Fired but Not Finished: Ranking Fired Coaches Likely to Get Hired

The NFL head coaching landscape has changed drastically just a couple days after the regular season ended, and it has the chance to change even more after some teams get eliminated this week. 

There were eight teams (Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants, Raiders, Ravens and Titans) who fired their coaches. Let's discuss each head coach, then rank them in order of which guys are the most likely to be a head coach in 2026.

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Browns - Kevin Stefanski

Stefanski was the coach all regular season for Cleveland. The Browns went 5-12.

He was in Cleveland for the past five years, posting a 45-56 record over his tenure. Stefanski started strong, going 11-5 in 2020 before falling to eight and seven wins the next two years. He went 11-6 in 2023, then earned just three and five wins the past two years.

The firing wasn't all that surprising given the last two years, but I'm not so sure Stefanski is done being a head coach just yet. He has interview requests with several teams already.

Cardinals - Jonathan Gannon

Gannon coached the Cardinals to a 3-14 record this season. For a team with higher expectations, this season was a complete failure. I'm not so sure a fully healthy Kyler Murray would have helped either.

Gannon was the Arizona head coach for the past three seasons. He went 4-13 in 2023 before going 8-9 in 2024. He seemed to be moving the team in the right direction, but things went off the rails this season.

While some of the fault is definitely on Gannon, I just don't think Arizona is that good of a team. I think Gannon will stick in the NFL, but likely not as a head coach - look for him to be a team's defensive coordinator in 2026.

Dolphins - Mike McDaniel

The Dolphins' season started poorly, but McDaniel helped turn things around. Eventually, the team was eliminated from playoff contention, but a 7-10 record wasn't anything outrageous I don't think.

McDaniel was in Miami for four years, with the team going 35-33 in those years. This year was the lowest win total the team had, but he missed the playoffs for a second straight year, so Miami decided to move on from McDaniel.

I think McDaniel got a raw deal in Miami, and could still land a head coaching job for 2026. He was just fired on Thursday, so he doesn't have any interviews lined up yet, but I'd expect that to change.

If he's not a head coach for someone, he will be an offensive coordinator.

Falcons - Raheem Morris

Morris guided the Falcons to an 8-9 record, which all things considered, isn't too bad. Atlanta was without Michael Penix for several weeks and still ended the year on a four-game winning streak.

I thought Morris would be given another year, but Atlanta decided otherwise. His teams went 8-9 in both seasons during his most recent stint with Atlanta. He is 37-56 overall in six years of being a head coach.

Morris has interview requests already, and could be given another head coaching job for 2026. If he doesn't, expect him to be a defensive coordinator for a playoff-contending team.

Giants - Brian Daboll

Daboll only coached New York 10 games this season, with the team only winning two of those. Mike Kafka got as many wins in seven games as the interim coach.

Daboll spent four years with the Giants, going 20-40-1 overall. He made the playoffs in year one, but regressed from nine wins to six, three and then two.

It wasn't a surprise to see him get fired, and it seems unlikely that he'd be a head coach for an NFL team in 2026. He doesn't have interview requests right now, so it's more likely we see him as an NFL offensive coordinator in 2026.

Raiders - Pete Carroll

Talk about a raw deal. Carroll got one season with Las Vegas, with the team going 3-14.

Carroll had a great coaching career with Seattle and still owns a 173-134-1 overall coaching mark over 19 seasons.

Las Vegas decided to fire Carroll and let a new coach come in and help revive the organization that has the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

It's hard to imagine Carroll getting another head coaching job in 2026, and he doesn't have interview requests at the moment. His time as an NFL head coach might be over.

Ravens - John Harbaugh

The biggest surprise was the Ravens moving on from Harbaugh. He led the Ravens to an 8-9 record.

This was the first time in four seasons that Baltimore failed to reach the postseason. He went 180-113 over his 18 years as the Baltimore head coach.

He's the most-coveted coach right now, and there's rumors that a couple playoff teams would be interested in Harbaugh if their season ends in the Wild Card Round.

Spoiler alert: Harbaugh is the most likely fired coach to be a head coach in 2026. It'd be a big-time shock if he wasn't a head coach next year.

Titans - Brian Callahan

Callahan went 1-5 as the Tennessee head coach before Mike McCoy took over and went 2-9 the rest of the way.

Callahan got just one-plus year in Tennessee, but a 4-19 overall record shows why the Titans decided to move on. 

He's very unlikely to be a head coach again in 2026. Callahan could land an offensive coordinator position though, but probably not with a high-level organization.

Coach Rankings

Finally, let's rank these eight fired head coaches in the order of who is most likely to be a head coach again in 2026.

Harbaugh is the No. 1 guy, and should have a job lined up by this time next week, if not sooner. He's going to land with a team with playoff aspirations, and immediately turn the fortunes of the team.

I'd put Morris next on the list. He's a lot less likely to be a head coach than Harbaugh, but I think a team that really struggled this season might give Morris another shot.

Stefanski is third on my list. I think there's interest around the league for a reason, and believe another lower-finishing team from this season might take a gamble on him, even if it's just for a season or two.

McDaniel is next for me. I think he has enough respect and a decent history to appeal to a team that struggled mightily this season. It's just a matter of him wanting to go to a bad organization, or if he'd rather earn back credibility by being an offensive coordinator for a better-run team.

Carroll gets the next nod just with his coaching history. I still don't think he has a very good chance of being an NFL head coach next year. Maybe he'll join Bill Belichick in the college ranks again.

Daboll is next, but very unlikely to be a head coach in 2026, and maybe ever again. I see him as an offensive coordinator, or maybe also dropping to the college ranks if he wants to be a head coach.

Gannon seems most likely to be a defensive coordinator in 2026, as I think another solid run as a coordinator could get him another NFL head coaching job someday.

Callahan is another coordinator at best in my eyes. He too would probably rather stick in the NFL to hopefully get another crack at a head coaching job, but I could see a move to college as well.