The NCIS spinoffs have been canceled, the franchise continues to grow with its latest spinoffs, NCIS: Sydney, NCIS: Origins, and NCIS: Tony And Ziva, all having seasons in the 2025/2026 season.

As each spinoff has featured a new and more exciting premise than the last one, its leaders have also featured notable differences, either shrinking or aiding the growth of their team's progress in each series. While all team leaders in NCIS have their merits, they also have their faults. As a result, some characters created better leaders than others in the franchise.

10 Hollace Kilbride

NCIS: Los Angeles Seasons 6-14

Kilbride was a good team leader and an adequate replacement for Hetty, who could no longer manage the team, but he had too many faults to consider him great. He first appeared in NCIS: Los Angeles as a recurring guest star as a retired U.S. Navy iral. However, near the end of the show, he was promoted to the Operations Manager of the Office of Special Projects.

Kilbride was only a leader for a short time, so we never got to see him shine in the role. He also changed the team too much from what it was like with Hetty. The dynamics changed and the team's role seemed to change as well. As a result, he remains low on the list.

9 Owen Granger

NCIS: Los Angeles Seasons 3-8

Granger could have been great, but he started off as an unlikable character. A team leader needs to be strong, dependable, trustworthy, and likable enough. However, Granger started off as an untrustworthy character, and as a result, it took time for the team to start to like him.

Granger was also only a leader for a short time relative to Hetty and could never live up to her character. He made for a great team member and had great scenes, but as a leader, he fell a little flat. As a result, he is also low on the list but not in last place.

8 Michelle Mackey

NCIS: Sydney Season 1 To Present

Olivia Swann's Mackey has strong potential to become a great leader, but she is not there yet. NCIS: Sydney is still a relatively new show and little is known about Mackey. The show typically focuses more on cases and less on personal details, but NCIS: Sydney season 2 had a huge Mackey reveal which opened up her character a bit more.

Mackey is also a little more closed off than some of these other leaders. That is not necessarily bad, but as a new leader, it does not give her much room to be ranked any higher. With time, Mackey has the potential to move up, but currently, she remains low on the list.

7 Alden Parker

NCIS Season 19 To Present

Parker is a fantastic leader because he does not try to replicate Gibbs. When Parker replaced Gibbs in NCIS season 19, his change of leadership was refreshing because he maintained a good rapport with the team without trying to overshadow Gibbs' legacy. Since his arrival, Parker has grown with the team, which is always nice to see.

Parker is also a very relaxed, laissez-faire type of leader. He is kind and fair and is overall a great team leader. The only reason he is so slow is that some of the other characters have a large legacy behind them, which makes it hard for newer leaders to outshine the old stars.

6 Mike Franks

NCIS: Origins Season 1 To Present

Mike Franks is arguably one of the best NCIS: Origins characters, which makes him a strong contender for best NCIS leader, too. He is incredibly likable and trustworthy, and he has his team's back. His emotional towards Gibbs is particularly noteworthy because it shows that Franks knows when to be tough and when to soften up.

...Franks knows when to be tough and when to soften up.

While Franks is an iconic NCIS character, the version of him as a leader in NCIS: Origins is still relatively new. NCIS: Origins has dived deep into his character, but he has a lot to compare himself against in of older NCIS leaders. As NCIS: Origins continues to grow, I have no doubt that he will rise on this list.

5 Dwayne Cassius Pride

NCIS: New Orleans Seasons 1-7

Pride is one of the most iconic characters in NCIS: New Orleans and in the franchise as a whole. His legacy as the only leader throughout the show's seven seasons gives him a special kind of status. Pride was also a tough leader who would stop at nothing to protect his city, something that was very irable.

Despite Pride's legacy, he could be too stubborn at times, which ultimately lowered his score. Rather than consistently follow protocol and trust his team, there were many times throughout NCIS: New Orleans that Pride would overstep his boundaries as an agent or do things his own way. That can be exciting as an occasional characteristic, but it happened too often to consider Pride the best NCIS leader.

4 Jane Tennant

NCIS: Hawai'i Seasons 1-3

Tennant is not only one of the best NCIS team leaders, but she also features some of the best storylines. From the beginning, Tennant began as a well-rounded character. While some other NCIS shows need time to figure out their characters, Tennant started strong from the start. Her rapport with her team and her excellent investigation skills are also notable.

I believe that Tennant could have become an even greater leader if the show was given another season. When CBS canceled NCIS: Hawai'i, the show ended on a cliffhanger for Tennant, leaving several mysteries unanswered. The show's premature cancelation removed the potential for Tennant to rise up the ranks as the best leader, but her appearances throughout seasons 1-3 cemented her as one of the more memorable ones.

3 Henrietta "Hetty" Lange

NCIS: Los Angeles Seasons 1-14

Linda Hunt's Hetty Lang is practically certified as one of the best characters in the NCIS franchise. She is also one of the best leaders. Without her, NCIS: Los Angeles would be noticeably different, and it was when she had a reduced role in the later seasons. Hetty blended her spy skills perfectly to fit within the needs of the NCIS: Los Angeles office, allowing her team to flourish.

It was particularly sad when she quietly limited her appearances in the show and Kilbride took over her role. Hetty had such a complex background that she brought so much life to the NCIS spinoff. Her connections to other NCIS characters, including Vance, also set her up as an interesting leader who knew how to be resourceful.

2 G. Callen

NCIS: Los Angeles Seasons 1-14

G. Callen is without a doubt one of the best team leaders in the NCIS franchise. He is an incredibly complex character, maybe even the most complex one. As he struggled to discover more of his past and his identity, he did not let it interfere with his team's missions, making him a loyal and reliable character, even with all of his baggage.

Given Callen's complexities, it is also hard to imagine NCIS: Los Angeles without him. Like Hetty, he was a strong motivation for the team. He also worked hard to protect the ones he loved. Callen may have had some faults, but they do not outshine his incredible leadership, making him the second-best NCIS team leader.

1 Leroy Jethro Gibbs

NCIS Leader From Seasons 1-19

Last but not least is Gibbs, the certified best NCIS leader. Without Gibbs, there would be no NCIS franchise at all, and we would not have been able to see incredible characters like Callen, Hetty, and Tennant come to life. Gibbs was tough but fair and had a strict moral code. While he would bend the rules from time to time, he always prioritized his team's safety and would rather put himself at risk than others.

He was also a complex character, like Callen, and used his personal tragedies to propel him forward. Moreover, Gibbs was a great role model and had a lot of respect for the of his team, even as they continuously changed. With Gibbs having almost 20 years of history on NCIS, his leadership is tough to beat since he remains memorable even after so much time has ed.

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