Three NFL franchises call Florida home, and in 2026 each one is living a completely different season. Miami blew up its roster and is still searching for a win. Tampa Bay opened 0-4 before finally breaking through. Jacksonville, fresh off a division title, is winning games while preparing to spend 2027 in Orlando.
This guide to Florida NFL teams covers who runs each club, what changed this offseason, how the all-time numbers compare, and where to watch every game. Everything is current as of October 13, 2026, and anything that shifts week to week is flagged so you know what to double-check.
Florida NFL Teams at a Glance: 2026 Snapshot
Pro football arrived in the state in 1966, when Miami entered the AFL. Today the Sunshine State supports three clubs in three separate regions: South Florida, the Tampa Bay area on the Gulf Coast, and Northeast Florida. Their fortunes could hardly look more different right now.
| Team | 2026 record | Head coach | Quarterback | The storyline |
| Miami Dolphins | 0-5 | Jeff Hafley | Malik Willis | Full teardown and youth movement |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1-4 | Todd Bowles | Baker Mayfield (injured), Jalon Daniels | Pressure on the coach, first win secured |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 3-1 (before Week 5 in London) | Liam Coen | Trevor Lawrence | Defending division champs on the rise |
Records move every Sunday, so treat this table as a dated snapshot rather than a standings page.
Miami Dolphins: History and the 2026 Rebuild
Miami has the richest résumé of the Florida NFL teams, and it is not close. The franchise has five Super Bowl appearances, two championships, and one accomplishment no one else in the modern era can claim.
The 1972 Perfect Season That Still Defines Miami
Don Shula’s 1972 squad finished 17-0, sweeping the regular season and the playoffs before beating Washington in Super Bowl VII. Miami followed it with another title a year later, giving the franchise back-to-back championships. Stars such as Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield and Bob Griese turned that group into a permanent reference point. Half a century later, no other team has matched the perfect mark.
Hafley, Sullivan, and a Teardown: What Changed in Miami
The present looks nothing like that golden era. After a 7-10 finish in 2025, ownership fired general manager Chris Grier and head coach Mike McDaniel. Jeff Hafley, previously Green Bay’s defensive coordinator, took over as head coach in January, and Jon-Eric Sullivan arrived from the Packers to run football operations.
The new leadership then dismantled the core of the team. Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill were released, Jaylen Waddle was traded to Denver, and Malik Willis signed on as the new starting quarterback. According to ESPN, Miami carries the youngest roster in the league and a league-record $180 million in dead cap money this season.
Where the Dolphins Stand Right Now
The results have been rough. Miami lost its first four games, and Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane tore an ACL early in the year. The offense scored only four touchdowns across its first four contests and has not topped 13 points in a game. Willis has completed roughly 56 percent of his passes with more turnovers than touchdowns.
There are small positives. The defense has improved as the weeks have gone by, ranking sixth against the run at 3.6 yards per carry and recording four sacks against Minnesota after a sackless start. Instead than focusing on the win column, Hafley continues to highlight improvement in all three phases.
The road ahead is steep. Miami has the second-toughest schedule in the league by opponent winning percentage and no primetime games. Circle December, when the Dolphins visit Hafley’s former team in Green Bay and then face a Chargers staff that includes McDaniel as offensive coordinator.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: From Expansion Punchline to Super Bowl Champions
Tampa Bay has the most dramatic arc of any of the Florida NFL teams. The club entered the league in 1976 and lost its first 26 games, a start that made the Bucs a national joke. Few franchises have climbed as far from a worse starting point.
How Tampa Bay Became One of the Best Florida NFL Teams: The Brady Years
Jon Gruden’s team won Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season, crushing Oakland 48-21. Then Tom Brady signed in 2020, and the Bucs won Super Bowl LV 31-9 over Kansas City, becoming the first team to win the title in its own stadium. After Brady retired in 2022, the club continued to win, earning four NFC South titles in a row from 2021 to 2024, the final two of which were won with center Baker Mayfield.
Tampa Bay in 2026: An 0-4 Start and Baker Mayfield’s Thumb
The last two seasons have been a slide. Tampa Bay raced to a 6-2 start in 2025, then went 2-7 down the stretch and missed the playoffs, ending a four-year reign in the NFC South. Coach Todd Bowles kept his job, but the staff was reshuffled. Zac Robinson became the team’s fifth offensive coordinator in as many seasons, and the Bucs lost receiver Mike Evans to San Francisco in free agency while longtime linebacker Lavonte David retired.
Mayfield signed a three-year extension in September, then dislocated his thumb in Week 3. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels took over, and Tampa Bay lost its first four games, all by one possession, including a 17-14 home defeat against Green Bay. On October 8 the Bucs finally broke through, beating Dallas 24-16 behind a 165-yard night from running back Bucky Irving and 241 rushing yards as a team.
One win does not erase the pressure on Bowles. Only one team in NFL history, the 1992 Chargers, has made the playoffs after an 0-4 start. Mayfield is pushing to return for the Week 6 home game against Pittsburgh, and how Tampa Bay handles the quarterback position will shape the rest of the year.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The Rising Team With a Stadium Problem
Jacksonville is the youngest of the three Florida NFL teams, joining the league in 1995. It is also the only one without a Super Bowl appearance, and for much of the past decade the team was a punchline of its own. 2025 changed the tone.
Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence
In Liam Coen’s first year as head coach, the Jaguars went 13-4 and won the AFC South. Trevor Lawrence threw for 4,007 yards and 29 touchdowns while starting all 17 games. The season ended with a 27-24 wild-card loss to Buffalo, but the foundation was real.
The 2026 team is carrying that momentum. Jacksonville started 3-1 with wins over New England and Cincinnati, and through four weeks it led the league in turnover differential at plus six. The two-way standout Travis Hunter is playing a lot more defensive snaps than he did the previous season. Oddsmakers were skeptical in the summer, setting the win total at 8.5 after the club lost key free agents such as running back Travis Etienne, so every extra win is a bonus.
The Jaguars also have a unique travel schedule. They play the Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 11 and the Texans at Wembley on October 18, then enjoy a Week 7 bye. Three primetime games, including a Thursday night trip to Baltimore and a Monday night visit from Pittsburgh, give them the most national exposure of the three.
The $1.4 Billion Stadium and the 2027 Orlando Detour
The biggest long-term story involves the building. Jacksonville and owner Shad Khan are splitting a $1.4 billion renovation of EverBank Stadium, which promises a canopy designed to cut heat retention by about 70 percent. That construction forces some temporary changes.
In 2026, EverBank operates at a reduced capacity of roughly 43,500. In 2027, NFL owners voted unanimously to let the team play its home games at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, which is getting its own $400 million upgrade to hold about 65,000. The renovated Jacksonville stadium is due to reopen in August 2028. Fans of the famous end-zone pool and the “Duval” chant will have to wait a season to hear it again.
One side effect is worth watching: Orlando will get a full year of NFL football, and the league’s decision-makers will notice how it goes. Nothing is on the table, but the experiment could shape future conversations about the city’s place on the NFL map.
Head-to-Head Comparison of the Three Florida NFL Teams
Numbers cut through the noise. Here is how the three teams stack up on history, current form and leadership. All-time figures run through the 2025 regular season.
| Category | Miami Dolphins | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Founded | 1966 | 1976 | 1995 |
| Super Bowl wins | 2 (VII, VIII) | 2 (XXXVII, LV) | 0 |
| Super Bowl appearances | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Conference titles | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Division titles | 13 | 10 | 5 |
| Playoff appearances | 25 | 15 | 9 |
| All-time regular-season record | 503-409-4 (about .551) | 326-466-1 (about .412) | 215-286 (about .429) |
| 2025 result | 7-10 | 8-9 | 13-4, AFC South champions |
| 2026 record | 0-5 | 1-4 | 3-1 (before Week 5) |
| Head coach | Jeff Hafley | Todd Bowles | Liam Coen |
| General manager | Jon-Eric Sullivan | Jason Licht | James Gladstone |
| Starting quarterback | Malik Willis | Baker Mayfield | Trevor Lawrence |
| Home stadium | Hard Rock Stadium | Raymond James Stadium | EverBank Stadium (reduced capacity, Orlando in 2027) |
Who Wins Each Category Among Florida NFL Teams?
- History: Miami, by a wide margin. More wins, more titles and a far better all-time winning percentage.
- Championship efficiency: Tampa Bay. Two Super Bowl trips, two titles, zero losses.
- Right now: Jacksonville, easily. It has the best record, the clearest direction and the most stable quarterback situation.
- Biggest question mark: Tampa Bay, because Mayfield’s health and Bowles’s job security could change fast.
- Longest road back: Miami, which is deliberately sacrificing 2026 for a younger core.
The pattern is striking. The team with the best past is struggling most, and the team with the shortest past has the brightest present. That inversion is exactly why Florida NFL teams are worth watching this season.
Florida NFL Teams: Rivalries and Schedule Notes
The three clubs do not meet every year because they sit in different divisions and the Bucs play in the NFC, so interstate bragging rights are earned in bursts. The most memorable Jacksonville-Miami meeting came in 2021 in London, where Lawrence and then-coach Urban Meyer earned their first NFL wins in a 23-20 thriller.
Mark 2027 on your calendar. According to reports, Coen is set to host his former team, the Buccaneers, in Orlando in his first game against the club where he coached in 2024. Expect a charged atmosphere in a neutral-feeling building.
Primetime is where the visibility gap shows. Miami is one of just five teams with no primetime games in 2026. Tampa Bay has a Sunday-night trip to Chicago and a Monday-night divisional game against Carolina. Jacksonville has three primetime slots plus its two London games on NFL Network.
How to Watch Florida NFL Teams in 2026
Streaming has made following all three teams easier but also more expensive. A quick rundown:
- Local broadcasts: If you live in Florida, your CBS and Fox stations carry most Sunday afternoon games for the home-market teams.
- NFL Sunday Ticket: Still on YouTube and YouTube TV, it covers out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on CBS and Fox. It starts at $240 for new subscribers and runs roughly $378 to $480 for returning customers depending on how you buy it. It does not include Thursday, Monday or postseason games.
- NFL+: Useful on phones and tablets, but it does not include Sunday Ticket.
- Primetime: Amazon carries Thursday Night Football, NBC and Peacock handle Sunday nights, and ESPN has Monday nights.
- International games: The Jaguars’ London matchups appear on NFL Network, with a local Fox affiliate in Jacksonville carrying the Eagles game.
Heading to a game in person? Each stadium has its own flavor. Hard Rock Stadium is loud, music-driven and very South Beach. Raymond James Stadium is known for its pirate ship and cannon blasts after scores. EverBank Stadium, even with fewer seats this year, remains the most intimate and noisy of the three.
Which of the Florida NFL Teams Should You Follow?
It depends on what you want from a season. Follow Miami if you care about the long game and want to watch a franchise rebuilt from scratch. Follow Tampa Bay if you like drama, with a coach on the hot seat, a quarterback fighting back from injury and a rookie who just proved he can win. Follow Jacksonville if you want the most competitive football in the state right now.
The bigger picture is what makes Florida NFL teams so interesting in 2026. All three are at different stages: one rebuilding, one wobbling, one rising. Check back as the season unfolds, because by December the standings could look very different from what this snapshot shows.
