The NFL has turned itself into a year-round league over the last couple of decades. There are only a few times a year when something isn’t happening, especially now with events created for things like the NFL schedule release and special releases for international games.
The NFL offseason starts shortly after the completion of the Super Bowl. Next week, teams can start placing the franchise tag on top-level players set to hit free agency with the NFL combine kicking off at the end of February. The Cleveland Browns have a load of pending free agents, including TE David Njoku, who has already said goodbye to the only city and team he’s known professionally.
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With the NFL moving forward so fast, it is sometimes hard to take account of all the moves and decisions made since the end of the 2025 regular season. This offseason, 10 head coaches were hired to replace those who failed previously with their teams. Almost a third of the NFL have new head coaches heading into the 2026 offseason:
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Cleveland Browns – Todd Monken
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New York Giants – John Harbaugh
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Atlanta Falcons – Kevin Stefanski
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Baltimore Ravens – Jesse Minter
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Pittsburgh Steelers – Mike McCarthy
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Miami Dolphins – Jeff Hafley
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Las Vegas Raiders – Klint Kubiak
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Tennessee Titans – Robert Saleh
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Buffalo Bills – Joe Brady
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Arizona Cardinals – Mike LaFleur
The Athletic asked nine coaches and executives to rank their top five hires. They note that none of those nine work for any of the 10 teams listed above. Harbaugh came in first, no surprise, but former Browns HC Kevin Stefanski got the second most points in the exercise.
Coming in last? Monken and LaFleur.
Much like grading NFL drafts right after they happen, of course, these rankings are silly. Also, nine is a very small sample size to create such a definitive list. The reality is that each of these decisions should be viewed at one of two points: After three full seasons or when the coach gets fired, whichever comes first.
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In the case of the Browns and Cardinals coming in last, the executives most likely viewed the hires in the vacuum of the team’s history and current roster, as noted in the piece:
There’s just too much unknown with Monken, LaFleur and their respective organizations. Both are first-time, offensive-minded NFL head coaches coming from successful teams, and they’re joining two franchises that are perpetually rebuilding.
Ranking a head coach based on things unrelated to that head coach is mildly amusing.
Will Monken right the ship in Cleveland? We do not know. We do know that Hue Jackson was ranked as the best hire made back in 2016, and we all know how that turned out.
Read the full article here
