Of the ten head coaching jobs that were at one time vacant over the last few weeks, six have since been filled, leaving the Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals as only coachless teams left among 32 NFL franchises. While it may seem as though the eventual hirings in Buffalo, Las Vegas and Cleveland -- a trio of AFC squads -- would have a greater impact on the Houston Texans, it's actually the job in Arizona that could end up shaking things up in the most significant way.
As things stand right now, the Arizona Cardinals are still in the process of requesting interviews and interviewing a variety of candidates that range from former head coaches (Arthur Smith, Matt Nagy, Vance Joseph) to hot names with no head coaching experience to put on their resume. It's that latter category of candidates that is noteworthy for those who passionately follow the Houston Texans.
Obviously, the potential loss of defensive coordinator Matt Burke looms large over this coaching search out in the desert. Burke has already interviewed with the Cardinals, and it wouldn't come as a huge shock if the architect of the NFL's best defense was eventually hired away from Houston, even if it doesn't happen during this cycle.
But Burke isn't the only candidate who has cut his teeth coaching in the AFC South that has emerged as one of the front-runners for the Arizona Cardinals job.
At the time of this writing, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile is the only individual who has interviewed with the Cardinals twice, seemingly making him the favorite to eventually land the job. It would mark the conclusion of a tremendous come-up for Campanile, who got his first taste of coaching in the NFL only six years ago, joining the Miami Dolphins staff as a linebackers coach after spending eight seasons coaching at the college level.
Following a successful 2024 campaign of the linebackers coach in Green Bay, Campanile was hired to be the defensive coordinator on Liam Coen's staff in Jacksonville, and in short time, the 43-year-old New Jersey native propped the Jaguars up from a bottom five scoring defense to a top ten scoring defense. This transformation happened, in large part, because the Jaguars defense forced the second-most turnovers in the NFL during the 2025 season, trailing only the Chicago Bears.
If Campanile were to leave Jacksonville, it would be a huge hit to Houston's primary competition to win the AFC South during the 2026 season. The Jags could use not only competency, but continuity within their coaching staff, and frankly, the same could be said for the Texans.
Interestingly, there are no shortage of similarities between Matt Burke and Anthony Campanile. Both are from the northeast, both played safety at the collegiate level, and both have coached for the Miami Dolphins AND Boston College.