The NFL got its first big news of its 2026 coach hiring cycle when the New York Giants inked John Harbaugh to a five-year deal.
Harbaugh was widely viewed as the top coaching candidate on the market. Several teams across the league were attempting to make overtures to the 18-year Ravens coach, but they will now have to turn their attention elsewhere after the Giants won the Harbaugh sweepstakes.
That could involve targeting a couple of coordinators who will be involved in the 2025 NFL playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers game notably features a battle between a couple of prominent, prospective head coaches, as Klint Kubiak’s Seahawks offense will be going up against Robert Saleh’s 49ers defense in that NFC West clash.
Kubiak and Saleh will be just a couple of next year’s potential NFL head coaches in action during the divisional round. Here’s a look at the top candidates for the 2026 coaching cycle (and beyond) who will be in action across the four playoff games.
Klint Kubiak, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator
The NFL has trended toward hiring young, offensive-minded coaches since the Rams found immense success in hiring Sean McVay to be the NFL’s youngest-ever coach before the 2017 NFL season. That has favorably positioned Kubiak to be one of the top targets on the 2026 coaching market.
Kubiak is just 38 years old but has already shown a great track record developing veteran quarterbacks. Derek Carr enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career under Kubiak’s tutelage in 2024 while Sam Darnold continued to build upon his career-best 2024 season during his first season in Seattle.
Kubiak spent the 2023 NFL season on Kyle Shanahan’s staff and is the son of Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak. He has earned several coaching interviews during the 2026 offseason and it would hardly surprise to see him land a job with a team looking to reinvent its offense.
Robert Saleh, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator
Saleh posted just a 20-36 record across three-plus seasons with the New York Jets, but many teams have brought him in to interview for their head coaching role during the 2026 offseason.
The reason? Saleh has done yeoman’s work with a banged-up 49ers defense in 2025, keeping it afloat even amid injuries to stars like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and first-round rookie Mykel Williams, among others. That – plus Saleh’s previous history creating high-end stop units across his time with the 49ers and Jets – has created renewed, league-wide interest in the soon-to-be 47-year-old.
Aden Durde, Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator
Durde may not yet be a household name, but he has interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns for their vacancies during the 2026 offseason.
Durde helped lead the Seahawks to great success in his second season as defensive coordinator. Seattle ranked No. 2 overall in defensive EPA per play and fourth in pressure rate during the 2025 NFL season, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The unit had also had three players – Ernest Jones IV, Leonard Williams and Devon Witherspoon – make the All-Pro second team under the 46-year-old Englishman’s watch.
Parsing out how much of Seattle’s defensive success stems from Mike Macdonald and how much belongs to Durde will be key as teams assess whether the latter is ready for a head coaching job. But even if Durde isn’t hired this season, he could end up being one of the top candidates on the 2027 coaching market if the Seahawks defense continues to play well.
Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator
Joseph has once again become a hot coaching candidate even despite his 11-21 record across two seasons with the Broncos during the 2017-18 campaigns.
Joseph is considered one of the NFL’s best defensive minds and has helped Sean Payton turn the Broncos pass rush into the league’s fiercest. Denver posted a league-best 68 sacks in 2025 while ranking second in pressure rate behind only Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Any team wanting to develop a similarly strong pass rush will likely take a long look at Joseph.
Chris Shula, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator
NFL teams have enjoyed plucking branches from the McVay tree in recent seasons. Could Shula be the next coaching candidate to emerge from the Rams organization?
Shula has been Los Angeles’ defensive coordinator the last two seasons and has done well to develop the young unit. Notably, he helped turn unheralded players like Nate Landman and Emmanuel Forbes into solid starters, which helped the Rams defense rank 10th overall in defensive EPA per play during the 2025 NFL season, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Shula won’t turn 40 until February and has been lauded for his leadership skills while with the Rams. He is also the grandson of the NFL’s all-time wins leader, Don Shula.
Mike LaFleur, Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator
LaFleur is in his third season as Los Angeles’ offensive coordinator. He has worked with McVay, among others, to turn the Rams offense into a unit that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in offensive EPA per play during the 2025 season, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
LaFleur is just 38 years old and is the brother of Matt LaFleur, another previous Rams offensive coordinator who has since become a quality NFL head coach. Add in the younger LaFleur’s experience on Kyle Shanahan’s staff (2017-20) and his two-year stint as the New York Jets offensive coordinator and he has the requisite experience needed to garner attention as a future NFL coach.
The only question is whether NFL teams will have a dour outlook about LaFleur’s prospects given that the Jets were a bottom-five offense in terms of EPA during his two years with the team.
Nate Scheelhaase, Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator
Scheelhaase is yet another Rams assistant who has earned coaching interviews this offseason. The 35-year-old is in just his second season on McVay’s staff but quickly earned attention in his first season as the team’s passing game coordinator.
It’s easy to understand why. After all, Matthew Stafford enjoyed an MVP-caliber season in 2025, completing 65% of his passes for 4,707 yards, a league-best 46 touchdowns and just eight interceptions while Puka Nacua continued his ascension toward being one of the NFL’s best receivers.
Scheelhaase has high-level quarterback experience of his own, as he spent four years as a starter at Illinois from 2010-13. He also spent six seasons on Matt Campbell’s staff at Iowa State before jumping to the NFL.
Davis Webb, Denver Broncos passing game coordinator
Webb is similar to Scheelhaase in that he has big-time upside but doesn’t have a lot of experience as an NFL coach. The 30-year-old only ended his NFL playing career in 2022 after spending six seasons as a backup quarterback.
That said, Webb has quickly impressed with the Broncos. He spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as the team’s quarterbacks coach before adding the passing game coordinator title to his role in 2025. He milked a respectable 98 passer rating from Russell Wilson in 2023 before developing Bo Nix into a solid starter who has led Denver to playoff appearances in back-to-back seasons.
Like with Scheelhaase, it may be early for Webb to get a head coaching job. Still, the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers have all interviewed him, so he’s a name NFL fans should monitor over the coming years.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Webb isn’t the only sharp offensive mind who will be in action during the Broncos vs. Bills game. Brady is another hot name on the coaching market who will be looking to lead the Bills to a second consecutive road playoff win.
Brady has spent parts of five NFL seasons as an offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and the Bills. The 36-year-old has found great success in Buffalo, as the Bills ranked fourth in both yards and points per game during the 2025 season and were third in offensive EPA per play, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Brady has also shown an innate ability to develop top-tier quarterbacks. Joe Burrow turned in a historic season at LSU under Brady’s leadership while Josh Allen was named the NFL MVP for the 2024 season while working alongside him. Sooner or later, Brady figures to get a shot as an NFL head coach. It’s just a matter of when.
Thomas Brown, New England Patriots passing game coordinator
Brown is coaching for his fourth different team in the last four seasons, but he has been dealt a raw hand at a couple of his previous stops.
In 2023, Brown was a part of Frank Reich’s staff with the Carolina Panthers. Reich was fired midseason while Brown struggled to get anything out of Bryce Young during the No. 1 overall pick’s disastrous rookie season.
In 2024, Brown landed with the Bears and quickly climbed the ladder from interim offensive coordinator to interim head coach following the firings of Shane Waldron and Matt Eberflus. Chicago posted just a 1-4 record under Brown as he tried to steer the Bears through a chaotic season.
This season, Brown landed with the Patriots as a part of Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels’ staff. He has served as the team’s passing game coordinator as Drake Maye put forth an MVP-level season, completing a league-best 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
That has helped rekindle Brown’s prospects as a future coaching candidate, which have been bright since his three-year stint on McVay’s staff with the Rams from 2020-22. The Cardinals requested an interview with Brown, 39, who also has three years of experience as an NFL running back.
Matt Burke, Houston Texans defensive coordinator
DeMeco Ryans turned over defensive play-calling to Burke entering Week 4 after the Texans began the 2025 NFL season with an 0-3 record. Since then, Houston has posted a 12-2 record while sporting the NFL’s No. 1 overall defense in terms of EPA per play.
That turnaround has sparked speculation that Burke could eventually end up being a head coaching candidate. The 49-year-old hasn’t yet gotten an interview, but his strong performance in Houston should put the experienced assistant who has worked for eight different NFL teams on the radar of teams seeking a quality defensive mind.