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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. NFL training camps are in full swing, and as teams ease back into on-field drills and practices in the dead of the summer, football fans have a reason to rejoice.
The preseason officially begins when the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers face off in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Aug. 6 on NBC. The rest of the first week of the preseason kicks off the following week on Aug. 13.
As the start of the NFL regular season inches closer (Sept. 9), we are continuing to look at key offseason storylines for each of the league’s 32 teams. We’ve already looked at the top position battles to watch, rookies with the best chance of winning a starting job, and the players in the most danger of being cut, and now we shift our focus to the coaches.
We’ve already ranked the top quarterback and wide receiver rooms by division, and next up, we’re power ranking the head coaches in each division. Next up is the AFC South.
DeMeco Ryans is the gold standard of head coaches in the AFC South. Taking over three years ago as a first-time head coach, Ryans has led the Texans to a 32-19 record with two division titles, three playoff appearances, and three playoff wins.
Houston went 12-5 under Ryans last year, and after adding some solid talent in guards Keylan Rutledge and guard Wyatt Teller, defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, safety Reed Blankenship, and offensive tackle Braden Smith, another 12-win season is definitely doable this year.
I know this one might be controversial, but I’m one of those who believe Saleh wasn’t to blame for everything that went wrong with the Jets. Even with all the turmoil, roster turnover, and an owner that has shown he doesn’t know what he’s doing half the time, Saleh still managed to win 20 games in three-and-a-half years.
With the impressive job he did in two stints as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, Saleh had teams lining up to interview him this offseason. He chose Tennessee because of Cam Ward, and I expect him to have much better results than he did in New York.
Yes, Liam Coen led the Jaguars to a 13-4 record in his first season with the team. But Jacksonville had an easy schedule backloaded with teams with sub-par records including the Arizona Cardinals, Titans (twice), New York Jets, and the Indianapolis Colts (twice) quarterbacks by Riley Leonard and Philip Rivers.
The Jaguars have a talented roster, and Coen has shown he’s at least an above-average coach. But if he proves last year wasn’t a fluke and leads the Jags to another 13-win season and division title, then he will likely be No. 1 on this list in 2027.
In three seasons in Indianapolis, Shane Steichen is one game below .500 (25-26 record) and the Colts haven’t made one postseason appearance. Indy has finished in third place in the division twice, and there’s no reason to think they won’t have a similar fate next year.
The division has two great teams in Houston and Jacksonville, and another in Tennessee that’s on the rise. Steichen hasn’t shown he’s anything more than average at this point, and he’s the one coach in the division who could be without a job next year.
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