Here Are All The Black NFL Head Coaches In 2026 - Page 3

For a league where Black athletes have long made up a significant portion of the players on the field, the NFL’s history with Black men calling the shots from the sideline is considerably more complicated. More than a century ago, Fritz Pollard became the first Black head coach in league history in 1921, serving as player-coach of the Akron Pros. It would then take another 68 years before Art Shell became the first Black head coach of the modern NFL era when the Los Angeles Raiders promoted him in 1989.

Since then, names like Tony Dungy, Dennis Green, Lovie Smith, Marvin Lewis, Jim Caldwell and Mike Tomlin have helped knock down doors while proving that Black coaches could build contenders and lead teams deep into January. Dungy became the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl following the 2006 season, while Tomlin followed shortly afterward and eventually became one of the longest-tenured and most consistent coaches of his generation.

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Still, progress has hardly moved in a straight line. The NFL introduced the Rooney Rule in 2003, originally requiring teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching openings, and the policy has expanded significantly since then. Yet the number of Black men actually receiving those jobs continues to fluctuate.

The 2026 offseason offered another reminder. There were 10 head coaching vacancies, but not one was filled by a Black coach. That came after the departures of two prominent Black coaches: Atlanta fired Raheem Morris following the 2025 season, while longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons without ever posting a losing record. Miami also fired Mike McDaniel, who is biracial.

That leaves only three Black head coaches entering the 2026 NFL season: DeMeco Ryans, Todd Bowles and Aaron Glenn. All three enter the year in dramatically different situations, ranging from a legitimate AFC contender to teams looking for major bounce-back seasons. Here’s a closer look at the Black head coaches leading NFL teams in 2026.

Todd Bowles — Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Todd Bowles is easily the most experienced Black head coach currently running an NFL team. After serving as Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator from 2019 through 2021 — including the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV championship season — Bowles replaced Bruce Arians as head coach in 2022. The 2026 campaign will be his fifth season leading Tampa Bay.

Bowles enters this season needing a rebound. Tampa Bay jumped out to a 6-2 start in 2025, but injuries piled up and the Buccaneers eventually finished just 8-9, losing the NFC South on a tiebreaker and missing an opportunity to win a fourth consecutive division title. According to the team, Buccaneers starters collectively missed 104 games because of injuries during the season.

Tampa Bay elected to keep Bowles but made significant changes around him, including reshaping all three phases of his coaching staff. That makes 2026 an important year for the veteran coach. The Buccaneers have been one of the NFC South’s most consistent teams in recent years, but Bowles will need to prove that last season’s collapse was an injury-fueled detour instead of the beginning of a larger decline.

Aaron Glenn — New York Jets

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Aaron Glenn during his first year as an NFL head coach. Glenn returned to the organization that originally drafted him in the first round back in 1994, taking over the Jets in 2025 after four seasons as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator. His connection to the franchise runs deep: Glenn spent eight seasons playing for the Jets and later worked two years in their scouting department.

Unfortunately, the reunion started with a nightmare season. New York finished 3-14 in 2025, its worst record since 2020, after beginning the year with seven consecutive losses. Perhaps even more shocking for a team coached by a former Pro Bowl cornerback and respected defensive coordinator, the Jets went the entire season without recording an interception.

Glenn now gets an opportunity to show what Year 2 can look like. The Jets added former Colts and Panthers head coach Frank Reich as offensive coordinator, reshaped portions of the roster and entered the offseason armed with significant draft capital after dealing stars Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams during the previous season.

Nobody should expect Glenn to transform a three-win team overnight, but noticeable progress will be important. After a difficult debut season, 2026 is about establishing an identity, developing young talent and showing the Jets have finally found a coach capable of building something sustainable.

DeMeco Ryans — Houston Texans

Few coaches in football have built a stronger résumé over the last three years than DeMeco Ryans. The former Texans linebacker returned to Houston as head coach in 2023 and almost immediately transformed a rebuilding franchise into a perennial playoff team. Through his first three seasons, Houston has made the playoffs three straight times and reached the Divisional Round in every one of them.

The 2025 season may not have been his most impressive coaching job yet. Houston started 0-3, eventually fell to 3-5 and then caught fire, finishing the regular season 12-5. The Texans won their first road playoff game in franchise history by beating Pittsburgh 30-6 before falling to New England in the Divisional Round. Houston’s defense also finished first in the NFL in yards allowed per game and second in scoring defense.

By now, simply making the playoffs isn’t enough. Ryans has helped completely change the expectations in Houston, and the next hurdle is obvious: getting C.J. Stroud and company beyond the Divisional Round and into the AFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.

The numbers tell the bigger story. More than 100 years after Fritz Pollard broke the NFL’s coaching color barrier, just three of the league’s 32 teams will open the 2026 season with a Black head coach. Ryans has Houston chasing championships, Bowles is trying to get Tampa Bay back on track and Glenn is hoping to turn around one of football’s most frustrated franchises.

They’ll each be judged by wins and losses like every other NFL coach. But with another hiring cycle passing without a single Black head coaching hire, their presence on the sideline also serves as another reminder that the league’s conversation about opportunity and representation is far from finished.

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