Falcons have best open head coach job to offer John Harbaugh

Harbaugh surely will be pursued by the Falcons, Titans, Giants, Browns, Raiders and Cardinals. During Harbaugh’s 18 years in Baltimore, the Ravens were division champions six times and made the playoffs six other times. Harbaugh’s Ravens won the 2013 Super Bowl.

He has the best chance of continuing to win with the Falcons. The other five jobs outside of Baltimore all will require some level of rebuilding.

The Falcons and Ravens both just finished 8-9. The Falcons tied for first in the NFC South. The Steelers (10-7) beat the Ravens on Sunday night to end Baltimore’s two-year reign at the top of the AFC North.

The other five teams finished last in their divisions. The Titans, Raiders and Cardinals finished with 3-14 records. The Giants finished 4-13 and the Browns finished 5-12.

The Falcons have less draft capital than the other teams looking to hire a head coach. Most of them are projected to have more space under the salary cap. The decision-makers for those teams can sell head coach candidates on what they could do with the players they will draft and sign in the future.

But that’s speculative. Building a team with draft picks takes time. Doing it through free agency is a crapshoot, and mistakes made with big contracts compound over time.

Harbaugh would have a real chance to make the 2026 playoffs with the roster the Falcons have now. Heck, he could guide the Falcons to the postseason simply by fixing their special teams after mistakes by those units cost them in several games. Harbaugh was an NFL special-teams coordinator for nine seasons before becoming a head coach.

The Falcons also have underachieved on offense, considering their talent. They ranked 24th in points scored this season. It shouldn’t be hard to persuade Harbaugh that he can do better with a unit featuring two young stars, running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London.

The Ravens have a huge advantage at quarterback over the Falcons and every other team searching for a head coach. But the Falcons’ quarterback situation is no worse than the other teams seeking head coaches.

Kirk Cousins almost certainly is on the way out. Michael Penix Jr. is recovering from ACL surgery. Penix has shown flashes of being a good starter over 12 career starts, but the next coach will have to coax more consistent performances from him.

In Tennessee, No. 1 pick Cam Ward had a rough rookie season at quarterback. Raiders QB Geno Smith looked over the hill for the second year in a row. The Browns are still paying the price for acquiring Deshaun Watson (Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders won’t save them from that mistake).

Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had a solid rookie season. He and fellow rookie Cam Skattebo formed an intriguing pair before the running back suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8. I’d still take Penix, Robinson and London over Dart, Skattebo and Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (the latter may not be ready for Week 1 after knee surgery).

The Falcons can show Harbaugh that they have a defense on the rise. An offseason revamp helped them improve from 23rd in points allowed in 2024 to 19th in 2025. The Browns ranked 14th in scoring defense this season. The Raiders, Titans, Cardinals and Giants all ranked 25th or worse.

Crucially, the Falcons finally produced an effective pass rush. They set a franchise record with 57 sacks. Young players led the way: James Pearce Jr. (10½ sacks) and Jalon Walker (5½) were rookies, and Brandon Dorlus (8½ sacks) was a quasi-rookie after playing only 19 snaps in 2024.

The Falcons have the player talent necessary to win the NFC South. None of the division’s other three teams are good enough to pull away from the pack in 2026. What the Falcons don’t have is much flexibility to add player talent.

Ex-general manager Terry Fontenot traded away picks in the first and fifth rounds for this year. Per Spotrac, the Falcons are projected to have about $38 million in cap space for 2026. They likely will use most of that to re-sign the free agents they want to retain.

The Falcons mostly will count on improvement from their many good young players to make a run at the 2026 division title. The other teams looking for a head coach have more ways to reshape the roster with player acquisitions. That’s especially the case for the Raiders, Titans and Browns.

The Raiders own the No. 1 overall draft pick and two extra picks in the fourth round. They are projected to have the second-most cap space in the NFL ($110 million). But the Raiders will have to overcome their reputation as a dysfunctional organization.

The Titans are projected to have the most cap space ($113 million) and have the No. 4 pick. The Browns are projected to have only $3 million in cap space, but they have two picks in the first round (including No. 6 overall) and three in the fifth.

It’s possible that Harbaugh and other head coach candidates believe they would get the benefit of more patience with those teams. I wouldn’t count on it.

The shelf life for losing NFL coaches is short, even for so-called rebuilding teams. If the expectations are to make the playoffs in every NFL city, then it’s better to coach a team that has a real chance of doing it now.

The Ravens are best positioned to do that among the teams looking for a head coach. The Falcons are second in line. They should go all-out to sell Harbaugh on their plan while hoping the Packers or Bills don’t fire their head coaches in the coming days.