the next decision has to stick.
Early on, they were heavily linked with Robert Saleh. Once he chose the Titans, Arizona had to pivot. Now the names most tied to them are Joe Brady, the Bills’ offensive coordinator, and Jesse Minter, the Chargers’ defensive coordinator.
It’s a pretty clear fork in the road. Brady screams, “Fix the offence, build around the quarterback, modern scoring.” Minter screams, “Reset the defence, tighten the structure, stop the bleeding first ”.
Either way, this is one of those jobs where the coach won’t get judged on the intro press conference. They’ll get judged on whether the team looks sharper by October, and whether the building feels calmer when things go wrong.
Why Owners Are Firing Faster and Hiring Smarter
Two things keep coming up when you stitch the 2026 moves together.
First, teams are far less patient. Ten head coaching changes in one cycle tells you owners and front offices think they can fix problems quickly, and they’re willing to burn relationships to try.
Second, the defence swing is real. Miami and Tennessee are clear examples, and the broader chatter around candidates has leaned heavily towards people who can slow down elite offences.
And honestly, that makes sense. The league is full of quarterbacks who can ruin your Sunday in six minutes. If you can’t get stops, you’re basically hoping for miracles every week. That’s not a plan. That’s a prayer.
Also Read: Indiana Hoosiers Wins the National Title, beats Miami 27 to 21
Which Openings Matter the Most Right Now?
Jobs tied to big expectations and strong infrastructure tend to attract the deepest candidate pools. This cycle, Pittsburgh’s opening after Mike Tomlin stepping away has been treated as one of the headline vacancies.
The funny thing is, fans always ask for change, right up until the change arrives. Then everyone misses the old thing for a week. Then the games start, and reality kicks the door in.
So, with all these new NFL coaches’ 2026 names flying around, here’s the real question: which of these hires will still feel like a good idea when it’s freezing, it’s Week 14, and someone’s season is wobbling on a fourth-down call?
FAQ
Is it true that 2026 tied the record for coaching changes?
Yes. With 10 changes (including the shocking dismissal of Sean McDermott and John Harbaugh’s move), 2026 has tied the all-time modern record set in 1978, 1997, 2006, and 2022.
How Many New NFL Coaches Are There In 2026?
Multiple trackers have described this as a ten-team head coaching change cycle, the biggest since 2006.
Who Are The Confirmed New Head Coaches So Far?
As of late January 2026, widely reported hires include John Harbaugh with the Giants, Kevin Stefanski with the Falcons, Jeff Hafley with the Dolphins, and Robert Saleh with the Titans.
Why Did Teams Switch Back To Defensive Head Coaches?
A lot of teams look at the current NFL and see one problem above the rest: stopping points when games turn into track meets. Hiring defensive leaders is one way to balance that, especially when the league’s best offences can score fast.
Sources & References
- New York Giants: John Harbaugh Officially Named 21st Head Coach
- Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski Named Head Coach; Reports to Matt Ryan
- Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley Agrees to Terms as 12th Head Coach
- Tennessee Titans: Titans Hire Robert Saleh Following 49ers Playoff Exit
- NFL: 2026 Coaching & GM Tracker: Latest Hires and Vacancies
- Fox Sports: The 10-Team Shift: Why 2026 is the Busiest Cycle Since 2006
- Front Office Sports: Over 25% of the NFL Searching for New Leadership in 2026
Note: As of January 21, 2026, vacancies remain in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Baltimore. We will update our tracker as soon as the ink is dry on those contracts.
