Jerry Glanville's prophetic comment that N-F-L stands for 'Not For Long,' was first made to a game official. It's come to apply to head coaches more than anything.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The NFL made 10 head coaching changes in 2026. The last time there was that much turnover was in 2022.
Four years later, of the 10 new coaches hired in 2022, only two remain with the teams that hired them – Kevin O’Connell of the Vikings and Todd Bowles of the Buccaneers.
Based on the most recent trend, then, the odds of Todd Monken staying on the job in 2029 when the Browns move into Jimmy Haslam’s new covered stadium in Brook Park are not good.
Monken signed a five-year contract, which would take him through 2030 if he keeps the job. But only one coach of five previously hired by Haslam in 14 years has lasted that long – Kevin Stefanski, who was fired in 2025 after his sixth season.
Chronologically, the Browns were the fourth team to have a head coach opening in 2026. Monken was the eighth head coach hired among the 10 new ones.
The Browns’ coaching search lasted 23 days.
Here are the lengths of coaching searches among the other seven teams that created vacancies after the 2025 season, and not during the season:
Buffalo – eight days to go from Sean McDermott to Joe Brady.
Miami – 11 days to go from Mike McDaniel to Jeff Hafley.
Pittsburgh -- 11 days to go from Mike Tomlin to Mike McCarthy.
Atlanta -- 13 days to go from Raheem Morris to Kevin Stefanski.
Baltimore -- 16 days to go from John Harbaugh to Jessee Minter.
Arizona -- 28 days to go from Jonathan Gannon to Mike LaFleur.
Las Vegas -- 35 days to go from Pete Carroll to Klint Kubiak.
The Browns are one of two teams that have not completed their entire coaching staff. The Raiders, who waited till after the Super Bowl to hire Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, is the other.
Monken is expected to select his defensive coordinator to replace estranged Jim Schwartz this week, after which the Browns will formally announce their complete staff.
Here is a scorecard of the 10 NFL coaching changes made this season. The list is arranged from the first vacancy to the last.
1. Tennessee Titans
Fired Brian Callahan: October 13.
Hired Robert Saleh: January 22.
Key assistants hired: Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator; Gus Bradley, defensive coordinator; John Fassel, special teams coordinator; Carmen Bricillo, offensive line; Shea Tierney, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
2. New York Giants
Fired Brian Daboll: November 10.
Hired John Harbaugh: January 17.
Key assistants hired: Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator; Dennard Wilson, defensive coordinator; Chris Horton, special teams coordinator; Mike Bloomgren, offensive line; Brian Callahan, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
3. Atlanta Falcons
Fired Raheem Morris: January 4.
Hired Kevin Stefanski: January 17.
Key assistants hired: Tommy Rees, offensive coordinator; Jeff Ulbrich, defensive coordinator; Craig Aukerman, special teams coordinator; Bill Callahan, offensive line; Alex Van Pelt, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
4. Cleveland Browns
Fired Kevin Stefanski: January 5.
Hired Todd Monken: January 28.
Key assistants hired: Travis Switzer, offensive coordinator; Byron Storer, special teams coordinator; George Warhop, offensive line; Mike Bajakian, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: Defensive coordinator.
5. Arizona Cardinals
Fired Jonathan Gannon: January 5.
Hired Mike LaFleur: February 2.
Key assistants hired: Nathaniel Hackett, offensive coordinator; Nick Rallis, defensive coordinator; Michael Ghobrial, special teams coordinator; Justin Frye, offensive line; Matt Schaub, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
6. Las Vegas Raiders
Fired Pete Carroll: January 5.
Hired Klint Kubiak: February 9.
Key assistants hired: Rob Leonard, defensive coordinator; Joe Decamillis, special teams coordinator.
Key assistant vacancies: Offensive coordinator, offensive line, quarterbacks.
7. Baltimore Ravens
Fired John Harbaugh: January 6.
Hired Jesse Minter: January 22.
Key assistants hired: Declan Doyle, offensive coordinator; Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator; Anthony Levine, special teams coordinator; Dwayne Ledford, offensive line; Israel Woolfork, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
8. Miami Dolphins
Fired Mike McDaniel: January 8.
Hired Jeff Hafley: January 19.
Key assistants hired: Bobby Slowik, offensive coordinator: Sean Duggan, defensive coordinator; Chris Tabor, special teams coordinator; Zach Yenser, offensive line; Bush Hamdan, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin resigned: January 13.
Mike McCarthy hired: January 24.
Key assistants hired: Brian Angelichio, offensive coordinator; Patrick Graham, defensive coordinator; Danny Crossman, special teams coordinator; James Campen, offensive line; Tom Arth, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
10. Buffalo Bills
Fired Sean McDermott: January 19.
Hired Joe Brady: January 27.
Key assistants hired: Pete Carmichael, offensive coordinator; Jim Leonhard, defensive coordinator; Jeff Rodgers, special teams coordinator; Pat Meyer, offensive line; Bo Hardegree, quarterbacks.
Key assistant vacancies: None.
Not for long: Colorful Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville is credited for coining the NFL the “not for long” league. Glanville’s quote was directed at a first-year official for making a call against the Oilers.
“This is the N-F-L,” Glanville fumed, “which stands for 'not for long' when you make them [bleeping] calls.”
Over time, the Not For Long league has come to be applied to the NFL head coach position. Look at the turnover of new head coach hires since the Browns last made a coaching change in 2020.
2020 (5 new coaches): Stefanski (CLE), Mike McCarthy (DAL), Matt Ruhle (CAR), Ron Rivera (WASH), Joe Judge (NYG).
2021 (7): Dan Campbell (DET), Nick Sirianni (PHI), Urban Meyer (JAX), Robert Saleh (NYJ), Arthur Smith (ATL), Brandon Staley (LAC), David Culley (HOU).
2022 (10): Brian Daboll (NYG), Mike McDaniel (MIA), Doug Pederson (JAX), Kevin O’Connell (MINN), Nathaniel Hackett (DEN), Matt Eberflus (CHI), Josh McDaniels (LV), Lovie Smith (HOU), Dennis Allen (NOLA), Todd Bowles (TB).
2023 (5): Sean Payton (DEN), DeMeco Ryans (HOU), Shane Steichen (INDY), Jonathan Gannon (AZ), Frank Reich (CAR).
2024 (8): Raheem Morris (ATL), Dave Canales (CAR), Antonio Pierce (LV), Jim Harbaugh (LAC), Jerod Mayo (NE), Mike Macdonald (SEA), Brian Callahan (TENN), Dan Quinn (WASH).
2025 (7): Ben Johnson (CHI), Mike Vrabel (NE), Liam Coen (JAX), Kellen Moore (NOLA), Pete Carroll (LV), Aaron Glenn (NYJ), Brian Schottenheimer (DAL).
2026 (10): Robert Saleh (TENN), John Harbaugh (NYG), Kevin Stefanski (ATL), Todd Monken (CLE), Mike LaFleur (AZ), Klint Kubiak (LV), Jesse Minter (BAL), Jeff Hafley (MIA), Mike McCarthy (PITT), Joe Brady (BUF).