Perfect college coaching gig for every AFC head coach

When legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick became North Carolina head coach on Wednesday, it got us to thinking: What's the perfect college coaching gig for every AFC head coach? 

So suspend reality (a little) as we send all 16 back to college. 

AFC East

BUFFALO BILLS | Sean McDermott: University of Miami |McDermott has no ties to the school as a player or coach, but after eight seasons surviving the sub-zero temperatures of Buffalo, the warm Florida climate could be hard to resist. After watching Bills fans take over Hard Rock Stadium for a Week 2 game against the Dolphins, McDermott said (h/t Batavia Daily News' Alex Brasky), "I actually had someone come over during the game and ask me if this was a home game, which is pretty cool, right?"

MIAMI DOLPHINS | Mike McDaniel: Yale | According to the school’s website, McDaniel walked on to the Bulldogs as a wide receiver in 2001 but didn’t register a stat as a four-year letterman. He’s been stuffing NFL stat sheets as a coach ever since, and with 33.8 points per game scored in 2024, Yale is perfect for a play-caller like McDaniel.

NEW YORK JETS | Jeff Ulbrich: Hawaii | Ulbrich earned first-team All-WAC honors as a middle linebacker with Hawaii before his selection in the 2000 NFL Draft by the 49ers. His only experience with college coaching came as a linebackers coach and special teams coordinator with UCLA from 2012-14, but after four straight losing seasons, the Rainbow Warriors need him more than the Bruins.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Jerod Mayo: North Carolina | Once Belichick moves on, of course. The Patriots surprised everyone by hiring Mayo to replace the legendary coach in New England, so why not send him to Chapel Hill at the end of Belichick’s tenure with the Tar Heels? — Bruce Ewing

AFC West

DENVER BRONCOS | Sean Payton: San Diego State | Payton had two stints with the Aztecs, first as an offensive assistant from 1988-89 and as the team’s running backs coach from 1992-93. Perhaps  the third time will be the charm for the Aztecs, who finished 3-9 this season.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | Andy Reid: Brown University | According to U.S. News and World Report, Brown is the nation’s top school for aspiring writers. Before joining BYU’s football program as a graduate assistant in 1982, Reid considered a career in sports writing and even penned stories for the school newspaper while on the Cougars’ roster.

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Antonio Pierce: University of Tulsa | In a piece for The Players Tribune in the offseason, Pierce recalled going undrafted in 2001 due to concerns over his lack of size. Ironically, Pierce resigned as an assistant coach with Arizona State, the largest school in the country, amid a recruiting scandal in 2022, but he won’t have such problems in Tulsa, the school with the smallest undergraduate enrollment of any FBS program.

 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | Jim Harbaugh: Michigan | Sure, Harbaugh earned four years of sanctions for failing to cooperate with NCAA investigators in 2023, but he led the team to a national title in 2023 and 2028 will be here before you know it. Once a Michigan man, once again a Michigan man. — Bruce Ewing

AFC North

PITTSBURGH STEELERS | Mike Tomlin: Iowa | Tomlin would fit in seamlessly at Iowa because he prioritizes defense and special teams and would love nothing more than to win a hard-fought Big Ten game 9-6. It’s also impossible to picture him wearing anything other than black and gold after his 18 years with the Steelers.

BALTIMORE RAVENS | John Harbaugh: Michigan | Brothers love one-upping each other, right? Well, that’s exactly what John could do by bringing Michigan a national championship a few years after his younger brother, Jim, did the same.

CINCINNATI BENGALS | Zac Taylor: Nebraska | Nebraska hasn’t had a winning season since 2016, and it’s still searching for the answer to bring the program back to its glory days of the 1990s. Who better than Taylor, who was the Cornhuskers’ starting quarterback in 2005 and 2006 and might be looking for a new job this offseason?

CLEVELAND BROWNS | Kevin Stefanski: Temple | Temple desperately needs a new leader after going 13-42 over the past five seasons, and it could use some local blood to get the job done. Stefanski, a Philadelphia native, would be the perfect choice to turn this program around. — Jack Dougherty

AFC South

HOUSTON TEXANS: DeMeco Ryans: Alabama | Ryans played at Alabama from 2002-05, so he’s familiar with the expectations in Tuscaloosa. And as one of the NFL’s brightest young head coaches, he’d be more than qualified to lead one of college football’s most prestigious brands.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Shane Steichen: UNLV | UNLV hired ESPN analyst Dan Mullen, the former Florida and Mississippi State HC, as its head coach Thursday, but maybe the stars could align for Steichen and his alma mater in a few years. The second-year Colts head coach appeared in 23 games at quarterback for the Rebels from 2003-06.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: Doug Pederson: Temple | The "Philly Special" mastermind returns to the city of his greatest coaching accomplishment. If the former Eagles coach can win a Super Bowl over Bill Belichick and Tom Brady with Nick Foles as his starting QB, Pederson could turn around an Owls program that has had four consecutive 3-9 seasons.

TENNESSEE TITANS: Brian Callahan: Illinois | Callahan is a native of Champaign, and Illinois could take a page out of Arizona State’s playbook by hiring him. “I’m home,” Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham said during his introductory news conference in 2022, and less than two years later, he has Arizona State three wins away from the first national title in program history. — Eric Smithling