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Ranking Harbaugh, Minter, McCarthy and Brady among the NFL’s recent head coach hires
The NFL coaching carousel has spun hard this year. Ten head coaches were replaced, tying the league’s all-time record, and at this point, it barely even registers as shocking.
This is the 16th straight year in which at least five teams have decided the answer wasn’t tweaks, patience, or another coordinator shuffle, but a full reset at the top.
With seven recent hires made during the recent cycle, we took a step back to look at how each of them stacks up.
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1. John Harbaugh, New York Giants
The second it became clear Harbaugh was leaving Baltimore, the league reacted the way it always does when a proven, Super Bowl–winning coach suddenly becomes available: phones lit up.
Harbaugh didn’t rush it, and he didn’t land somewhere random. He chose the Giants, stepping into a franchise with talent but without direction.
Over 18 seasons with the Ravens, Harbaugh won 180 regular-season games and built something most organisations never manage: year-after-year relevance.
Six division titles, four trips to the AFC Championship Game, and a Super Bowl ring are the kind of track record that gets coach-needy teams and their fanbase excited.
The Giants are betting on Harbaugh's ability to groom quarterbacks. In his time with the Ravens, Joe Flacco reached his ceiling and Lamar Jackson turned into a multiple-time MVP.
Now, the task is Jaxson Dart, who didn’t exactly inherit an easy situation as a rookie but showed flashes of the talent Harbaugh clearly coveted.
More than anything, this hire is about steadiness. Since Tom Coughlin stepped away in 2016, the Giants have burned through head coaches at an alarming rate. Only Brian Daboll made it past Year Two. None came close to sustained success.
Harbaugh isn’t being asked to fix everything overnight. His initial task is to stop the bleeding. But with an offense boasting Dart, Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo, Andrew Thomas, and considering the Giants hold the fifth-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, would we be surprised if he achieved more?
2. Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens
This hiring makes perfect sense now that the pen has been put to paper. The Ravens' ownership likes bringing in young, exciting coordinators, giving them time to develop and craft a Super Bowl contender.
Minter oversaw a juggernaut of a Los Angeles Chargers defense last year, guiding a unit that finished fifth in the league in yards allowed per game (285.2). They were disruptive, too - ranking third in interceptions (19), seventh in sacks (45), and forcing 23 turnovers overall.
Even in defeat, that defense showed its teeth. In the Wild Card loss to the New England Patriots, Minter’s group gave Drake Maye plenty to think about, sacking the rookie five times and picking him off once.
Defensive woes and injuries ultimately did the Ravens in during 2025. If Lamar Jackson stays healthy and Minter can work his magic with even more defensive talent than he had in Los Angeles, Baltimore won’t just bounce back; they could make a genuine Super Bowl push.
3. Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons didn’t need flash. They needed competence. And for all the noise around his Cleveland tenure, Stefanski has proven he can organise a football team - even when things around him aren’t ideal.
This is also the first major stamp of the Matt Ryan era in Atlanta’s front office, and it's one that brings structure, balance, and someone who won’t panic at the first sign of turbulence.
Cleveland’s 46-58 record under Stefanski doesn’t tell the whole story. He squeezed playoff appearances out of flawed rosters, oversaw a legitimately elite defense, and somehow dragged a lost 2023 season back from the dead with Joe Flacco. That doesn’t happen without skill.
Atlanta is a different challenge, and in some ways a better one. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts - the tools are there. Question marks remain at quarterback, but Stefanski finally gets to work with offensive talent that doesn’t need everything to be perfect to function.
The defense, though, is where this hire could quietly pay off. In a division as wide open as the NFC South, taking that unit and elevating it even further could have early rewards.
4. Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans
This one feels like a philosophy hire. Saleh’s 20-36 Jets record is what it is, and nobody’s pretending otherwise, but his abilities with a defense are what made him sought-after.
San Francisco’s unit last suffered key injuries, with Nick Bosa out early and Fred Warner missing most of the year. And yet, somehow, the unit performed admirably.
Tennessee is clearly thinking long-term here. They want Cam Ward to grow without being asked to win shootouts every week, and Saleh’s background gives them a chance to build a defense that actually supports a young quarterback instead of exposing him.
It didn’t work in New York, but the Titans aren’t asking the same questions. They’re asking him to build something functional with the key position already in place.
5. Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills
The case for Joe Brady is straightforward. He’s already shown he can get the best out of Josh Allen. And at 36, he's ascending, has strong play-calling credentials, and offers continuity for a dynamic unit that ranked among the league’s best in both yards and points.
The concerns are harder to ignore. Brady steps into the role as a first-time head coach under intense win-now pressure, inheriting roster, cap, and defensive questions that go well beyond scheme design.
Some of those problems fall on GM Brandon Beane, and the scrutiny on Beane will only intensify if this decision doesn't bear fruit.
Familiarity is usually a good thing, but we have to wonder if a Super Bowl-calibre team needed a proven quantity at head coach.
6. Jeff Hafley, Miami Dolphins
Hafley didn’t take the easy job. Miami is in a mess with quarterback uncertainty and problems on the offensive line, and that's before we even get into the cap headaches and looming contract decisions.
The optimism comes from Hafley’s defensive track record. Green Bay improved almost immediately under him. Over two seasons, the numbers were strong enough to suggest that when given time, he can build something solid.
This hire isn’t really about whether Hafley can coach. It’s about whether any coach could walk into this situation and stabilise it quickly enough. Between the quarterback questions, the offensive line issues, and a cap situation that limits flexibility, the margin for error is thin.
Hafley can probably improve the defense. Whether that’s enough to keep everything else from wobbling is the question that will define this hire.
7. Mike McCarthy, Pittsburgh Steelers
This ranking isn’t so much about Mike McCarthy’s age, because plenty of head coaches have thrived well into their 60s and beyond.
And there’s no disputing Art Rooney II’s point about McCarthy owning a “winning track record.” A .608 career winning percentage and a Super Bowl ring put McCarthy's career credentials beyond question.
The concern is whether a coach with limited postseason returns over the last decade, including a 1-3 playoff record during his time in Dallas, is the right answer for a team trying to break through in January.
The timing also raises eyebrows. Several top candidates were unavailable when the decision was made, but Chris Shula, whom the Steelers interviewed, would have been an option had the organisation waited.
Was the Aaron Rodgers connection part of the thinking? Maybe. If McCarthy’s arrival convinces Rodgers to run it back and Pittsburgh makes real noise in next year’s playoffs, this ranking may age quickly.
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