Super Bowl-winning coach John Harbaugh wants to keep coaching. There is no doubt he will continue to coach in 2026. This week will provide more clarity for Harbaugh and interested teams on where he will be next season.
Sources told CBS Sports that Harbaugh will soon set his interview schedule for the week. Sources from multiple teams say they are continuing their searches but are waiting to hear from Harbaugh so they can work on his schedule.
John Harbaugh scheduled to interview teams next week: Former Ravens head coach’s top three rankings
Tyler Sullivan
There are eight vacant head coaching positions in the league, including… The Baltimore Ravens, who fired Harbaugh last week, are next Nearly two decades in power. And there could be more.
Two sources with interested teams said their belief is that Harbaugh’s best options among the vacancies are the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, in some order. Those sources added that the Tennessee Titans are in third place, while a different third source said there is real and mutual interest between Harbaugh and the Cleveland Browns.
Reports about Harbaugh’s demands are inaccurate, according to an informed source. Harbaugh will command a high salary based simply on his resume, and a certain level of the roster says it’s inherent to attract a coach of that caliber. But a $20 million salary demand and full roster control is not required to acquire Harbaugh’s services.
Other teams will do what they can to force their way into the mix for Harbaugh. Of course, the bigger question is whether other jobs will be available.
Matt LaFleur’s future in Green Bay takes center stage in the film NFL. He went 76-40-1 all-time in Green Bay, and he made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons there. But he has been the No. 7 seed in each of the past three years with just one win, and is coming off a tough loss to the rival Chicago Bears on Saturday in which his team blew a 21-3 halftime lead.
Next season is the last on LaFleur’s contract, and new Packers CEO Ed Policy has said he doesn’t want someone coaching in a down year. So it looks like the Packers will either extend LaFleur or part ways with him via a fire or trade.
In theory, time is ticking on Green Bay’s decision. With a quarter of the league’s head coaching jobs available and everyone else already in the interview process, the Packers won’t want to start too late if they have to conduct a coaching search this cycle. Trading LaFleur would present other challenges that also depend on timing.
Green Bay has big questions to answer after ending the season with its largest lead in playoff history
Garrett Buddell
Trading LaFleur means the Packers would have to trade the rights to his contract to another team in exchange for what would almost certainly be a first or second round pick. Since he is entering the final year of his contract, an extension must go through with the new team. LaFleur, who can’t talk to other teams, will have to evaluate this team himself. Such a maneuver could not be done in mere days after a playoff collapse.
“Tracking him instead of trading him would be ridiculous,” one NFC executive said Sunday. “I don’t really know who you hire it might as well be Green Bay. But I definitely shouldn’t be paying him to work for someone else next year.”
If the Packers and LaFleur parted ways, both would be at or near the top of their respective rankings. In Green Bay, the organization projects as one of the most successful and stable franchises in all of sports with a true quarterback and the pieces that make them a perennial playoff contender. LaFleur, 46, would be a hot coaching candidate thanks to his success in Green Bay and ability to call offensive plays as a head coach.
Right now, multiple sources polled across the league have the Ravens, Giants and Falcons as the top three jobs in some order.
The NFL has been aiming to slow down the recruiting process in recent years, and it has generally succeeded. Coaches on playoff teams still have to balance preparing for their postseason opponent and interviewing for a chance to change their lives, but teams are starting to recruit later in January (and February) than they did four or more years ago.
Only one of the eight with vacancies can hire a head coach at the moment based on NFL rules, which mostly focus on interviews with various coaches.
As part of the Rooney Rule, the NFL requires teams to interview at least two outside candidates who come from diverse backgrounds. Established in 2002, the Rooney Rule has been modified and expanded in recent years as a way to help qualified minority candidates get the opportunities they deserve. (The Giants have already interviewed Raheem Morris and Antonio Pierce in person and could hire a coach any time now.)
Interviews with coaches currently working for other teams cannot begin until January 19, immediately after the qualifying round. Recent history suggests appointments would begin in earnest that week. But the team could strike sooner than that.
Last year, the Patriots hired Mike Vrabel on January 12th. New England ended its season on January 4, fired Jerrod Mayo within hours of the season ending, then quickly set up interviews with outside minority candidates who weren’t in the league at the time — and still aren’t today — in order to clear the way for Vrabel’s hiring. Even though they landed one of the top candidates on the market who led them to a huge turnaround in year one, the Patriots were criticized both publicly and privately for how they handled the search.
For a team to hire Harbaugh, or any other coach, or potentially trade for a coach like LaFleur, they must conduct at least these two in-person interviews. This has not happened yet with any club yet.