The Wild Card round is in the books and it has brought some more dramatic changes since our last edition of the NFL Stock Watch. The big news of the week is Mike Tomlin's resignation following the Pittsburgh Steelers' wild card loss to the Houston Texans, marking the seventh consecutive postseason loss for him and bringing the longest coaching tenure in the league to an end.
With a few days before the Divisional Round begins, let's take a look at the state of the league as a whole with a new Stock Watch, beginning with the rise of Wild Card Weekend.
NFL Stock Watch: Rising
Wild Card Weekend
The expansion of the NFL playoffs hasn't done much to juice up Wild Card Weekend, which has often seen teams at the bottom of the postseason picture get routinely blown out. That run of mediocrity came to an end this weekend as the first four games of the round came down to the wire, tying an NFL record for a single postseason with 12 lead changes in the final three minutes of play.
Every game of Wild Card Weekend was a close affair into the fourth quarter, which is reflective of the parity the league has experienced this season with several traditional superpowers having down years. It remains to be seen if the parity will continue past this weekend but the NFL has to hope that this is a sign the postseason will be more competitive and chaotic than ever going forward.
John Harbaugh
Despite losing his job last week, there may not be a coach better positioned to pick his next landing spot than John Harbaugh, the unquestioned star of this hiring cycle. Initial reports indicated that seven teams reached out to inquire about Harbaugh's availability when there were only six non-Baltimore job openings, indicating that some teams with sitting head coaches were willing to move on from their current leader if Harbaugh indicated a willingness to come to town.
Two more options have opened up for Harbaugh as well with both Miami and Pittsburgh now seeking new coaches, allowing Harbaugh to have a ton of leverage as he seeks to gain the most control in his next opportunity. The idea of seeing Harbaugh go to Pittsburgh and get revenge on his former team seemed ludicrous just days ago but the presence of the Steelers as an option allows Harbaugh to be even more choosy about his next gig.
NFC West
It became clear over the course of the season that the NFC West was the best division in football and they lived up to their reputation on Wild Card Weekend. Seattle was already sitting on the couch with a first-round bye before the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers won road games to ensure three of the final four teams in the NFC reside from the same division.
The NFC West is already guaranteed one NFC Championship Game slot as the 49ers and Seahawks square off on Saturday night and can claim both if the Rams beat Chicago on the road. Even though Arizona is searching for a new coach, the fact that the NFC West's top three teams went 40-7 against the rest of the league (i.e. not facing each other) showcases how ridiculously tough the once mocked division has become.
Robert Saleh
Even though his experience as a head coach with the New York Jets didn't go well, Robert Saleh is well-positioned to take another swing at a head gig in the future. Saleh made a smart call to reunite with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco as the 49ers' defensive coordinator and has done masterful work this season building a tough unit despite seeing numerous stars like Nick Bosa and Fred Warner go down for the season due to injury.
The latest masterclass from Saleh came on Sunday when the 49ers were able to slow down a dysfunctional Eagles' offense by daring Jalen Hurts to beat them with deep passes. The strategy worked to perfection and helped the 49ers advance to the Divisional Round, which is a good selling point for Saleh as he considers more head coaching opportunities after San Francisco's season comes to an end.
Bryce Young
The road hasn't been the smoothest for Bryce Young but he has shown tremendous growth this season, highlighted by a solid performance against a tough Rams' defense in the Wild Card round. Young, who had the Panthers positioned to pull off a big upset before Matthew Stafford stole a win in the final 2:39, received a big vote of confidence from the franchise as Carolina announced they are exercising his fifth-year option at GM Dan Morgan's season-ending media availability.
There had been buzz about the Panthers potentially looking to add veteran insurance to push Young for his job but the fact that Morgan emphatically backed Young is a big endorsement of his progress. It is true that Young likely hasn't done enough yet to warrant a contract extension beyond the 2027 season but he at least has some solid job security, giving him a chance to continue building himself into a strong NFL starter.
NFL Stock Watch: Falling
Nick Sirianni
The Philadelphia Eagles have been awfully boom-or-bust in the postseason under Sirianni, either losing in the Wild Card round or going to the Super Bowl in each of his playoff appearances. 2025 ended up busting as Philadelphia lost in the Wild Card round to an undermanned 49ers' team, with Sirianni himself drawing negative headlines for a confrontation with A.J. Brown on the sidelines.
Sirianni is on the hunt for yet another offensive coordinator after relieving Kevin Patullo of his duties, marking the fourth consecutive season that the Eagles will be breaking in a new play caller. The seat under Sirianni is surprisingly warm for a man who just won a Super Bowl but his abrasive style doesn't play as well if the team isn't experiencing success.
Justin Herbert
There may not be a quarterback under more heat for poor postseason performances right now than Herbert, who is now 0-3 after losing to the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Herbert's postseason resume now includes a huge blown lead in Jacksonville in 2022, tossing four interceptions against the Texans last year and loooking completely overwhelmed against New England on Sunday night.
Many quarterbacks have had trouble finding their footing in postseason games, with Peyton Manning notably taking a bit to carry his teams in January, but few have looked as bad as Herbert has in elimination games. Herbert was under a lot of pressure as all of Los Angeles' offensive line injuries came home to roost in the Wild Card round, but a player of his caliber should be more capable of elevating his teammates than Herbert does right now.
Mike Tomlin
The end of Tomlin's run in Pittsburgh is a fascinating one as he chose to step away from a franchise that has been a model of stability for decades. The Steelers will be searching for just their fourth head coach since 1969 and Tomlin's run of 19 consecutive seasons with a .500 or better record to begin his career is an impressive feat that won't be matched anytime soon.
By resigning instead of firing, Tomlin's contractual rights remain with the Steelers through 2027, so this suggests he is planning to take a break from coaching instead of diving back into a new job. Tomlin will likely be able to have his pick of jobs in a few years after a TV sabbatical, which is how Sean Payton landed in Denver, but his legacy has taken a hit with the continued postseason failures of the past decade for an organization that has a very high bar for success.
Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh and Baltimore both moved on from their long-standing Super Bowl champion coaches after disappointing results of late but another storied franchise, Green Bay, appears ready to stick with Matt LaFleur. The Packers have been the NFC's No. 7 seed for the past three seasons, a playoff berth that didn't even exist five years ago, and have continuously underwhelmed despite having a slew of talent for LaFleur to work with.
Injuries did ding a potential Super Bowl contender for LaFleur this year but fans in Titletown aren't thrilled that every other team in the NFC North has won the division more recently than the Packers have. Missing out on this hiring cycle, which has a slew of intriguing candidates to shake up what may be a stale dynamic in the locker room, could have long-term consequences for Green Bay.
Longevity
The old sayin that the NFL stands for "Not For Long" has never been more apt in terms of coaching cycles. 19 different teams have changed head coaches since the end of the 2023 season, with a few (including the Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans) seeking at least their second head coach in that span.
Andy Reid is now the dean of current coaches, having been in place in Kansas City since 2013, while only five other coaches (Kyle Shanahan, Sean McDermott, Sean McVay, Zac Taylor and LaFleur) have been in their posts since prior to the 2021 season. Building a consistent winner in the NFL can take time, something that impatient owners haven't been willing to afford of late, and it could lead to even more parity in the future as the hiring and firing cycles get more prounounced every year.