NFL Confidential: Which Head Coach Opening Do Execs, Scouts Think Is the Best?

The 2026 NFL head coaching carousel is already off and running, with interviews taking place for head coach vacancies around the league as six head coaches have been fired this week. 

Those six teams (Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins) joined the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans in the head coaching search. With a quarter of the teams in the league seeking a new head coach, which opening is the top job?

Well, FOX Sports' Eric D. Williams and Ralph Vacchiano asked that question to executives, scouts and personnel people around the league. They also surveyed their sources on what to think about the Dolphins' situation, where John Harbaugh could end up next and what teams are looking for in a head coach hire.

Here's what they learned from those conversations.  

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Ravens' vacancy tops among vacant head coaching jobs, per league sources

Eric D. Williams: A surprise addition to the head coaching hiring cycle after John Harbaugh’s firing, the Baltimore Ravens head coaching job quickly ascended to the top head coaching vacancy available, according to league sources I spoke with this week.

"It’s No. 1, but will have high expectations right away," a league source told me. "It’s boom or bust."

Added an NFL coach: "The organization alone puts them at the top."

Ravens split with John Harbaugh, Was this the right decision?

League sources I spoke with ranked the Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants as the top four head coaching jobs available of the eight teams currently looking to fill vacancies as we head into the first week of the postseason.

"Cleveland let a good coach go," a longtime NFL scout told me. "Good landing spots for coaches are Atlanta, Arizona and the New York Giants. But young coaches have to learn the old scouting process and not just be know-it-alls past what experienced GMs can do.

"Owners need to have patience, insight and pay better to improve situations. And experienced GMs need to be hired. Very few get second chances."

My colleague, Ben Arthur, also ranked the Ravens' job as the best available this offseason. 

[What's Next: 5 Best HC Candidates for Ravens to Maximize Lamar Jackson’s Window]

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Dolphins’ job could be uphill climb for new hire

Eric D. Williams: Even though it’s the latest job to become available after Mike McDaniel was fired and John Harbaugh is rumored to be interested, the Miami vacancy did not rank high among league sources I spoke with.

Only one league source ranked the Dolphins’ vacancy among their top three choices for head coaching vacancies.

"Dolphins’ job should’ve been the first to open!" a longtime NFL personnel man told me.

League sources pointed to a lack of clarity in delineation of power between general manager and coach, Tua Tagovailoa’s cumbersome contract and the fact he was benched this season, salary cap constraints on an aging roster in need of an overhaul and the multitude of distractions for players that exist outside the facility in South Beach as reasons for placing the Miami vacancy among the least desirable of the eight head coaching vacancies currently available.

"You need a firm hand on the team," an NFL coach told me. "In Miami, you deal with a lot of distractions. … Miami will eat a weak leader for breakfast."

Dolphins fire Mike McDaniel, Are they a good landing spot for John Harbaugh?

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John Harbaugh's firing similar to Andy Reid's with the Eagles?

Eric D. Williams: League sources I spoke with viewed the Ravens moving on from Harbaugh after 18 years to similar situations the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks faced in moving on from longtime coaches in Andy Reid and Pete Carroll after several seasons. Both franchises felt their messaging had gotten stale over the years.

"There’s a shelf life for head coaches of about 10 years, win or lose," a league source told me. "At 63, Harbaugh was maybe viewed as too old these days. In any other decade he wouldn’t. He should be hired quickly by a team that values culture and experience, not just splash and sexiness."

Harbaugh was a part of Reid's staff when he was the Eagles' special teams coordinator, working there for nine seasons. 

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Where could John Harbaugh land next? Who are some other top candidates?

Eric D. Williams: A league source pointed to the Falcons and Giants as top landing spots for Harbaugh. Vacchiano reported earlier this week that nine teams reached out to Harbaugh following his firing from the Ravens. 

Along with Harbaugh, top head coaches for this year’s hiring cycle include former Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski, former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.

"These days head coaching prospects want more say in the draft and player acquisition more than ever," a longtime NFL personnel scout told me. "At the same time, owners want young candidates for both head coach and general manager jobs. All this, and owners don’t know who the GM prospects are, since they toil on the road or in the office and aren’t on TV or at every game, even though the league tries to promote that with owners at times.

"There’s got to be a real symbiotic relationship between the head coach and the GM, leaning on coaches and personnel people picking players to fit the scheme and culture."

[Coaching Carousel: The 9 Strongest Head Coach Candidates for NFL Vacancies]

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What are teams looking for in a head coach hire? Experience is necessary … or at least preferred

Ralph Vacchiano: There’s a reason teams have lined up to interview recently fired coaches like John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski and Raheem Morris, just like there was a reason so many tried to talk with Mike Vrabel last year. Because, as easy as it may be for teams to fall in love with the hot assistant in their coaching search, nothing beats being able to hire a guy who has done it before.

"Everybody is always trying to find the next Sean McVay, the next Ben Johnson, and that sounds so easy," an NFL executive from a team not currently looking for a new coach told me. "But that’s a leap of faith. Not every brilliant coordinator is capable of being the guy in charge of a whole team."

"It’s just different," added an assistant general manager with a team searching for a new coach. "Being the guy in the big chair is nothing like being a coordinator. If you’ve never done it before, it can overwhelm even the smartest coaches. We’ve seen plenty of that in the league."

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has emerged a stop target on this year's coaching carousel. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

Both sources pointed out how a head coach is responsible for much more than just football. There are media responsibilities (sometimes daily), managing issues that sometimes never become public, making decisions on discipline, hiring and firing coaches and support personnel, and many other organizational demands.

"When you get a guy who has handled all that before, who knows what he’s up against, that can be very reassuring," the executive said. "Even if things went wrong in his last job, at least you know he won’t be surprised when things go sideways in his new one."

Not all experience is equal, of course. "Some guys just showed [in their last job] that they can’t do it," the assistant general manager said. The key, it seems, is finding a guy who’s done it before, had at least some success, and is eager to do it again.

"I think that’s the perfect candidate," a former general manager told me. "Give me a guy who’s done it before, but left his old job with something to prove. He’ll be smarter. He’ll be more motivated. I’ll take that over a young assistant who thinks he knows everything. That guy’s going to be in for a shock. [The experienced coach] has already been shocked and figured out how to survive."

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him on Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.

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