John Harbaugh’s Plans to Watch QB Film Hint at His ’Realistic’ Landing Spots

Where will the former Ravens coach end up?

John Harbaugh is looking for his next coaching gig after getting fired by Baltimore on Tuesday. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Just a few days after shockingly getting fired by the Ravens on a phone call, John Harbaugh is wasting no time getting back into the film room.

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported Saturday that Harbaugh plans to spend the next few days watching film of Titans quarterback Cam Ward and Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart—two signal-callers who just wrapped up their rookie seasons playing for organizations with an opening at head coach.

Harbaugh significantly shook up the NFL’s 2026 edition of the coaching carousel when he was fired Tuesday, one day after the league’s traditional “Black Monday” that is infamous for firing coaches. He immediately became a top candidate for seven of the NFL’s eight open head coaching jobs (excluding the Ravens, of course) with the Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants, Raiders and Titans looking to hire a new leader on the sidelines.

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Over 18 seasons with the Ravens, Harbaugh logged a 180–113 record. He led Baltimore to the playoffs in 12 of those 18 campaigns and won Super Bowl XLVII with a 34–31 victory over his brother Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers in New Orleans. In a coaching cycle lacking much experience or many red-hot coordinators looking to take the next step (like Bears coach Ben Johnson last year), Harbaugh should have his choice of the job he wants.

Of course, a big factor in that decision will be the situation at quarterback. The Giants and Titans both feature a 2025 first-round pick under center who showed a bit of promise as rookies. Ward, in 17 games, averaged 186.4 passing yards per game, threw for 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and logged an 80.2 passer rating. Dart, the No. 25 pick in ‘25, started 12 games and threw for an average of 162.3 yards per game with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions—adding up to a 91.7 passer rating.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer listed the Giants and Titans among the four “realistic” landing spots for Harbaugh as it stands Saturday.

On John Harbaugh—no interviews this weekend, he'll start this coming week. Sources say 6 teams reached out right away, Miami made it 7 last night. He won't interview with them all.

So I'd see the realistic landing spots, as of now, as the Giants, Dolphins, Titans and Falcons.

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 10, 2026

Another intriguing quarterback situation is in Las Vegas, which owns the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft and will have the chance to select the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Falcons have talent all across the roster but feature the inconsistent Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, while the Cardinals, Dolphins and Browns all have big question marks at the position heading into 2026.

Based on quarterbacks alone, the Giants, Raiders and Titans do provide some significant upside over the other four teams. We’ll see if Harbaugh likes what he sees while breaking down the Ward and Dart tape as he begins his search for another job.

NFL teams interested in interviewing John Harbaugh

Breer reported Saturday that all seven teams that could potentially be interested in hiring Harbaugh have reached out for an interview. The Dolphins, who notably waited to fire Mike McDaniel until after Harbaugh became the final team to join that mix on Friday night

Breer also noted that Harbaugh will begin to interview for jobs next week. He’ll likely be watching his brother Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers battle the Patriots in the wild-card round Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

Here’s a full list of teams to reach out to John Harbaugh for an interview, per Breer:

• Atlanta Falcons
• Arizona Cardinals
• Cleveland Browns
• Las Vegas Raiders
• Miami Dolphins
• New York Giants
• Tennessee Titans

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