21. Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys
Brian Schottenheimer and the Dallas Cowboys did find themselves in the mix for the NFC East title during the 2025 season, but that defense just could not hold up. Where we did see Schottenheimer make strides is the offense. Dallas ranked inside the top-10 in points per game, and with this revamped defense, we could be looking at one of the more complete teams in the NFC this year.
The longtime assistant has coached a ton in the NFL, and seeing as his first year on the job was far from a disaster, it makes you optimistic that the 2026 season could be a positive step. But, once again, like other coaches ranked in this tier, we simply can't rank him any higher until that jump happens.
20. Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders
Dan Quinn is now a mediocre 17-17 as the Washington Commanders head coach, but he did help this team win 12 games in 2024 and get within one game of the Super Bowl. A lot of that progress was erased with the 5-12 season in 2025, but we did see just how good this team could be under Quinn, so better injury luck could help Washington hit that double-digit win milestone in 2026, which is something Quinn has done in his previous head coaching stint with the Falcons.
19. Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens
The former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator does have a great shot at immediate success with the Baltimore Ravens given how stable everything is. The Ravens dealt with a mind-blowing amount of injuries to start the 2025 season, and history would tell us something like that just won't be as aggressive in 2026, so this team could be coasting their way to another double-digit win season.
Minter was also a top DC with the Chargers in 2024 and 2025.
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