8. Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans
Robert Saleh has clearly established one thing as absolute truth: He's a phenomenal defensvie coordinator. The question he has to answer in 2026 is simple: Is he capable of being a phenomenal head coach?
Unlike his time with the New York Jets, Saleh has a franchise quarterback to build around. The Jets tried while Saleh was there with players like Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, but the vision never came to fruition, and even with some great defenses in New York, the offense simply couldn't give those teams any semblance of balance.
There's an element of unknown with Cam Ward in Tennessee, but he's expected to skyrocket in 2026 and Saleh could be a Coach of the Year candidate in his first year with Tennessee. The second stint as a head coach is expected to go much better in Saleh's case.
7. Liam Coen, Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars sort of backed into Liam Coen as their head coach, and it appears they made the right call last offseason to move on from GM Trent Baalke. There was a whole saga with the Jaguars trying to hire Coen, the Bucs trying to keep him, and Coen not wanting to work with Baalke.
Ultimately, owner Shad Khan made the right call to go with Coen (and fire Baalke), who took the Jaguars not only from the depths of the AFC to the playoffs, but from the depths of the AFC to the AFC South division title. And going forward, that will be the expectation.
Coen put Trevor Lawrence in position to at least be somewhere in the NFL MVP conversation, even if it's a longshot at this point. He got the most out of the roster last year, to the point that the Jaguars appeared years ahead of schedule. We'll see how he can do this season without a key weapon: Travis Etienne.
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