Heated rivalries: Which hires for current NFL openings would create the most drama?

It got us thinking: among the six remaining openings, which coaching hires would deliver the most drama? Here's our list, beginning with ones within the realm of possibility and ending with little more than figments of our imagination.

Las Vegas Raiders

Sean McDermott | The recently fired Buffalo Bills head coach would give the league's laughingstock instant credibility. Putting him in a division with Sean Payton (Denver Broncos) and Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs) would make for great theater, too. 

He has a long history with both, serving as defensive coordinator under Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles (2009-10) and facing Payton numerous times when Payton was head coach of the New Orleans Saints and McDermott was the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator. 

McDermott is 0-4 against Reid in the postseason, while the Bills' divisional-round overtime loss to the Broncos cost him his job. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

Anthony Weaver | Weaver spent three seasons (2021-23) with the Baltimore Ravens — including the last two as assistant head coach — before joining the Miami Dolphins as defensive coordinator, a job he's held the past two seasons.

Both the Steelers and Ravens are reportedly bringing him in for an interview, and if Pittsburgh could get him to pick it over Baltimore, it would make the NFL's best rivalry even better.

Cleveland Browns

Dan Pitcher | With Pitcher, the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator, not among the initial candidates to receive a second interview, his chances of landing the Browns job appear slim. That might be for the best, although making the in-state move would have strengthened the AFC North rivalry.

If the Browns cast a wider net, Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who was fired by the Bengals last offseason, would also add a personal touch to next season's Bengals-Browns games. Hiring Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who coached Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase at LSU, would be another intriguing storyline for 2026.

Buffalo Bills

Bill Belichick | We're veering into the realm of the unlikely, but after firing McDermott, there isn't another coach as proven as Belichick. He's been embroiled in a petty back-and-forth with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft in the years since their relationship fractured, with both taking shots at the other last year.

Kraft told reporters hiring Belichick in 1999 was a "big risk," saying, "I gave up a No. 1 draft pick for a coach that had only won a little over 40% of his games to get him out."

Belichick, who spurned the New York Jets to join the Patriots, fired back in comments to ESPN.

"I had been warned by multiple previous Patriots' coaches, as well as other members of other NFL organizations and the media, that the New England job was going to come with many internal obstacles," Belichick said. 

It's time the war of words gets settled on the field.

Baltimore Ravens

Mike Tomlin | Tomlin didn't step down after 19 years as Steelers head coach to take another coaching job. That doesn't mean the Ravens should just let him waltz into a plum studio analyst gig (or a season away from the sport) before trying to add petrol to the league's most fiery rivalry.

"Holy s—, wouldn't that be awesome," owner Steve Bisciotti said earlier in January about the prospect of hiring Tomlin, under the condition that fired Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who has since signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the New York Giants, join the Steelers. C'est la vie.

Arizona Cardinals

Gary Kubiak |  If Klay and Klint Kubiak, Gary Kubiak's two oldest sons, remain in their current roles as 49ers and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinators, respectively, what better way for the Cardinals to inject spice into the NFL's best division than coaxing their father, who last coached in 2020, out of retirement? He could even bring his third and youngest son, Klein Kubiak, a national scout for the Dallas Cowboys, along for the ride.

This will never happen. But you know what else won't in 2026? The Cardinals contending for the playoffs. At least with the Kubiak patriarch, Arizona would have four watchable games next season.