To be candid: If organizations did a better job of hiring and supporting head coaches, there wouldn’t have been 10 job openings last month.

There have now been five consecutive hiring cycles with at least one coach fired within their first year on the job. In fact, the last time the NFL avoided a one-and-done coach in back-to-back hiring cycles was 2002 through 2005.

The rush to hire the right candidate is only outpaced by the rush to fire him, as the combination of impatience from ownership and organizational disarray is often far too much for any one person to overcome. It’s a perilous endeavor.

Newly minted Coach of the Year Mike Vrabel, coming off a Super Bowl appearance in his first season with the New England Patriots, was fired by the Tennessee Titans after the 2023 season. It’s not like he temporarily forgot how to coach. Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen, who finished second in the Coach of the Year voting, got one interview request last year, despite there being seven openings. Think the Las Vegas Raiders, who fired 74-year-old Pete Carroll after a 3-14 record, tied for worst in the league, would like a do-over?

Teams proudly pound the table over their process, but they rarely display the discipline to stick to it.

While it’s easy to look at the 10 new head coaches and decide which team made the best hire on paper, the reality is that no coach can overcome a bad situation, and a great organization can lift any coach.

“This isn’t a comment on the coach. It’s a comment on the match, the fit within the organization to be able to execute what they’re trying to do,” a team executive said. “These guys are all really good coaches. Do they have the resources? Does it fit with the personnel side? All that stuff is probably more important than whether he can coach.”

The Athletic asked a panel of nine coaches and executives to rank their top-five head-coaching hires of the cycle. Coaches received five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, three points for a third-place vote, two points for a fourth-place vote and one point for a fifth-place vote. Voters are not employed by any of the 10 teams that just hired a new head coach.

1. John Harbaugh, New York Giants (42 points, 6 first-place votes)

Harbaugh was the runaway winner, much like Vrabel was last year. His peers loved the hire.

The 63-year-old is coming off a remarkable 18-year run with the Baltimore Ravens, amassing a 193-124 record, including the playoffs. He won a Super Bowl and was integral in maintaining the organization’s stability between eras.

This is the Giants’ fifth head-coaching hire since 2016, which was the end of the Tom Coughlin era. Pat Shurmur was the only coach among the previous four hires with prior experience as a head coach. Clearly, the Giants were looking for someone who could recharge the power structure.

“Great coach,” a former head coach said of Harbaugh. “He has gotten the needed power in that organization. He will win.”

League evaluators are generally optimistic about quarterback Jaxson Dart’s potential. The Giants’ personnel has improved over the past year, so Harbaugh has a portion of his young core in place.

“Harbaugh seems like a really good fit,” a rival team executive said. “I think he’ll do well. They’ll be really good with their defensive personnel right away. I think they’ll take a Chargers-type of jump when Jim (Harbaugh) took over.”

John Harbaugh received six of the nine first-place votes in this poll; the other three respondents ranked him second.

2. Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta Falcons (25 points, 1 first-place vote)

Stefanski was the first coach since Marty Schottenheimer to bring the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs more than once. Simply put, the two-time Coach of the Year won for an organization that has never done so with consistency.

What if the Browns never saddled Stefanski with Deshaun Watson’s contract? That question has been prevalent while attempting to project Stefanski’s true potential as a head coach.

“Stefanski and (Falcons president of football) Matt Ryan’s relationship will have stability for an organization that has lacked it,” a former coach said. “He has already shown (he) can win with less. Just needs to fix the QB situation.”

While Stefanski is no longer in Cleveland, he still must navigate the unknown. Falcons owner Arthur Blank revamped his entire power structure after an organizational audit, so they’re off to a good start. Still, Ryan lacks experience and it’s unclear how the new structure will flow with all the new pieces, including Ian Cunningham as general manager.

The Falcons are expected to release quarterback Kirk Cousins, and 2024 first-rounder Michael Penix Jr. just suffered a third torn ACL. It’s rare to inherit a turnkey situation at quarterback, but Stefanski has to figure it out once again.

“He’s a really good coach,” an executive said. “He’s a really good person. I like their staff. There’s something (different) about that organization, about the upper management and the way it all mixes. There might be too many cooks in the kitchen to enact their process.”

Stefanski appeared on eight of the nine ballots and also received one second-place vote, four third-place votes and two fourth-place votes.

3. Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens (24 points, 1 first-place vote)

Minter had been Jim Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator for the past four years, including two at the University of Michigan and two with the Los Angeles Chargers. Minter also worked for the Ravens from 2017-2020. For an organization that’s thrived off consistency, the Ravens stuck to the formula with the Minter hire.

“Jesse Minter is probably the cleanest fit out of all of them, the closeness to the scheme,” said an executive who picked Minter as the best hire. “It feels like they went for a younger version of the coach they had, a mix of John Harbaugh and (former Ravens defensive coordinator and current Super Bowl champion) Mike Macdonald. Jesse is a stud. They were able to rewind it in a very seamless way. They’re minimizing the transition. That’s a really important thing to do when you’re making a hire. That’s an easy one.”

The Ravens have a franchise quarterback with Lamar Jackson and plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, though Minter will have to tweak a defense that regressed over two seasons since Macdonald’s departure.

“The best thing about this hire is the continuity of the organization,” a coach said. “It’s one of the best, if not the best, overall organizations. Just need to keep defense strong, kicking game elite and figure out getting over the hump with offense.”

Minter appeared on six of nine ballots and also received four second-place votes and a third-place vote.

4. Mike McCarthy, Pittsburgh Steelers (13 points)

The Steelers summoned the 62-year-old Pittsburgh native after his one-year sabbatical, and McCarthy will continue his distinguished coaching tour after leading the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys earlier in his career.

McCarthy knows how to establish culture and lead a program; he has a 185-123-2 record, including the playoffs. He led the Packers to a Super Bowl in 2010.

“McCarthy has won games everywhere he’s been,” an executive said. “It’s the coolest story ever to coach Green Bay, Dallas and Pittsburgh. He grew up there. It’s really cool. He’s a really good man. I assume they’ll play the same defense and same schematics. Can you fix the QB position and get some youth?”

The Steelers have cycled through quarterbacks since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, though McCarthy’s arrival could squeeze another season out of Aaron Rodgers. Regardless, the Steelers will be looking for a long-term answer, too. They also must get younger across the board.

No pressure, though. The Steelers have had three coaches since they hired a 37-year-old Chuck Noll in 1969. That led to a 34-year-old Bill Cowher in 1992 and a 34-year-old Mike Tomlin in 2007.

“Everyone expected a long-term hire, but Mike can be a great hire for the short term to get the organization in the right direction,” a coach said. “With or without Rodgers, he will be good to give the offense an identity.”

McCarthy appeared on six of nine ballots and received a second-place vote, two third-place votes and three fifth-place votes.

5. Jeff Hafley, Miami Dolphins (9 points)

Hafley made a fairly surprising move two years ago when he jumped from Boston College’s head coach to the Packers’ defensive coordinator; it seems like the jump was worth it. Like Stefanski with the Falcons, Hafley gets a clean slate with newly hired general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan.

“Hafley and Jon-Eric is the cleanest combo coming in together,” an executive said. “Hafley being a coach at BC is going to benefit him tremendously with this. I think that’s a really cool fit. They have a way to go with the roster.”

The Dolphins have to determine quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s future with the organization. If they move on, it could signify a total rebuild, which will be more difficult because of the salary-cap implications.

It will be integral for Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to give this duo a long runway to establish their system. But the organization has gone a quarter century without a playoff win, so it will have to keep tapping into that patience.

Hafley appeared on five ballots and received a third-place vote, two fourth-place votes and two fifth-place votes.

(tie) 6. Klint Kubiak, Las Vegas Raiders (7 points)

Kubiak’s profile had been on the rise for a couple of years; he did his best work during his lone season as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator in 2025. Kubiak maintained quarterback Sam Darnold’s ascension, turned wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba into the Offensive Player of the Year and kept his discipline with a physical rushing attack.

“From a football mind, an OC, Klint is a stud,” an executive said. “I think Klint will do great. Really good human, and he’s going to work his butt off. But there are institutional issues in Vegas.”

The Raiders have fired four head coaches since 2021. They had a new general manager in place at the start of the past three seasons. The roster has been constructed by too many people with too many different visions in too short a time — it’s fair to wonder if they need a total teardown before getting into the rebuild.

They do have the No. 1 pick in the draft, so the Raiders have the right of first refusal with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Kubiak should suit Mendoza’s playing style, so that’s a nice start. But the finish line is a long, long way down the road.

Kubiak appeared on four ballots and received three fourth-place votes and a fifth-place vote.

(tie) 6. Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans (7 points)

This was a fairly surprising hire, as the Titans veered away from an offensive-minded coach to pair with 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward. General manager Mike Borgonzi tapped into his Kansas City Chiefs roots during the process — Matt Nagy was under consideration — but the Titans chose Saleh.

The former New York Jets head coach and, most recently, the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator for a second time, Saleh also faces another long rebuild with the Titans. There’s uncertainty around the league as it relates to Ward’s potential, so it’s Saleh’s priority to turn the QB into a sure thing.

There are very real concerns about the power structure with ownership in Tennessee. The recent stretch of turnover at coach and GM has only amplified the skepticism.

“I thought they were going offense because of the QB,” an executive said. “(Saleh) is confident and organized. He’s going to put together a decent staff. But is the personnel side set up in a way for the head coach and pieces to have success? And will they have time to do it?”

Saleh appeared on three ballots and received a third-place vote and two fourth-place votes.

8. Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills (6 points, 1 first-place vote)

Sean McDermott was somewhat surprisingly fired after nine seasons, and the Bills replaced him with his offensive coordinator. Brady joined McDermott’s staff in 2022, so his fit with quarterback Josh Allen was the most obvious attraction.

Brady was on the fast track after working as LSU’s passing game coordinator in 2019, as Joe Burrow and company had one of the best seasons in college football history. He fell off the radar for a bit after the entire operation failed during his stint as the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator, but Brady has been an intriguing coaching candidate. Other teams had shown genuine interest.

Still, as the Bills showed once more, Allen can’t do it on his own.

“Brady obviously has a good relationship with the QB, so you’ll keep Josh happy,” an executive said. “But how much does that do?”

Brady appeared on two ballots and also received a fifth-place vote.

(tie) 9. Mike LaFleur, Arizona Cardinals, and Todd Monken, Cleveland Browns (0 points)

There’s just too much unknown with Monken, LaFleur and their respective organizations. Both are first-time, offensive-minded NFL head coaches coming from successful teams, and they’re joining two franchises that are perpetually rebuilding.

Without enough of a track record for the coaches and the organizations’ instability, it’s understandable why our panel took a wait-and-see approach with these hires.