A league filled with new bosses: 10 head coaches in new places reshape NFL sidelines

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Robert Saleh sees being in the NFL as a blessing no matter if it's the first, second or even third time around with yet another team.

“We’re the luckiest people in the world,” Saleh said.

His second chance as an NFL head coach came in Tennessee with the Titans, and he has lots of company as a new head coach with a new franchise. The NFL tied its record with 10 head coaches hired by new teams this offseason, matching the previous high last reached in 2022.

John Harbaugh had his choice of jobs for his second NFL team, and Kevin Stefanski simply switched from Cleveland to Atlanta. Mike McCarthy, back home in Pittsburgh, has joined a list of men to coach three franchises.

The other six all are in their first go-round as NFL head coaches: Buffalo’s Joe Brady, Mike LaFleur in Arizona, Jesse Minter in Baltimore, Todd Monken in Cleveland, Jeff Hafley in Miami and Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas.

For coaches like Saleh, a new team offers the chance to fix areas that didn't work before. Saleh said he's made “significant changes” from his first training camp with the New York Jets in 2021. He went 20-36 before the Jets fired him after a 2-3 start in 2024.

“Just a completely different coach from my first year as a head coach to now,” Saleh said when his Titans reported for training camp.

A new coach also offers the players new hope. Tennessee needed Saleh after firing Brian Callahan six games into his second season, and left tackle Dan Moore said the Titans can tell there's been a coaching change walking into the building for work.

"It feels professional, feels organized, just feels like winning culture,” Moore said of a franchise mired in a stretch of four straight losing seasons.

Two of the new coaches quickly switched teams, with Harbaugh going from Baltimore after 18 seasons to the New York Giants. Stefanski went 45-46 in Cleveland and was out of work less than two weeks when the Falcons hired him.

Harbaugh didn't want a break like McCarthy took during the 2025 season after his contract ended in Dallas. Harbaugh said he couldn't wait to get back to work as he followed some sage advice from an NFL coach who went from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 2013.

“ Andy Reid is a man of few words, and his four words to me were: Change can be good. That’s what he said, change can be good. He was excited. He’s fired up for us. He’s a good friend," Harbaugh said when taking the Giants' job. "We’ll sign up for that deal right now, what he did in Kansas City. Let’s do that.”

The Harbaughs now have competition with another pair of brothers coaching in the NFL with the LaFleurs.

Arizona hopes to tap into Mike LaFleur's success running the Los Angeles Rams' offense as coordinator the past three seasons. The Cardinals also hope he can bring the type of success that his older brother, Matt, has had in Green Bay with six playoff berths in seven seasons.

The Las Vegas Raiders happily waited for the offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Hiring Kubiak meant the addition of another son of a former NFL coach. Kubiak's father, Gary, spent 10 years as a head coach, with eight in Houston and two in Denver.

Brady now is the league's youngest head coach at the age of 36 with his promotion from offensive coordinator in Buffalo. LaFleur turned 39 in March after being hired by Arizona, and Kubiak also turned 39 after getting his first NFL head coaching gig.

McCarthy easily could've stayed off the sideline after going 185-113-2 across 18 seasons (playoffs included) with Green Bay and Dallas. His tenure in Dallas ended after an injury-marred 7-10 finish in 2024 led to a parting of ways.

He took off the 2025 season to spend time with his family. Then his hometown team had its first coaching vacancy in 19 seasons with Mike Tomlin stepping down. With McCarthy taking over the Steelers, he joins a list of men who coached three different NFL teams including Sid Gillman, Mike Shanahan, Lovie Smith and Wade Phillips.

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter speaks during a press conference at the team's NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 30, 2026, at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur watches the action on the field during NFL football training camp, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, right, shares a laugh with head coach Mike McCarthy during practice at the team's NFL football training camp in Latrobe, Pa., Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh speaks during a news conference after an NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh watch practice during the NFL football team's training camp Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Fans fainting at a baseball park. Lions dying at a zoo. A woman taking shelter in a car found dead. A doctor advising people to eat dog meat to promote stamina.

The scenes caused by a record heat wave in Northeast Asia illustrate how extreme temperatures have gripped South Korea, North Korea and Japan.

In most of South Korea, a major heat wave advisory was in place Wednesday as temperatures in densely populated greater Seoul, home to 20 million people, and adjacent areas soared as high as 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit).

North Korean authorities have issued a heat wave advisory in many areas and called for people to take safety steps to avoid heat-related health problems.

Japan's anti-disaster agency reported more than 18,000 people with heat stroke symptoms were transported to hospitals during the week of July 20 to 26.

Since mid-May in South Korea, about 2,220 people have been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses and 19 have died, according to a report from Interior and Safety Ministry. About 17,140 livestock, such as chickens, ducks and pigs, and about 160,000 farmed fishes also have died.

On Sunday, the southeastern city of Yangsan saw temperatures reaching 42.5 Celsius (108.5 Fahrenheit), the highest figure recorded since weather observation began in Korea in 1904.

In a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to view the ongoing heat wave as “a national disaster” and make all-out efforts to protect lives.

On Tuesday night, a spectator in his 20s collapsed while watching a baseball game between SSG Landers and LG Twins at a stadium in Incheon city, west of Seoul. Emergency personnel administered CPR and transported him to a hospital, halting the game for about 10 minutes.

Another fan in his 20s fell unconscious and received treatment at the stadium after the game, according to the Korea Baseball Organization, which announced Wednesday that all 10 games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday were canceled and would be rescheduled.

Min Son Yong, deputy director of the internal medicine department at Pyongyang General Hospital, told North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday that people should eat dog meat and fish porridge to supplement protein to beat the heat.

Euphemistically known as “dangogi,” or sweet meat, dog meat has long been considered a stamina food in North Korea and is traditionally eaten during the hottest time of the year.

Min also recommended watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, mung beans and ginger to cool down, the newspaper reported.

Dog meat also has been eaten in China, Vietnam and African countries, as well as in South Korea, which plans to formally ban slaughtering, breeding or selling dog meat for human consumption beginning next year.

Japan’s Environment Ministry issued a heat stroke alert for most of the western and southern Japan on Wednesday. While temperatures in the Tokyo region temporarily fell this week, intense heat continued to hit southern Japan.

In the southwestern city of Kumamoto, relief and cleanup work continued following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake on July 28 that killed 38 people, including a woman in her 70s who developed heat stroke while taking shelter in a car. More than 43,000 households were still without water on Wednesday.

Three lions have died at a Tokyo zoo, with a number of their animal peers developing apparent heatstroke symptoms.

Tama Zoological Park said, Mugi, a 3-year-old female lion, developed a loss of appetite on July 19 and was unable to stand the following day. Suspecting heat problem, zoo keepers provided ventilation and a water sprinkler to cool her down. The lion eventually died on July 28 despite treatment with subcutaneous fluid, liver tonics and vitamins, the zoo said.

Two other female lions, Ichigo, 11, and Luena, 15, also died within a few days, the zoo said.

Autopsies showed dehydration and multiple organ failure in all three animals and officials say they believe heat was the cause of the health problems.

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.

Visitors holding umbrellas to avoid sunshine leave the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The outdoor fitness equipments are empty due to the heat in Goyang, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People sit in the shade to avoid the heat in Goyang, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Visitors hold umbrellas to avoid sunshine at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)