2026 NFL Coach Hiring/Firing Grades
This is a centralized post for all coaching move-related grades (most recent first) now that 2026 has begun. Perfect way to celebrate Black Monday right? For those who aren’t aware, Black Monday is the Monday after the final week of the regular season. The teams that missed the playoffs decide whether to continue with the status quo or to make major moves to their coaching staffs and front offices. Here, I provide coach hiring/firing grades for each change made. Coordinators will be discussed only as part of a staff being hired with a head coach or when the situation is particularly notable. For GM moves, check out this page.
January 6, 2026
Ravens Fire HC John Harbaugh:
Every year, there’s at least one stunning firing. Now we’ve got one for 2025-2026. Baltimore has fired only the 3rd coach in franchise history and the first for owner Steve Bisciotti. This is also monumental because Harbaugh lasted 18 years, so he was the second-longest-tenured HC in the league after Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin (you wonder what would’ve happened if that kick went through on Sunday…). All the talk about the Super Bowl-caliber roster this team had must’ve gotten into Bisciotti’s head. I’ve long said that Baltimore won’t win a ring with QB Lamar Jackson. That isn’t Harbaugh’s fault. This season was very disappointing though. I expected a DC change, as Zach Orr isn’t the right guy. I imagine offense led to this decision, but even so, this was OC Todd Monken’s first subpar season in that regard, and Jackson spent much of it injured, so I view that as more of an outlier. Maybe Harbaugh’s relationship with Jackson is worse than people know, or perhaps the team thinks that everything just went stale. Whatever the reason, this team is worse than it was an hour ago. Harbaugh is a Super Bowl winner whose coaching tree has produced several HCs around the league, including previous DC Mike Macdonald. Baltimore goes to the playoffs almost every year. A great hire better be lined up or this move will look really stupid.
Grade: F
January 5, 2026
Cardinals Fire HC Jonathan Gannon:
This one was a mild surprise, as Gannon felt safe as recently as a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure why he felt that way, as this team has been in a tailspin. After a decent start to the season, the losses began piling up. However, several of those came at the last second, and the Cardinals were highly competitive even in defeat. A switch to Jacoby Brissett at QB has enhanced the offense, but the team overall has been a train wreck for weeks now. They were blown out by several different opponents, suggesting a team heading in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for Gannon, he got stuck with Kyler Murray, a diminutive QB he didn’t draft. That said, he’s a defensive coach, and his defenses haven’t been good. Talent was the problem for the first two years of his tenure, but the players appeared better in 2025. The results remained the same, so it’s time for Arizona to start fresh.
Grade: A-
Raiders Fire HC Pete Carroll:
Las Vegas brought Carroll to town, along with his former QB Geno Smith, to win now. Clearly, that didn’t happen. I’d strongly argue that winning in 2025 was never a realistic expectation though regardless of the coach. Firing Carroll for how this season went makes no sense. This is an abysmal roster with the worst offensive line in football. Smith regressed and led the league in INTs, but it’s not like another viable QB was available. At 74 years old, Carroll isn’t the guy to oversee a long-term rebuild. That’s why I’m not completely against the move: this team needs a true rebuild (and they have the #1 pick to jumpstart it) and thus a young coach to go with it. I just think that Carroll got a pretty raw deal and was set up for extreme failure.
Grade: C
Browns Fire HC Kevin Stefanski:
I simply cannot believe that the Browns fired Stefanski but not GM Andrew Berry. Stefanski is a two-time coach of the year in one of the toughest places to win. While the results over the past two years have not been good at all, I can’t pin more than 10% of that on the head coach. Berry is the one who mortgaged the future and the salary cap to acquire QB Deshaun Watson, which should be immediately disqualifying. Certain in-game decisions made by Stefanski haven’t been perfect. He’s a really good coach but not an elite one, which is why this grade isn’t an F. I have to penalize Cleveland though for their awful approach to constructing their organization. It really doesn’t matter what coach is in place so long as the current leadership structure above him is so poor.
Grade: D
January 4, 2026
Falcons Fire HC Raheem Morris:
I never root for someone to lose their job. However, I’ve long been anticipating this move. I’ve commented on Morris’ poor coaching several times just this year. If you recall the hiring process in 2024, you’ll remember that legendary HC Bill Belichick wanted this job. By all accounts, it was his until Patriots owner Robert Kraft meddled to stick it to his former coach. Atlanta pivoted to Morris, who wasn’t good when he coached the Buccaneers a decade earlier. Learning under Rams coach Sean McVay apparently didn’t help because Morris still can’t develop talent or manage a team. Defense, his forte, let the Falcons down time and again until improving somewhat in 2025. Morris refused to tailor his offense to QB Kirk Cousins and then benched him when it didn’t work out. What did you expect from a 36-year-old QB coming off an Achilles tear and nursing an elbow ailment? Worst of all, Morris’ in-game decision-making cost his team several games on its own. The Falcons absolutely had to make this change.
Grade: A+