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Earlier this week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler dropped his Week 3 notebook, which included some buzz about some coordinators who are drawing early interest in the head coaching market. Obviously, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was named.
“While the coaching carousel won’t spin for another three-plus months, some are making early cases to get on the ride. A group of up-and-coming defensive coordinators could get harder looks from teams filling head coaching roles. Jeff Hafley (Packers), Chris Shula (Rams) and Jesse Minter (Chargers) were not heavily featured in this past cycle, but don’t be shocked if that changes. All three coaches have their defenses in the top five in total scoring through two weeks. Packers coach Matt LaFleur firmly believes Hafley has what it takes to be a head coach as early as 2026. Shula is on the NFL league offices’ radar as a prime candidate. And Minter has done an impressive job for Jim Harbaugh dating back to 2024.”
Last year, the only team that interviewed Hafley for a head coaching position was the New York Jets. At the time, LaFleur admitted the NFL’s lack of interest in Hafley as a head coaching candidate surprised him. Now, Packers fans seem to be accepting the idea that Hafley will be gone at the end of the year…but I’m not so sure.
If you examine the teams that are struggling right now, most of them have young coaches or are undergoing tactical rebuilds, such as the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans. It’s unlikely that those teams will make a move at head coach after the 2025 season.
So which jobs are actually going to come open? I think the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants are a safe bet. After that? I’m not so sure I can pin down a third team.
Could the Pittsburgh Steelers make a change with Mike Tomlin’s lack of playoff success? Sure, but that’s certainly not a lock at this point if he can go around .500. The Carolina Panthers might move on from Dave Canales after just two years, but he’s 2-3 in his last five and 4-7 in his last 11. We’ve certainly seen a lot worse starts get a coach a third season at the helm.
If you look at first coach fired odds, Mike McDaniel (Dolphins) and Brian Daboll (Giants) are number one and two, but things get really murky after that. The next group of coaches are the types that we’ve already touched on: Kevin Stefanski (Browns), Canales and Brian Callahan (Titans).
So don’t put the cart in front of the horse so quickly, Packers fans. We could see a pretty quiet coaching carousel this season. Even if Hafley is a head coaching candidate of interest, there’s no promise that he’ll be whisked away at the end of the year. In the meantime, enjoy the high-level defense.
