NFL Hiring Cycle Ends: LaFleur to Cardinals, League ‘Shut Out’ of Black Head Coaches

TEMPE, Ariz. — The door officially slammed shut on Sunday. With the Arizona Cardinals handing the keys to Mike LaFleur, the 2026 NFL hiring cycle is complete. Ten vacancies. Ten hires. Zero Black head coaches.

The final puzzle piece fell into place when the Cardinals inked LaFleur to a five-year deal, snagging the Rams offensive coordinator to fix a broken offense. But the headline isn’t just who got the job it’s who didn’t. For the first time in recent memory, despite a double-digit number of openings, the league failed to hire a single Black head coach.

The ‘Shut Out’: A Cycle of Safe Bets and Retreads

The numbers are jarring. This cycle swung violently between the “Old Guard” and the “Young Offensive Minds,” leaving minority candidates in the cold. You saw the New York Giants retread the tires on Super Bowl winner John Harbaugh, while the Pittsburgh Steelers replaced Mike Tomlin with Mike McCarthy—swapping one veteran face for another.

Meanwhile, the “Sean McVay Tree” continues to bear fruit. Mike LaFleur (Cardinals) and Klint Kubiak (Raiders) represent the league’s obsession with young, offensive-adjacent play callers. But this obsession has a casualty count.

Mike Jones of The Athletic didn’t mince words regarding the results. The veteran NFL writer blasted the process, calling out owners for constantly shifting the qualifications required for Black candidates.

“Shut out. Happy Black History Month! … None of them want a job BECAUSE they’re black. They want their work to speak for itself. But the league’s owners continue to move the goal posts on them for what makes a man qualified for HC. They display true excellence, and then see mediocrity rewarded.” — Mike Jones, The Athletic

The Final 10: Who Went Where

Here is the official scorecard for the 2026 cycle. Note the mix of defensive stalwarts finally getting a shot and the predictable offensive pivots.

• Arizona Cardinals: Mike LaFleur (formerly Rams OC)
• Atlanta Falcons: Kevin Stefanski (formerly Browns HC)
• Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter (formerly Chargers DC)
• Buffalo Bills: Joe Brady (promoted from OC)
• Cleveland Browns: Todd Monken (formerly Ravens OC)
• Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak (formerly Seahawks OC)
• Miami Dolphins: Jeff Hafley (formerly Packers DC)
• New York Giants: John Harbaugh (formerly Ravens HC)
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy (formerly Cowboys HC)
• Tennessee Titans: Robert Saleh (formerly 49ers DC)

Playoff Implications / What’s Next

The pressure shifts immediately to the owners’ boxes. With the Rooney Rule intended to prevent exactly this scenario, expect the NFL league office to face intense scrutiny leading up to the Spring Meetings. On the field, the spotlight burns hottest on Jesse Minter in Baltimore and Joe Brady in Buffalo. Minter has the impossible task of replacing a legend in Harbaugh, while Brady must prove he’s not just a stop-gap for a Bills team desperate to get over the hump.

For the Black assistants who were passed over—names like Ejiro Evero and Aaron Glenn—the message from this cycle is loud, clear, and frustratingly familiar: Wait ’til next year.