The road to Super Bowl LX is down to the final four.
For the other 28 NFL franchises, the page has already turned to the future with dreams of rebuilding, reloading, and whatever else it takes to contend next January.
On Monday, several teams made key decisions that pulled back the curtain with a glimpse at how they plan to move forward this offseason.
The biggest move was the decision by the Buffalo Bills to part ways with Sean McDermott after he spent the last nine seasons as their head coach.
With McDermott out, three of the six longest tenured NFL head coaches entering the season have moved on.
The 10 head coach openings this offseason are tied for the most in a single offseason in NFL history.
Now the Bills search for their next head coach begins.
The Miami Dolphins hired Jeff Hafley to replace Mike McDaniels after he spent the past couple of seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers.
Hafley will be tasked with turning around a defence that allowed the worst completion percentage in the NFL to opposing quarterbacks last season.
The Tennessee Titans filled their head coaching vacancy with the hiring of Robert Saleh following his second tour as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.
The next step will be finding the pieces that can work with Saleh to fix an offence that ranked 30th in points per game and 31st in total yards per game this season.
As the NFL’s coaching carousel continued into the night, we got one final look at the projected first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft in quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
The Heisman Trophy winner Mendoza, who is considered an obvious favourite to go No. 1 at -7000 at FanDuel, capped off a remarkable final college season by leading Indiana to a 16-0 record and its first national title.
The Las Vegas Raiders own the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Raiders have hit the reset button again and will enter the 2026 NFL season with a new general manager, a new head coach, and a new franchise quarterback.
With so many key pieces being put in place, they better get it right beginning with the No. 1 pick in the draft.
First up, they need to find their next head coach.
Late last night, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the timing of the Bills’ decision to part ways with McDermott could hurt the Raiders as their search continues.
Las Vegas and Buffalo are among the many AFC teams that will enter the 2026 season with new head coaches.
The historic coaching overhaul will have a major impact on the future of the conference.
Let’s explore one potential scenario that could play out in this Morning Coffee for Tuesday January 20th, 2026.
Historic Coaching Overhaul Will Reshape AFC Landscape
The Indiana Hoosiers were 100-to-1 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship at FanDuel.
Five months later, Mendoza led Indiana to a 27-21 win over Miami in the title game to cap off one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NCAA football history.
The Hoosiers are the biggest longshot to win the FBS Championship dating back to at least 2001.
Indiana is the first first-time champion since Florida all the way back in 1996 and the second team in major college football history to finish 16-0, per ESPN.
Mendoza joined Derrick Henry, Joe Burrow, and DeVonta Smith on a short list of players that won the Heisman Trophy and the national championship since the playoff debuted back in 2014.
While he faced a tough test against a Miami defence that was able to pressure him on 32 per cent of his drop backs and hold him to 16-of-27 for 186 yards, Mendoza’s poise, toughness, and leadership was on display once again.
With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Mendoza scrambled for a 12-yard touchdown run that turned out to be the difference in the victory.
Now the 22-year-old Mendoza will turn his attention to the next chapter of his career with the NFL Draft in April.
At -7000 odds, FanDuel is giving Mendoza a 98.6 per cent implied probability to be No. 1 overall pick.
No other player in that market is shorter than +5500.
First up, the Raiders need to find their next head coach.
FanDuel opened with Brian Flores as the favourite for that job, but it was the second choice in their novelty market for the next head coach in Las Vegas that made the most sense to me.
Klint Kubiak is one of the hottest head coaching options on the market after the work he’s done as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.
https://x.com/BradyHenderson/status/2011974301503930848
Unfortunately, the most recent development in Buffalo could hurt the Raiders’ chances of landing one of the hottest head coaching candidates that will be available.
The 38-year-old Kubiak still has unfinished business to take care of in Seattle.
With the Seahawks set to face the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship this weekend, Kubiak’s priority focus is to make sure his offence is ready for their biggest game of the season.
Seattle is a 2.5-point favourite for the NFC Championship and remains the Super Bowl favourite at +150 at FanDuel.
Kubiak has an opportunity to win a Super Bowl ring.
With a record number of vacancies, there’s a potential scenario in which Kubiak helps the Seahawks win the Super Bowl, then has more than one option to become a first-time head coach in the NFL.
FanDuel made Kubiak the second choice in their market for the Raiders next head coach.
After the Bills parted ways with McDermott on Monday, FanDuel made Kubiak the third choice to be Buffalo’s next head coach at +470 odds.
Former Bills offensive coordinator and New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll remains the favourite to be the next head coach in Buffalo at +185.
Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb is the second choice in that market at +450 ahead of Kubiak.
Current Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is the fourth choice to be Buffalo’s next head coach at +500.
The more I considered the way the situation unfolded in Buffalo, the more convinced I became that barring a trip to the Super Bowl, the writing was on the wall to part ways with McDermott.
Sean McDermott is out in Buffalo. A defensive-minded head coach can’t survive with a defense that allows 31.6 points per game in 7 playoff losses. Could he have done better with the talent on the Bills roster? The person who assembled that roster has earned a promotion. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/509zr8Qf0t
— Domenic Padula (@Domenic_Padula) January 19, 2026
Prior to the arrival of McDermott and Brandon Beane, the Bills had missed the playoffs 17 seasons in a row.
Since their arrival, they’ve made the postseason in eight of nine seasons and become a perennial contender.
I believe Beane has a strong vision for who he wants his next head coach to be, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it was an offensive-minded rising star like Kubiak.
Whoever the Bills hire, it will have to be somebody that Josh Allen and the rest of the core players in that building believe deserves a shot over McDermott.
Kubiak already had six interviews during Seattle’s bye.
He’s at or near the top of the list of potential head coaches for several organizations.
The Raiders are on that list of teams that are interested.
However, Kubiak won’t have a better opportunity to win right away than with the Bills.
I’m fascinated to see who Buffalo hires as its head coach.
I also can’t wait to see who Las Vegas brings in as they hit the reset button again during a crucial offseason rebuild.
The Bills, Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns are all in the market for a new head coach.
How the NFL coaching carousel plays out will have a major impact on the AFC picture for years to come.
Whatever happens next, they better get it right.
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