As three first-year coaches prepare their teams to kick off the playoffs this week, six franchises begin the offseason hoping to find the right man for their job.
Four head coaches — Kevin Stefanski (Browns), Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals), Pete Carroll (Raiders) and Raheem Morris (Falcons) — were fired since the regular season wrapped Sunday. The Tennessee Titans and New York Giants had a head start because they dismissed coaches during the season, and both kept their existing general managers in place.
For Joe Schoen, the general manager of a Giants’ franchise with only 22 wins in the past four seasons, there’s a sense of longing in seeing the Jaguars win the AFC South under new coach Liam Coen, and the Bears win the NFC North for first-time head coach Ben Johnson. Along with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, the pilot behind New England’s worst-to-first flip in the AFC East, decision-makers like Schoen have enough traits and characteristics to study before seeking out the “right” candidate.
Of course, all three of those teams are also fortunate to have the right fit at quarterback with top draft picks in Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars), Caleb Williams (Bears) and Drake Maye (Patriots).
The Giants (4-13 in 2025) might be ahead of the curve in Schoen’s estimation, with rookie Jaxson Dart already in the building.
“Caleb Williams and Chicago, what they were able to do,” Schoen said Monday. “Each of those franchises brought in new head coaches and were able to turn it around rather quickly. Drake Maye is in the MVP race right now. Caleb Williams, we obviously played against him. He’s had a really good year and playing at a high level. That’s certainly an opportunity that you look at those franchises and how they put it together in a quick turnaround. In an ideal world, yeah, that would be it.”
The Raiders (3-14) have the first overall pick in the draft for the first time since drafting JaMarcus Russell in 2007. Las Vegas is a safe bet to consider quarterbacks given Geno Smith underperformed and is 35 years old, and the Browns and Cardinals are not settled at the position.
The Titans (3-14) hit the ground full stride on Monday with a series of official interview requests from general manager Mike Borgonzi, who used the top pick in the 2025 draft on quarterback Cam Ward last April. Tennessee fired Brian Callahan following a 1-5 start; he was 4-19 overall with the Titans.
“He has a vision, we do see eye to eye,” Ward said of Borgonzi. “He’s a GM that is connected to his players.”
In Arizona, Gannon had a 15-36 record and the Cardinals finished 3-14 in 2025 with Kyler Murray out for the majority of the season due to a foot injury. Murray, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, has already played for two coaches with the franchise. Whether Murray will get a shot to return to a third coach — given his $19.5 million in guarantees and injury history — is not clear.
Murray is 28 and has four 20-TD passing seasons in seven years. He played well enough for the Cardinals to compete before his season ended Oct. 5 in a surprising loss to the Titans.
The Browns won five games in a rebuilding year, but are still trying to find a fixture at quarterback.
Stefanski, 43, had a 45-56 record over six seasons and was shown the door Monday while general manager Andrew Berry was welcomed back. Cleveland still has a former No. 1 pick of its own on the roster in Deshaun Watson, but he missed the entire season with a torn Achilles and the Browns started Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders to mixed reviews.
“Our results over the last two seasons have not been satisfactory, and we believe a change at the head coaching position is necessary,” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife, Dee, said of Stefanski on Monday.
Carroll ended his one-year retirement and hit the ground with higher expectations in Las Vegas after acquiring Smith and drafting running back Ashton Jeanty. But the pieces never fit together. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was fired midseason and the Raiders failed to find a spark.
Since moving to Las Vegas in 2020, the Raiders have had five coaches. Only one had more than nine wins: Jon Gruden went 11-10 in 21 games from in 2020-21.
“You kind of just have to be ready to adapt for whoever is coming in the building,” Jeanty said.
