When the Baltimore Ravens take the field for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, they will have someone other than John Harbaugh leading the charge for the first time since 2008.
That's right, after 180 regular-season wins, numerous playoff appearances, and a Super Bowl win to boot, the Ravens decided to move on from Harbaugh and turn the page in their franchise's history, but who should the team hire as only their fourth head coach ever?
When it comes to internal options, there really isn't an obvious choice, with Todd Monken's offense a big reason why Harbaugh was fired in the first place, and Zach Orr's defense a notable downgrade from his predecessor, Mike MacDonald. Granted, Harbaugh himself was hired as a defensive backs coach with the Philadelphia Eagles after spending over a decade coaching special teams units around the NFL, but unless they go with a left field choice like Willie Taggart, who was the head coach at South Florida, Oregon, Florida State, and Florida Atlanic before landing in Baltimore as a runningbacks coach and evenetual assistant head coach, the options will mostly come from outside of the organization one way or the other.
Fortunately, there are more than a few interesting external options who could help to set the Ravens up for success into the future, amid their current regime and into the future, when players like Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry are prepping their cases for the Hall of Fame. With a .500 record caliber roster already in place and an opportunity to inject some new blood into a new scheme in both free agency and the NFL Draft, the Ravens have a chance to remain good or even take a step forward in 2026 if they pick the right head coach, of which there are more than a few interesting options around the league.
Why the Ravens should hire Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach
After saying goodbye to a former Coach of the Year with extensive experience coaching in the AFC North, would the Ravens really consider hiring a coach coming off a four-win season? Nine times out of ten, the answer to that question is probably not, but Kevin Stefanski might just be the exception to that rule.
Coming up in the Minnesota Vikings organization, where he coached one position or another on the offensive side of the ball from 2006-2019, Stefanski has been inarguably the greatest Cleveland Browns head coach this century, and he has the numbers to prove it.
Since being reincorporated in 1999 after the old Browns ironically enough became the Ravens, Stefanski has coached Cleveland to two of their three playoff appearances since, taking the team to the Divisional Round in 2020 and the Wildcard Round in 2023. Stefanski unlocked Baker Mayfield offensively, leaned on Bradley Chubb as his lead rusher, and even made it to the playoffs with another Baltimore connection, Joe Flacco, as his quarterback when many thought his career was cooked.
Is Stefanski perfect? No, he was rightfully criticized for how he handled the Shedeur Sanders situation in 2025, but as a general rule, Stefanski is considered a very good head coach who is willing to make the most of the talent he has on his roster. Give him a top-tier quarterback and a roster that doesn't have Deshaun Watson taking up $80.7 million(!!!) of dead cap space in 2026, and the Ravens might just be able to return to the playoffs as the Browns again wonder how to get their franchise back on track.
Why the Ravens should hire Raheem Morris as their next head coach
Going from one team that lost their playoff spot in Week 18 to another that finished out the regular season one game out of the postseason, the Atlanta Falcons said goodbye to Raheem Morris despite some notable opposition from their star players.
After some early struggles as his team transitioned from an offense built around statuesque Kirk Cousins to second-year first-round pick Michael Pennix Jr., the Falcons won their final four games of the season by a +13 point diferential, taking care of playoff hopefuls like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams, in addition to fellow top-10 selecting teams like the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints.
Had the Falcons won just one more game like their shocking defeat to the New York Jets back in November, they would be preparing for the five seed in the playoffs against the Rams, who they beat in Week 17, but instead, Arthur Blank decided to clean house and look forward to a different future, leaving Morris to find a new role as either a head coach or a defensive coordinator elsewhere.
During his time in Los Angeles, Morris assembled a Super Bowl-caliber defense that made life easier for Matthew Stafford. While that didn't necessarily transfer to Atlanta, especially in 2025, Morris was able to keep his players together when their record said their season was likely over after Thanksgiving. He could restore the defensive standard Ravens fans have come to expect from Baltimore, and could potentially even bring over Zac Robinson from Atlanta to remain in place as his offensive coordinator, placing Jackson in a Rams-adjacent offense that could see his talents shine.
Is Morris as polished as, say, Robert Saleh? No, but he, too, came a few plays away from coaching a playoff game in Week 19 and could thrive with an organization that has long-term stability in mind, instead of one worried about every win deciding the fate of a program after less than 40 games.
