13 January 2026
Jordan’s absence likely brings veteran Nick Chubb back into the fold in the backfield pecking order, although rookie Woody Marks appears to be in line for a hefty workload against the Steelers. There are no real surprises with the remainder of the inactives list out of Houston as they look to topple the Steelers on the road in the first week of the postseason.13 January 2026
A pair of rookies draw inactivity as both Wilson and Johnson are not active for the team’s Wildcard game against the Texans. The Steelers aim to avoid a one-and-done after backing into the postseason in Week 18.12 January 2026
Orr’s defining trait as a defensive coordinator in his two seasons in Baltimore was figuring out where Kyle Hamilton would play after a poor month, then letting him do that. With John Harbaugh fired, Orr’s job is obviously up in the air while the Ravens wait for a new head coach. Orr wouldn’t necessarily be a superb pivot for the Cowboys, but as we have often noted, it would be hard to do worse than Matt Eberflus did last year.12 January 2026
Havrisik hit 4-of-4 field goals and 7-of-9 extra points this year, and the Packers seemed to be developing him as kicker of the future — whatever that means in the NFL — while letting him stay on the practice squad. With Brandon McManus’ job officially under scrutiny, it’s possible he eventually gets the Packers kicker gig.
12 January 2026
2025 fifth-round pick Jordan Hancock replaced Poyer at safety and will likely be asked to do so going forward. The Bills don’t have much star-level talent on defense this year, so they’re asking a lot out of McDermott’s coaching to help them spring a road upset of the No. 1 seeded Broncos on Saturday.12 January 2026
Kincaid appeared to struggle to get up after his fourth-quarter touchdown catch and will likely be spotted on the injury report this week. That’s nothing unusual for Kincaid, who has been on it with a knee for weeks now. It’s possible Dawson Knox becomes a bigger part of the game plan this week, though practice reports will tell more of that story than we know right now.12 January 2026
The Bills will see if they can get him healthy enough to play against the Broncos in the divisional round. The 21-day window will open for Oliver when Buffalo next practices. McDermott gave the same update for Curtis Samuel, who somehow feels desperately needed with Gabe Davis lost to a torn ACL.12 January 2026
Finally a big name in this search. Gannon was more quirky than good as Eagles defensive coordinator, something he carried over with him in the desert as the unit spit out a 21st-place finish in defensive DVOA in 2025 after a ton of offseason investments in players like Josh Sweat and Will Johnson. Gannon would at least have more time to focus on calling a defense as a coordinator again.12 January 2026
12 January 2026
“By the time Week 1 rolls around, I’ll be 10 months post-surgery and hopefully bulletproofed by then,” Kraft told reporters. Green Bay’s TE1 had seemed to be becoming their main weapon as the middle of the season came around before his Week 9 ACL tear. The Packers passcatchers will remain a headache for fantasy managers to figure out if Matt LaFleur remains head coach, but at least Kraft will offer a TE1 floor even if the weekly target volume fluctuates.12 January 2026
A source tells Garafolo that Harbaugh likes “Cam Ward, $100m+ in cap space, high picks, new stadium, GM Mike Borgonzi.” The rest of the Titans roster, which feels downright barren, somehow is not mentioned in this rundown. But the fact that the sources are coming out on the timeline leads us to believe that when the Harbaugh interview roses go out, the Titans may still be in contention to grab one.12 January 2026
It’s the first known interview for Harbaugh, who apparently did not leak his schedule to the entire insider crew at NFL Network. It would make sense for him to view this as one of the most appealing jobs out there despite the unsettled nature of the quarterback position, as the Falcons tied for the NFC South “lead” at 8-9 this year and have stars like Bijan Robinson and Drake London on tap along with a rising defense. We suspect we’ll be blurbing a lot more about this Harbaugh character ...12 January 2026
Previously on Kevin O’Connell’s staff with Minnesota, Udinski took over as Jaguars offensive coordinator last offseason and appears to be on a rocket ship up the coaching ranks. The Jaguars struggled at the beginning of season, but eventually ended the year as one of the better offenses in the NFL. Udinski has no real playcalling experience as Liam Coen was Jacksonville’s playcaller and the (sigh) 30-year-old had never been higher than a lower level assistant prior to the 2024 season.12 January 2026
Whitecotton, who came over from the Jets staff under Robert Saleh, was reportedly instrumental in the Quinnen Williams trade. It is not known how Whitecotton would call a room as he has no NFL defensive coordinator experience, however, he’s not Matt Eberflus, so he has that going for him.12 January 2026
They were late to the game, but the Ravens are by our count now up to 12 head-coaching candidate interviews, trailing the Titans by four. Schwartz had an in-house interview with the Browns about a head-coaching elevation last week. He otherwise has not been contacted by an outside team. The former Lions head coach has been an excellent defensive coordinator over his last few stints in Philadelphia and Cleveland. This has shades of the return of Wade Phillips.12 January 2026
The former fifth-round Eagles wideout did not have any NFL playing time in 2024 after a 7/41/1 debut for the Eagles in 2024. He spent the whole year with the Panthers practice squad and could have a chance to battle with lower-rung receivers like Brycen Tremayne for a roster spot in 2026.12 January 2026
It’s the second interview for Jett Modkins in the coveted special teams coordinator cycle. We have blurbed both of them because it’s very pleasing to type Jett Modkins. Try it. The Buccaneers fired Thomas McGaughey after a season that concluded with them kicking the ball into the end zone because they were scared of returns (Todd Bowles’ actual words) and are likely hoping that Jett Modkins has answers for that. Jett Modkins.12 January 2026
Kingsbury has only been connected to the Titans and Ravens so far after the Commanders unceremoniously dumped him to elevate David Blough to offensive coordinator. We have not yet heard about any itinerary for Thailand for Kingsbury. It seems more likely that he finds a spot as an offensive coordinator than a head coach based on the early interest, but we’re not quite at the section of the offseason where Kingsbury is in danger of running out of spots.12 January 2026
That makes four interview requests for Minter, who already has heard from the Ravens, Titans, and Browns. He’s the seventh name on Las Vegas’ interview request list, joining Packers DC Jeff Hafley, Broncos DC Vance Joseph, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak, Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase and Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb. Minter’s defense did great work last night against Drake Maye, even if it ultimately didn’t lead to a win.12 January 2026
Zappe has the roster-joining ability of a young Tim Boyle. The Jets will hope to never have to go to Plan Zappe in a real game, though until they solve the position we guess we’re at “anything is possible.”
