As we near the start of the 2026 season, let's look at all 32 head coaches and rank them
T-27th: Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills; Jeff Hafley, Miami Dolphins; Klint Kubiak, Las Vegas Raiders; Mike LaFleur, Arizona Cardinals; Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens; Todd Monken, Cleveland Browns
These are not only first time NFL head coaches for their team, but first time NFL head coaches in general. It is hard to compare them to coaches who coached a year or two so I am clumping these six together.
26th: Aaron Glenn, New York Jets (3-14 record)
Last season was rough for him. The Jets had one of the worse records in 2025 and the defense was one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL. Maybe Glenn can improve this season, but I think 26 is the right spot for him right now.
25th: Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans (0-0 at TEN; 20-36 overall)
It's hard to pin point a spot for Saleh in my opinion, but right above his successor and below Stefanski and Quinn feels right for now. Think he is a great DC, but it is a bit hazy if he is a good HC or not with the only way to judge is with his time in New York with the Jets, which is a dumpster fire of a organization and most people would say is failure waiting to happen and willing to write it off once you leave. I do expect him to be higher on this list next year, but how high is unclear.
24th: Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders (17-17 at WSH; 60-59 overall)
This may be controversial to have Quinn at the bottom three, but I think we are beginning to find out that he isn't as great of a HC as he has been made out to be. Granted, Jayden Daniels has been banged up a good chunk of the season, but if you look at some of their losses, especially early in the season like against Green Bay or Atlanta or Dallas or Detroit then you can tell that the defense (Quinn's specialty) were the one losing the games. This season is two new coordinators in charge calling plays so they may be a much better team, I am just having a hard time believing that 2016 and 2024 was not a fad.
23rd: Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta Falcons (0-0 at ATL; 45-56 overall)
Stefanski can get the same excuse as Saleh does, but something he has done and Saleh hasn't was make it to the playoffs as a HC and win a playoff game. I think he is a great offensive mind, and he hired a fantastic DC in Cleveland that maximized Myles Garrett's potential, I am not yet convinced he is a great leader for an organization. That is why he is lower on the list.
T-21st: Kellen Moore, New Orleans Saints (6-11 record); Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1 record)
Despite the record, I am having a hard time trying to separate the two and pick which one is better. Both coming off of their first seasons with a ton of excitement heading into the off season, but tons of questions on execution. In 2026, Kellen Moore has to prove that those last few games weren't a fad and Sough is legit while Schottenheimer needs to prove consistency.
20th: Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (35-33 at TB; 61-74 overall)
In four seasons in Tampa Bay, he has won three NFC South titles and may be the number one coach in the NFL on the hot seat. It appears that he has settled with mediocre coaching and it would slide him back into winning the division every year, but then had to deal with real competition for once and just fell right to the curve. I think for Bowles to keep his job is for an overall improvement of coaching and developing.
19th: Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers (13-21 record)
Speaking of losing the NFC South, here is who won it. I am not convinced Canales is that great of a coach and I also believe that the only reason Carolina won is because of the mediocre state the division is in. It is seen as this competitive, anyone can win division but in reality it's a bunch of first rounders who hasn't panned out and washed veterans playoff contenders didn't want or want to overpay that finally found a spot to make themselves look good being on primetime in January.
18th: Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals (52-63-1 record)
We are nine coaches in and this is the second AFC coach so far. I see the good and bad in Zac Taylor, the good is that he has been able to get Joe Burrow at his full potential when healthy and have made deep runs in the playoffs but consistency and missing the playoffs three years in a row along with having an offense that feels lost without Burrow is definitely something that paints him in a different light.
17th: Ben Johnson, Chicago Bears (11-6 record)
Johnson has found instant success in Chicago and got so close to playing Seattle in the NFC Championship Game. The question for me is did he peak already or is there more in the tank?
16th: Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4 record)
The fact the Jaguars went 4-13 to 13-4 is why Coen is ahead of Johnson, but the same questions have to be asked for Coen as well. Did he peak? Did we see the best of Liam Coen? Did we see the best of Trevor Lawrence? I do think it is more obvious to tell about Coen then it is Johnson, but I think it is best to live in the moment now then try and predict it and just let 2026 play out for Jacksonville and we will be back here talking about the Jaguars good or bad.
15th: Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts (25-26 record)
We are in the top 15 and Shane Steichen leads us at 15. I truly think he is the best mediocre coach in the NFL and it is mostly due to the excitement he brings to the team. His offense is working as planned and looks unstoppable, but then hits a bump and just starts to crumble. We can see what he can do as a coach, but he somehow can't maintain it.
14th: Kevin O'Connell, Minnesota Vikings (43-25 record)
This may be the stunner of this list and let me explain. The ups and downs he has had in his four year tenure something not to overlook but it isn't something that should be the main focus, but what should is the question that he is considered one of the top QB whisperers in the league. He coached Kirk Cousins during what might had been his best year as a Viking and was on a similar path the next year until he torn his Achilles. After that, he had a round table of Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, and Josh Dobbs fill in and even though Dobbs had a career game, non of them were able to at least game manage to a winning season and they had to go another route with drafting JJ McCarthy who missed all of 2025 and Sam Darnold had to fill in and gave the Vikings one of their best seasons ever. Then Darnold left and it was JJ's team and it felt like 2023 all over again. A lot of pressure is on O'Connell this season to get this right, but I do think that we will realize that O'Connell's offensive style has gotten exposed and figured even though he has had a different QB pretty much every year.
13th: Mike McCarthy, Pittsburgh Steelers (0-0 at PIT; 174-112-2 overall)
This is the lowest a Super Bowl winning Head Coach will be on this list. We know what kind of coach he is and can be, but the main question is is there anything left in the tank?
12th: DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans (32-19 record)
Ryans is my personal top 10, maybe top 5, but he doesn't make the top 10 on this list. The defense has been unstoppable since he has been there, but the offense has gotten worse and worse. That is what is holding him down compared to the other eleven and if he can get that fixed this season, he may be on his way to top seven or eight next season.
11th: Mike Macdonald, Seattle Seahawks (24-10 record)
To think the Super Bowl winning coach missing the top ten. The reason why I have him at 11 is because I think it is too early to give him a top 10 spot after one good year and another great year, I think we should wait until after three to put them in the top ten conversation. I also wonder if he peaked too early and that this is all down hill for now on. I hope not and I hope he can continue to find success, but this is the "what if Dan Marino or Joe Burrow would had won the Super Bowl in year two?" question, but in a different verse.
10th: Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers (76-40-1 record)
Making the top ten at the tenth spot. This is pretty much Shane Steichen but made it to the playoffs... Multiple times. He has had mediocre teams recently and haven't lived up to expectations or win a playoff game since beating the Cowboys during the 2023 season. He is really holding onto his first three seasons for what he was able to do with Rodgers.
9th: Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions (48-36-1 at DET; 53-43-1 overall)
The love and the mystique of Dan Campbell does feel like it is wearing off a tad and questions of if the Lions have wasted their shot of winning the Super Bowl is mounting. I think there is still hope, but it also makes it harder to trust putting him near top 5 (where he would likely have been the last two years or so).
8th: Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles (59-26 record)
Two Super Bowl appearances, a Super Bowl win, never missed a season without going to the playoffs, a rotating coordinator room due to so many coaches leaving for bigger opportunities, and yet he is at 8. I do think he is a system coach, a coach who fits the system the team runs and is only feeding off the success of his more talented players and more talented coaches. Kevin Patullo has been right next to Sirianni this whole time and couldn't replicate the same success Kellen Moore and Shane Steichen brought when they were OC's, I think that is more telling of the HC than the OC that it appeared the two weren't on the same path enough so to fire him a day after the playoff loss.
7th: Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers (22-12 at LAC; 66-31-1 overall)
If you want to add his college career to this, then he is by far top 5, but since we won't then seven seems reasonable. In his six seasons as a NFL HC, it seems like he has done it all aside from winning it all, but what has held him back the most in Los Angeles is health and not having a healthy roster. If he has a healthy roster and if his QB can get off of his ass and stop looking at his pop star girlfriend for like five seconds then they could have a case to get over the hump.
6th: John Harbaugh, New York Giants (0-0 at NYG; 180-113 overall)
Just barely missing the top five is the highest a first year head coach will be on this list. To put him at six, you just have to look at what all he has accomplished and able to win a Super Bowl with Joe Flacco and have a longevity he has had is crazy to think about. I also don't think this is the same Harbaugh we saw a year ago, two years ago, even fourteen years ago, but it is interesting to see how different he will be and if that is good or bad.
5th: Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots (14-3 at NE; 68-48 overall)
I have Vrabel much higher on my list than it appears everyone else has, but based off the success he had in Tennessee than instant success in New England is hard to not recognize that. Similar to Coen and Johnson, I do wonder if we already seen Vrabel's peak or if there is more in the tank. It is also harder to tell with a veteran coach who you think we already seen his ceiling and then goes elsewhere and breaks that ceiling.
4th: Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers (82-67 record)
The highest a non Super Bowl winning coach will go. Two Super Bowl appearances, reinvented the offensive landscape, turned a franchise backup and Mr. Irrelevant into household names. It is hard to ignore what he has done for the sport and crazy to think he has yet to win a Super Bowl.
3rd: Sean Payton, Denver Broncos (32-19 at DEN; 184-108 overall)
Before Shanahan, Payton changed the offensive landscape and turned Drew Brees into a Super Bowl winner and now a Hall of Famer. Nobody thought he could replicate that success, but he was able to have the best record in the AFC last season and turned Bo Nix into a potential star in this league. There are some coaches that if you take him away from his quarterback than the coach is nothing, but if you take Payton away from Nix than Nix is nothing.
2nd: Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs (149-64 at KC; 279-157-1 overall)
One of the best Eagles HC's of all time leaves for Kansas City and transforms his career winning three Super Bowl rings and creating one of the best dynasty teams in sports history. Last season was rough, but you can't push him down for one bad season in the last ten seasons.
1st: Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams (92-57 record)
At 40 years old, to say he has a Super Bowl ring, two Super Bowl appearances, and cut off of the Shanahan offense has contributed to the change of the offensive landscape. In such a short time, he has cemented himself into Canton before he turns 50.
Let me know your thoughts below and if there is a coach you think is too high or low!