Which NFL coaching candidates, including John Harbaugh, are the best fits for each opening?

The story with this head-coaching cycle was that it wasn’t a great one with an abundance of top-end candidates. That changed a bit when Kevin Stefanski and John Harbaugh were fired.

There are eight teams chasing a new head coach in this cycle, and while many of the openings aren’t that attractive, there are only 32 NFL head coaching jobs and they’re all in demand.

Here’s a list of the best fit between coaching candidates and each available opening, in our order of least attractive opening to most attractive:

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Miami Dolphins: Chris Shula

Maybe the Dolphins land John Harbaugh (we’ll get to him), which would be a home run for a franchise that is in for a major rebuild. But if they don’t land him, hiring the grandson of Dolphins royalty would be fun.

Shula, the grandson of Dolphins legendary coach Don Shula, has carved out a great career for himself as the Los Angeles Rams’ creative defensive coordinator. The Sean McVay tree has been pretty strong when it comes to producing head coaches. Maybe Shula wouldn’t want the pressure of coaching where his grandfather’s name is displayed in the stadium as part of the team’s ring of honor. But it would be a heck of a story, and Shula is a hot candidate for a reason.

Arizona Cardinals: Vance Joseph

Joseph has familiarity with Arizona, having served as the Cardinals defensive coordinator from 2019-2022. It was mostly a successful stint before a bad final season. After that, Joseph went back to the Broncos (where he was previously head coach) and has transformed Denver’s defense into one of the best in the NFL. That head-coaching experience might be attractive to the Cardinals.

Cleveland Browns: Jim Schwartz

When Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was asked if he wanted Schwartz, the team’s defensive coordinator the past three seasons, to remain with the organization he replied: "Absolutely. Great coach.” Since that’s the case, why not just promote him to head coach? Schwartz did that job before with the Detroit Lions. He has obvious familiarity with the Browns. And Cleveland’s defense hasn’t been a problem lately. If Haslam is serious about retaining Schwartz, it’s either as his next head coach or by convincing a new head coach to inherit Schwartz as his defensive coordinator, which is tricky. Maybe it’s best to cut out the middle man here.

Tennessee Titans: Matt Nagy

The Titans should be looking for an offensive-minded coach to work with Cam Ward, and Nagy is back getting head-coaching interviews this cycle after his time as Bears head coach didn’t work out great and he returned to the Chiefs as quarterbacks coach for a season and then their offensive coordinator for three seasons. Nagy does have an NFL Coach of the Year award and many years devising offenses, which the Titans should value in their search.

Las Vegas Raiders: Brian Flores

Flores hasn’t gotten many interview requests yet, and maybe the Raiders fit is too obvious. Flores used to be the New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator, and former Patriots quarterback and current Raiders limited owner Tom Brady is helping run the team’s coaching search. Maybe the failure of Josh McDaniels, another former Patriots assistant turned Raiders head coach, will turn off owner Mark Davis. Stories about Flores’ final days as Dolphins coach, and particularly criticism from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, might be problematic. But Flores is an excellent defensive mind. And while other owners might turn away from Flores due to his lawsuit against the NFL, the son of Al Davis (whose side hobby was suing the NFL) might not.

New York Giants: John Harbaugh

There are factors to taking a job other than who the quarterback is and what the current state of the roster looks like. Miami checks a lot of boxes for Harbaugh: South Florida is a nice place to live, there’s no state income tax, the Harbaugh family has some connections to Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Harbaugh can come in with a general manager instead of being hired by an incumbent who is on the hot seat.

But football-wise, the Giants opening blows away Miami, which seems to be the other serious suitor for Harbaugh. Whether or not you believe fully in Jaxson Dart he’s much better than whatever the Dolphins will have in a (likely) post-Tua Tagovailoa world. Also, the Dolphins roster as a whole is bad and they’re in as bad of a cap situation as you’ll find. The Giants are far from perfect, but their roster does have some exciting young talent. It’s just a matter of whether Harbaugh wants the best football situation or something else.

Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski

Stefanski got fired by the Browns and was immediately the top candidate on the board (at least until John Harbaugh was fired). The Falcons are an attractive opening, aside from quarterback questions. Stefanski, a two time NFL Coach of the Year, would come in with a new general manager, which is usually something head coaches covet. This would be a good hire for the Falcons.

Baltimore Ravens: Klint Kubiak

The Ravens haven’t yet lined up an interview with Kevin Stefanski. It seems they’re looking for a young coordinator. Kubiak is the hot name among offensive coordinators after a good season with the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks. He comes from a lineage of coaching; his dad Gary won a Super Bowl championship coaching the Broncos. And a new offensive mind to work with Lamar Jackson seems like a plus. The Ravens should be able to land just about anyone they want to be their head coach, and Kubiak is a hot name this offseason.