Ranking NFL's best new coordinators: Packers, Steelers assistants lead top 10 at midseason

These 10 coordinators inherited difficult circumstances, adapted to significant injuries and delivered immediate results in their new homes

Nov 3, 2026 at 7:54 am ET • 10 min read

The path from star coordinator to elite head coach is as clear as ever. Look no further than defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, or, more recently, Ben Johnson and Liam Coen. Finding the next one of those guys could change the fortune of any franchise, and those types of coaches can be found occupying offensive and defensive coordinator roles today. 

So which new coordinators are making the biggest, positive impact in their NFL homes through the first half or so of the 2026 season? Here is a look at the top 10 plus a few honorable mentions. 

Honorable mentions: New York Jets offensive coordinator Frank Reich, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard  

10. Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle

The Baltimore Ravens were the NFL's No. 7 scoring offense (29.0) through the first four weeks of the 2026 season under new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle when Lamar Jackson was healthy. Without Jackson since Week 5, Baltimore averages just 15.8 points per game, the fifth-lowest in the league. After Doyle surprised the Atlanta Falcons with backup Tyler Huntley in a 30-23 overtime road win, the Ravens have lost three in a row.

If Jackson can shake off his injury woes, Doyle could easily get the Ravens offense back on track. That sadly appears to be a big if at the moment. 

9. Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury  

The Seattle Seahawks experienced a tough offseason of attrition, losing offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Las Vegas Raiders and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs. New offensive coordinator Brian Fleury also got hit with an injury to quarterback Sam Darnold on the first drive of the season, and Darnold has been a rollercoaster the rest of the way: His -0.67 expected points added (EPA) per dropback when pressured is the worst in the NFL this season. Perhaps the addition of Quenton Nelson can help calm Darnold down on that front while he aims to find his footing post-glute injury. Both of Seattle's top running backs, Zach Charbonnet (torn ACL) and first-round rookie Jadarian Price (chest), had yet to be active in the same game until Week 8. 

However, Fleury has maintained the staggering production from Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN is just one of four players with 900-plus receiving yards and nine-plus receiving touchdowns in the first eight games of a season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). The other three are Torry Holt (2003), Steve Smith Sr. (2005) and Cooper Kupp (2021). Both Smith and Kupp went on to win the receiving triple crown in their respective seasons. 

8. Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg

There was a lot of doubt that the Cleveland Browns' defense could remain among the league's top-half units following the departures of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and sack icon Myles Garrett. However, new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg has done just that with the NFL's No. 13 scoring defense (21.6 points per game allowed) in 2026. 

Despite not having Garrett, Cleveland has remained stout in the red zone, allowing a 48% red zone touchdown rate -- tied for the seventh-lowest mark in the league with the Denver Broncos. Remarkably, Rutenberg's unit is top 10 in the NFL in sacks (21, tied for ninth), sack rate (7.4%, tenth) and quarterback pressure rate (38.8%, 10th) without blitzing at a high volume -- the Browns' 28.2% blitz rate is the 12th lowest in the league. Rutenberg has pulled off a Moneyball approach to the pass rush by replacing Garrett in the aggregate: 11 players have at least one sack and four players have at least three sacks. That's a job well done for the surprising 5-3 Browns. 

7. New York Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson

It would've been easy for Dennard Wilson to feel sorry for himself after Brian Burns went down for the season in Week 3. However, New York has remained afloat with a league-average scoring defense (23.0 points allowed per game, 15th in the NFL). That's largely due to Wilson getting creative with his pressure packages and manufacturing havoc, with the league's third-highest blitz rate (41.9%). Doing so has limited opponents to taking what the defense gives them and checking it down frequently, with the Giants allowing just 6.1 yards per pass attempt, the second-lowest figure in the entire league. That's a job well done for a Giants squad that is the surprise NFC East division leader (4-2-1) through eight weeks. 

6. New York Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy

Losing Jaxson Dart in Week 2 was a crushing blow. Matt Nagy has made the most of a struggling Jameis Winston and Minnesota Vikings castoff J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, and that has led to his unit producing the league's No. 14 scoring offense (23.3 points per game). 

The 2026 Giants are the first team since the 2016 New England Patriots to have three different starting quarterbacks win a game before November: Dart, Winston and McCarthy. In their last game out, a 27-21 overtime win at the Houston Texans in Week 7, the Giants had four different players run for a touchdown, marking their first such game since 1950. Nagy is also doing a good job keeping Pro Bowl wide receiver Malik Nabers engaged and involved despite the quarterback carousel: Nabers joined Odell Beckham Jr. as the only players in team history with 100-plus receiving yards in four consecutive games. That's strong work for the NFC East division leaders. 

5. Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy

Eric Bieniemy returned to Kansas City for his second tour of duty as the Chiefs' offensive coordinator in 2026, and he adapted his offense well with the personnel at his disposal. From 2018 to 2021, Kansas City's offense was built off of Patrick Mahomes' deep passing game to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, but in 2026, the offense is centered around Kenneth Walker III's talents. That's been a mostly successful formula for the 5-2 Chiefs with Walker III ranking third in the league in rushing yards (770), second in yards per carry (5.5) and second in tackles avoided (59). 

Bieniemy needs some help at the trade deadline to truly open up the passing game, but the Chiefs ranking 11th in scoring with a 37-year-old Kelce as the top target represents a job well done. He had Mahomes in position to throw the game-winning touchdown to wide receiver Rashee Rice on Sunday at the Denver Broncos, but a false start penalty by offensive tackle Jaylon Moore nullified the score late. 

4. San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Raheem Morris

The San Francisco 49ers are the NFL's No. 1 seed through the first eight weeks of the season, and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris' unit deserves some credit for that. They're the league's No. 6 scoring defense (19.9 points per game), the No. 4 total defense (299.3 total yards per game) and the No. 5 run defense (86.8 rushing yards per game). 

San Francisco has the ninth-worst average time of possession margin in the NFL, possessing the football two minutes fewer than their opponents on average, and that hasn't affected Morris' unit at all. Much of that figure has to do with the passing game inconsistencies with all of the 49ers' wide receiver injuries, but the 49ers defense just keeps on chugging. 

3. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing

One could look at new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing putting together the NFL's No. 3 scoring offense (29.0 points per game) and say, "Well, anyone could do that." Detroit has the firepower with Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and Penei Sewell. That group alone represents 17 trips to the Pro Bowl.

Petzing's predecessor, John Morton, lost his job after one season and had his play-calling duties stripped by Dan Campbell entering Week 10. Petzing has thrived at giving Gibbs a chance to shine with David Montgomery no longer in the picture. Gibbs totaled his third 150-yard rushing game of 2026 on Sunday in the 19-15 defeat against the Minnesota Vikings after having just two such games in his first three seasons combined. 

Petzing also isn't afraid to get creative after having St. Brown line up 10 yards behind Goff on a third-and-8, and the pass play that allowed St. Brown to catch the ball while already moving at near top speed went for a first down against the NFL's No. 1 defense. 

2. Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham 

The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense has come back to life under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. They're the league's No. 3 scoring defense (18.0 points per game allowed), No. 6 total defense (305.6 total yards per game allowed), No. 3 run defense (83.9 rushing yards per game allowed), No. 8 third down defense (34.3% third down conversion rate allowed),  No. 2 red zone defense (37.5% third down conversion rate allowed) and tied for No. 3 in takeaways (13). 

Having All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt turning back the clock also helps. After he had just 7.0 sacks in 14 games last season, Watt has 7.5 in eight games this season, which is tied for the league lead with Houston Texans All-Pro edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. No team has more sacks in the NFL than Graham's unit's 26, one more than the Brian Flores blitzkrieg Minnesota Vikings attack.  

The Browns were flying high entering Week 8 with a 5-2 record, but they left Pittsburgh 5-3 after a 27-6 defeat in which the Steelers held them to both season-lows in points (6) and rushing yards (34). Graham is crushing it.

1. Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon

What Jonathan Gannon is doing in his first season as the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers is nothing short of miraculous. The Packers are 5-3 and would be in the playoffs if the 2026 season ended today despite having fewer than 500 yards rushing.

Having the league's worst rushing offense (60.6 rushing yards per game) has heavily contributed to Gannon's defense being on the field for an average time of possession of 31:36, the third highest in the NFL. Micah Parsons isn't expected to return from his torn ACL until Thanksgiving, and top inside linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is out for the season with a torn Achilles. Green Bay is a top-10 scoring defense (20.5 points per game allowed) and a top-10 total defense (314.9 total yards per game allowed).  That is remarkable. 

How has he done it? One might think Gannon is like fellow NFC North defensive mastermind Brian Flores, blitzing all day, every day, to compensate for the lack of Parsons, but that's not the case. The Packers blitz at a 33.4% clip, which ranks 13th in the NFL. Gannon has been able to do it the old-fashioned way by developing some of the Packers' talent that has had more potential than it has produced. Edge rusher Lukas Van Ness, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, produced what was a career-high 4.0 sacks as a rookie in 2023.

"Honestly man, JG is not scared. He is not shying away from things because we lost a couple of players. He is still going to dial that shit up you know what I mean?" Packers safety Javon Bullard said after Green Bay's "Thursday Night Football" victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 8, via NBC 26 in Green Bay. "I think that shows a lot of confidence in the players that we have, and honestly that's huge kudos to him because not a lot of coaches dial it up like that. Not a lot of coaches are as aggressive as he is. I think that's what you want in a coordinator, man. You want a nasty defense. You want a rugged defense. A loud defense. A confident defense. Your coordinator has to damn near replicate that. I think we complement each other real well."

With Gannon, Van Ness has a career-high of 4.5 sacks, and the Packers still have nine games left to play. He is also maximizing the talent Green Bay has at safety with All-Pro Xavier McKinney (three interceptions) and Evan Williams (two interceptions and a fumble recovery) each having three takeaways this season, tied for the third most in the NFL. Williams, a 2024 fourth-round pick, is actually the NFL's highest-graded safety with a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 90.6. Packers fans were also ready to run cornerback Keisean Nixon out of town after a couple of less-than-stellar seasons, but his 69.6 passer rating against as the primary defender in coverage is the seventh-best in the league among 52 players with at least 35 passes thrown their way. 

Packers defense, 2026 season (NFL ranks)		NFL rank
PPG allowed	20.5	10th
Total YPG	314.9	10th
Pass YPG allowed	204.0	8th
Sacks	22	T-6th
Pass yards per attempt allowed	6.2	4th
TD-INT allowed	10-10	T-4th
Passer rating allowed	78.2	4th
Takeaways	15	2nd

Gannon has done a brilliant job coordinating one of the best defenses in football despite always having his unit on the field and missing his best player. That's why he is No. 1 on this list halfway through the season. Just imagine what will happen when he finally has Parsons at his disposal.