The Warriors are holding on to Steve Kerr but will be without assistants Terry Stotts (to Kerr’s left above) and Jerry Stackhouse (to Kerr’s right). Chris Gardner / Getty Images
SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr is coming back to the Golden State Warriors for his 13th season next year, but his coaching staff will look a lot different when he does.
Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse, two of Kerr’s assistants, will not be returning to the Warriors next season, a team source confirmed Thursday night. Both men are looking for head-coaching positions. ESPN initially reported the news.
Stotts, who was in his second season on Kerr’s staff, was a head coach for 13 seasons before arriving in the Bay Area. He previously coached for the Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks. Stackhouse, who played 18 years in the NBA, was also in his second season on Kerr’s staff. He joined the Warriors after spending five seasons as the head coach at Vanderbilt University.
What makes the departures of both men interesting is that they come after longtime assistant coach Chris DeMarco left the staff in late December after 14 seasons with the organization. DeMarco is now the head coach of the WNBA’s New York Liberty. The openings on Kerr’s bench are sure to have plenty of suitors, given how highly regarded the 60-year-old coach is throughout the league and because the Warriors are respected across the NBA for how they treat their players and staff.
The Warriors have a lot of important decisions to make this summer after signing Kerr to a two-year extension earlier this week. They have the No. 11 pick in next month’s NBA Draft and a variety of consequential roster decisions coming up. Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy are expected to address the media Friday afternoon to formally address the new extension and their plans for next season.
It’s officially time to mark your calendars, as the NFL has released the 272-game schedule for the 2026 regular season.
Although the opponents for each team have been known for months, we now know which teams will be playing on holidays, who will be playing in nine international games and who can be seen on primetime each week. Here’s a look at the complete NFL slate, sorted week-by-week for all 18 weeks of the regular season, as well as each individual team’s schedule.
It may only be mid-May, but schedule release day at least makes it feel like football is around the corner. And if you’re a Giants fan, seeing this year’s slate of games has to be even more exciting, as a new era will kick off under new head coach John Harbaugh. That begins Week 1 with a Sunday Night Football matchup against the division rival Dallas Cowboys.
The Giants have the 17th-toughest schedule in the league based on combined winning percentages from last year. The Giants last made the playoffs in 2022 and have since gone 13-38 in their last three seasons, prompting the coaching change.
Wk.
Matchup
Date
Time
Network
1
Sunday, Sept. 13
8:20 p.m.
NBC
2
@
Monday, Sept. 21
8:15 p.m.
ESPN/ABC
3
Sunday, Sept. 27
1:00 p.m.
CBS
4
Sunday, Oct. 4
1:00 p.m.
CBS
5
@
Sunday, Oct. 11
1:00 p.m.
Fox
6
Sunday, Oct. 18
1:00 p.m.
Fox
7
@
Sunday, Oct. 25
1:00 p.m.
Fox
8
BYE
9
@
Sunday, Nov. 8
1:00 p.m.
Fox
10
Thursday, Nov. 12
8:15 p.m.
Prime
11
Sunday, Nov. 22
1:00 p.m.
CBS
12
@
Sunday, Nov. 29
1:00 p.m.
Fox
13
Sunday, Dec. 6
1:00 p.m.
Fox
14
@
Sunday, Dec. 13
4:25 p.m.
Fox
15
Sunday, Dec. 20
1:00 p.m.
CBS
16
@
Monday, Dec. 28
8:15 p.m.
ESPN
17
@
Sunday, Jan. 3
1:00 p.m.
Fox
18
TBA
Week 1 keys to victory
It’s pretty simple: The Giants need to avoid a repeat of their 2023 Sunday Night Football season opener. Building off the excitement of their surprise playoff 2022 run, the Giants opened with a prime time matchup against Dallas. Things went south quickly, the Giants losing 40-0 to start off a 6-11 season. This year, there’s a similar sense of hope — not because of last year’s success, but because of Harbaugh’s arrival. A similar embarrassment on national TV would be a disastrous start.
Must-watch game: at Indianapolis Colts, Week 12
The NFL loves its theater, and a later date for this matchup is just what the popcorn-wielding masses ordered. That’s because former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who had a resurgent 2025 season with the Colts, is coming off a ruptured Achilles. A little bit of padding increases the chances he’ll be back in the lineup to face off against the team that selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 draft. There are some quality opponents on the Giants schedule this season, but the storylines in this matchup add plenty of drama.
Toughest stretch: Weeks 13-18
There are some tough opponents after the Week 8 bye, and three of the last five games are on the road. I’m looking at Weeks 13-18 specifically, but you could probably throw in Weeks 11 and 12 if you’re feeling especially concerned. The Giants haven’t had much to play for down the stretch in recent years. If they manage to stay competitive this year, the second half of the schedule won’t be easy, with a trip to Seattle to face the defending Super Bowl champions. There’s also a visit to Dallas, where they haven’t won in a decade, and a trip to Detroit to play a competitive and tough Lions team.
One game the Giants can’t afford to lose: vs. Tennessee Titans, Week 3
Out of the three matchups against new coaching staffs and poor teams from last season, I could’ve picked any of those that qualify as must-win games for a Giants team in a similar place. But if two big prime time matchups to start the year go south, a loss in Week 3 could spell doom — or at least serve as too much of a reminder of years past. And that’s without taking into account that Brian Daboll is Tennessee’s offensive coordinator.
Best offense the Giants will face: Rams (Week 2)
The Giants defense won’t have to wait long for a test, as they face quarterback Matthew Stafford and his Rams in Week 2. The top-scoring offense in the league last year, the Rams present a tough challenge thanks to their versatility and the schemes of head coach Sean McVay. Perhaps working in the Giants favor this year: The Rams will be coming off the league’s first-ever regular season game in Australia.
Best defense the Giants will face: Texans (Week 7)
The Giants beat the Texans in their last matchup, which came in 2022. But Houston now has one of the best defenses in the league, allowing 277.2 yards per game last season. On defense, they’re headlined by edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who this offseason agreed to a three-year extension worth $150 million, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. The two teams face off right before the Giants’ bye week, giving New York a chance to close out the first half of the season on a high.
Predicted record: 6-11
The goal for Harbaugh is to turn this franchise around, but how quickly that can be done remains to be seen. You have to think this team will finish better than they did the last few years, but I’ve learned my lesson about being too hopeful with record predictions.
Predicted NFC East finish: Third
Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Washington Commanders
In my initial attempt at a prediction, I gave the Giants the edge over the Commanders in both matchups. But again, echoing the sentiment above: Until we see the Giants put an improved product on the field, they’re going to be either third or fourth in my division predictions.
