Two AFC teams recently made decisions on new head coaches.
There are 10 NFL teams making coaching changes this cycle (including those dismissed during the regular season), which ties the previous high mark for coaching changes, most recently after the 2021 season.
As of Wednesday morning, two coaching vacancies remain across the league.
Tracking Team Moves
Below is a tracker of all the other head coaching and GM firings made since the beginning of the 2025 season.
Browns: Almost a month after firing Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland has hired Todd Monken as its new head coach. Monken has bounced between college and the NFL, most recently serving as the offensive coordinator for the Ravens. His only head coaching experience came at Southern Miss, finishing with a record of 13–25 in three seasons before resigning. The other finalists for the Browns job included defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
Bills: Buffalo announced Tuesday that it has promoted offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach. Brady was hired in 2022 as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach by Sean McDermott, who was fired on Jan. 19, two days after losing to the Broncos in the AFC divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Buffalo’s offense finished top five in scoring in Brady’s two full seasons as offensive coordinator.
Steelers: Mike McCarthy has been hired to replace Mike Tomlin as Pittsburgh’s head coach. McCarthy, 62, won a Super Bowl in 13 seasons with the Packers and reached the playoffs in three of his five years in Dallas. The Steelers won the AFC North, finishing the regular season 10–7, but lost to the Texans in the wild-card round. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be a free agent, and it is unknown whether he will retire or return to Pittsburgh to play with his longtime head coach.
Ravens: Baltimore named Jesse Minter its fourth head coach in franchise history on Thursday, signing him to a five-year contract. Minter was the Chargers’ defensive coordinator for the past two seasons and won the 2023–24 national championship at Michigan, holding the same role. He will replace John Harbaugh, who coached the Ravens for 18 seasons before being let go on Jan. 6.
Titans: Tennessee finalized a deal with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to be their next head coach. Saleh will return to the head coach ranks one year after being fired by the Jets following four seasons in New York. The Titans fired Brian Callahan on Oct. 13 after a 1–5 start, and just 23 games in charge of the team (he exits with a 4–19 overall record). Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk on Jan. 2 announced a restructuring of the front office that will see GM Mike Borgonzi now have final say on the team’s 53-man roster, as well as be tasked with leading the head coach search. Borgonzi and the president of football operations, Chad Brinker, will both report to Strunk.
Dolphins: Miami hired Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on Jan. 19 as their next head coach, replacing Mike McDaniel, who was fired on Jan. 8. Hafley joins former Green Bay VP of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, who was hired as the Dolphins’ new GM on Jan. 9. Former GM Chris Grier was fired on Oct. 31. Miami finished the 2025 season 7–10 and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year. The biggest question for the next Dolphins regime will be what to do with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has a $56.4 million salary cap in 2026.
Falcons: Atlanta hired former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski on Jan. 17, the first big move for new president of football Matt Ryan. The Falcons dismissed head coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot on Jan. 3. Morris went 16–18 in two years with the Falcons, missing the playoffs both years with the team. Fontenot had been with the Falcons since 2021, but he also failed to have a winning season or a playoff berth. Rich McKay, the longtime right-hand man of owner Arthur Blank, is also stepping down as CEO. Ryan is also leading the search for a new GM, which is ongoing.
Giants: John Harbaugh agreed to a five-year deal with New York on Jan. 17 to become their new head coach. The longtime Ravens coach also interviewed with the Falcons and was slated to potentially interview with the Titans. The Giants fired Brian Daboll on Nov. 10, following a 2–8 start to the season, and finished the season 4–13. But owners John Mara and Steve Tisch reiterated in a statement on Black Monday that Joe Schoen would remain as the team’s GM. But in a new structure, both Harbaugh and Schoen will report directly to ownership.
Steelers: Mike Tomlin announced on Jan. 13 that he will step down as head coach of the Steelers. After suffering a seventh consecutive playoff loss, speculation grew as to whether Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II would fire the longtime head coach. Instead, Tomlin is the one who is choosing to move on, with rumors swirling of his potential interest in a TV job. Tomlin finishes his tenure in Pittsburgh with a record of 193–114–2 and a Super Bowl victory in 2008.
Browns: On the heels of a 5–12 season, Cleveland’s second straight without a playoff appearance and fourth such campaign in five years, Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam on Black Monday fired coach Kevin Stefanski. In six years with the Browns, Stefanski won the leaguewide honors in 2020 and again in 2023, but overall, he posted a 45–56 record and was expected to be fired as the end of the regular season approached.
Raiders: Las Vegas owner Mark Davis dismissed coach Pete Carroll on Black Monday after a single season in which he went 3–14. That performance gave the Raiders the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but Carroll won’t be a part of it. Instead, GM John Spytek will “lead all football operations in close collaboration with [part-owner] Tom Brady, including the search for the club’s next head coach.” That decision will give Brady, also the lead on-air analyst for Fox’s NFL coverage, his biggest presence to date in the team’s functions.
Cardinals: Arizona parted ways with Jonathan Gannon on Black Monday after three years. Posting a 15–36 record over that time, the fate of the former Eagles defensive coordinator was largely sealed as the Cardinals finished the 2025 season with nine straight losses. Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort will lead the search for Gannon’s replacement.
Safe, for Now
Beyond the firings, the Bengals announced coach Zac Taylor and director of player personnel Duke Tobin (the team doesn’t have a GM) will be retained for the 2026 season. The Colts released a similar letter to fans, announcing GM Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen will return.
Todd Bowles is returning to the Buccaneers as head coach for the 2026 season, but the team announced that his staff would look much different as it parted ways with five assistant coaches.
