Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
It was a busy day for head coaching hires across the NFL on Sunday with the Arizona Cardinals reportedly landing their next leader in former Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders are expected to hire former New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to be their head coach after Super Bowl LX.
Pending the Kubiak hire finalizing after the big game, the Saints’ head coach matchups are set with seven games against teams with new head coaches, including facing the Atlanta Falcons twice.
- Atlanta Falcons (home and away): Kevin Stefanski
- vs. Arizona Cardinals: Mike LaFleur
- at Baltimore Ravens: Jesse Minter
- vs. Cleveland Browns: Todd Monken
- vs. Las Vegas Raiders: Klint Kubiak (expected)
- at New York Giants: John Harbaugh
- vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike McCarthy
New Orleans is expected to play one of the easiest schedules in 2026 across the NFL, but the team will also face among the most unknowns throughout the year with new head coaches taking control for 41.2 percent of its schedule.
The Saints were on the other side of this equation not long ago after hiring head coach Kellen Moore ahead of the 2025 season. Like the Raiders, New Orleans honed in on Moore as their top candidate but had to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire him.
Moore led New Orleans to a 6-11 record in his first year, a one-game improvement from the previous season. The year included a strong finish, winning four of the last five games.
Ideally for the Saints in 2026, if a new coach hits his stride late in the season like Moore and his club did, that stride waits until after the matchup against New Orleans.
More New Orleans Saints
