Inside The Star
The AFC North is notorious for its high level of competition. Until this year, which saw both the Browns and Bengals fall victim to losing seasons, the division had a three-year streak with three out of four teams having a winning record.
Joe Burrow’s arrival in Cincinnati, Lamar Jackson’s dominance in Baltimore, and Mike Tomlin’s consistency in Pittsburgh have given the AFC North one heck of a run in the 2020s.
Cleveland has even seen two successful seasons in the decade, with now former Head Coach Kevin Stefanski winning Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2023.
2025, of course, hasn’t been as kind to the North, and they now have three head coach openings as a result.
Tomlin stepped down after a blowout Wild Card loss, despite winning the division title and finishing with a 19th-straight winning season; John Harbaugh was fired in Baltimore for failing to win the big one time and time again; Kevin Stefanski was let go after two poor seasons in a row.
In short, all eyes are on this division in January, but not for the postseason. Fans everywhere are fascinated by the AFC North’s coaching carousel, and here, I’ll give you the best three candidates for each job.
The second the Lamar Jackson-led Ravens announced they were firing Harbaugh, they became the premier destination for any head coach opening this year.
It is an organization that is highly respected, from top to bottom, and has the kind of roster you almost never see in the coaching carousel; this means they will have their choice of just about whoever they want.
In a rare press conference, Baltimore’s owner, Steve Bisciotti, laid out some potential hints that could point in the direction of where they want to go with that wide array of options.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said he won't rule out any candidate who had a losing record in their previous stint as a head coach.
"We are keen to their circumstance," Bisciotti said.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 13, 2026
Bisciotti specifically named former head coaches who didn’t receive a fair shake from their original team; if you’ve paid attention to the main candidates of the cycle, you know who he is referring to.
Generally, that list is Robert Saleh, Brian Flores, Kevin Stefanski, and Mike McDaniel.
Within that group, I see Saleh and Flores emerging to the top, with Stefanski likely headed to Atlanta and McDaniel not seeming like a great fit in “B-More.” While Flores, the former Dolphins HC and Vikings DC, is the betting favorite, I’m predicting Saleh as the Ravens man.
His tenure with the Jets was a rough one, but who doesn’t have a hard time in that building? This guy is a great defensive mind and culture builder; that’s...
