Ten weeks into the 2024 NFL season, two head coaches have been fired: Robert Saleh of the New York Jets, who was let go after the team’s 2-3 start, and Dennis Allen of the New Orleans Saints, who was let go after a 2-7 start to the season.
While most organizations usually wait until the offseason to make a significant change like this, several head coaches and coordinators are at risk of getting the early hook. Let’s examine which coaches are currently feeling the heat.
Which NFL Coaches Are on the Hot Seat?
Brian Daboll | HC, New York Giants
Just a few short years ago, when he turned a 4-12 team into a 9-7-1 one, Brian Daboll was viewed as the New York Giants’ solution, not the problem. In fact, he was named the AP’s NFL Coach of the Year in 2022.
However, the world of NFL coaches is very much about recency effect — and those reviews aren’t nearly as optimistic.
After a dispiriting 28-3 loss at home to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7, followed by a head-scratching prime-time performance on “Monday Night Football” that resulted in a 26-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, there were legitimate questions about Daboll’s future in New York.
Following the 20-17 gut-wrenching loss in Germany to the Carolina Panthers, the losing streak sits at five straight games — New York’s longest since a six-game skid at the end of the 2021 season that opened the door for Daboll to be hired in the first place (after Joe Judge was fired).
It’s hard to completely blame Daboll since many of the Giants’ issues have been related to Daniel Jones, but head coaches in the NFL today are often only as safe as their starting quarterback.
Jones struggled against the Panthers (190 yards and two interceptions on 37 attempts) and has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes since the beginning of last season.
Could this franchise be looking to embark on a full-blown rebuild and start from scratch? New York hasn’t had a coach post a winning career record with the franchise since Tom Coughlin, and starting fresh for 2025 is certainly within the range of outcomes.
It’s worth noting that Giants co-owner John Mara recently expressed confidence in Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen.
“Obviously, we’re all very disappointed with where we are right now,” Mara said, according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. “But I’m going to say one thing: we are not making any changes this season. And I do not anticipate making any changes in the offseason, either.”
Giants co-owner John Mara just said here in New York City that there will not be any changes in season with the team and he does anticipate any changes after the season, either. Sounds like good news for Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) October 24, 2024
It’s now fair to wonder how much further Mara’s confidence in Daboll and Schoen will extend. The Giants go on bye in Week 11, making it as reasonable a spot as any to make a change if it’s going to happen in-season.
- Week 12 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Week 13 at Dallas Cowboys
- Week 14 vs. New Orleans Saints
- Week 15 vs. Baltimore Ravens
- Week 16 at Atlanta Falcons
- Week 17 vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Week 18 at Philadelphia Eagles
Matt Eberflus | HC, Chicago Bears
After Week 6, the Chicago Bears were entering their bye having won three straight games (including two straight blowout victories). The team was 4-2, and it seemed like they had finally figured things out and built some momentum.
Ever since, things have been rough in Chicago, with head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s seats getting increasingly warm.
The Bears have now lost three consecutive games, including today’s embarrassing 19-3 loss to the 2-7 New England Patriots. Chicago lost in embarrassing fashion and struggled mightily on both sides of the ball.
The Bears managed just 142 yards of total offense despite having all of their weapons and Caleb Williams was sacked nine times. Meanwhile, Drake Maye and Co. racked up 328 yards against Chicago’s defense.
Behind the scenes, players have started questioning the decision-making of Eberflus and Waldron.
After Chicago’s Week 8 loss to the Washington Commanders, wide receiver DJ Moore called out Waldron’s decision to hand the ball off to offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr. at the goal line with six minutes remaining in the game.
“I don’t know the reason behind the play call,” Moore said on “670 The Score.” “It’s been up for a few weeks, but I didn’t think we were actually going to get it called in a game like this.”
While Moore made his feelings public, he wasn’t the only player frustrated. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin said that she “heard from players over the last 24 hours” who were “openly questioning coaching decisions.”
"What I have heard from players over the last 24 hours is something that I typically haven't in my time covering the Chicago Bears, and that is openly questioning coaching decisions."@CourtneyRCronin calls the Commanders Hail Mary win 'completely avoidable' for the Bears. pic.twitter.com/kGlbUwBYaQ
— Around the Horn (@AroundtheHorn) October 28, 2024
Eberflus wasn’t happy with this criticism, as he apparently pulled Moore aside and told him that this kind of thing needs to stay in-house.
How do we know that? Because Moore told reporters! He then proceeded to say he stands by his criticism and isn’t sorry for saying it.
“We all talked about it,” said Moore. “Me and Flus’ talked about it with the captains. It’s just got to stay in-house next time. I mean, I’m not gonna say sorry for what I said. But at the same time, it should have just stayed in-house. But I said what I said. Going forward, that’s probably gonna be what it is. Stuff slipped; I answered the question … truthfully.”
Earlier this week DJ Moore expressed his dissatisfaction with the Doug Kramer goaline playcall. Today he revealed that #Bears HC Matt Eberflus wants him to keep the candor in-house pic.twitter.com/LhNW92PipN
— Barroom Network | Aldo Gandia (@BarroomNetwork) October 30, 2024
This prompted plenty of tweets about how Eberflus has lost the locker room and Waldron has lost the confidence of his players.
In Week 9, the Bears lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 29-9. What makes the Bears’ struggles even worse is that they have had one of the easiest schedules to this point. Now, it’s about to get significantly tougher the rest of the way:
- Week 11 vs. Green Bay Packers
- Week 12 vs. Minnesota Vikings
- Week 13 at Detroit Lions
- Week 14 at San Francisco 49ers
- Week 15 at Minnesota Vikings
- Week 16 vs. Detroit Lions
- Week 17 vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Week 18 at Green Bay Packers
There’s not an obvious win for Chicago down the stretch. PFN’s Playoff Predictor currently gives the 4-5 Bears a 1.13% chance of making the playoffs this season.
If Chicago’s struggles continue — and if there’s more drama behind the scenes — Eberflus’ seat (and Waldron’s) will only get hotter.
Doug Pederson | HC, Jacksonville Jaguars
Doug Pederson earned some temporary relief with Jacksonville’s best game of the season, a 32-16 route of the New England Patriots in London in Week 7. A second consecutive loss overseas could have conceivably spelled the end for Pederson’s time in Jacksonville, Fla., particularly against the one-win Patriots.
However, the Jaguars have gotten back to their losing ways. Today, they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 12-7 despite having one of their better defensive showings of the season. The Jaguars picked off Sam Darnold three times and didn’t allow Minnesota to score a touchdown, but they still dropped to 2-8 on the season.
This comes one week after they lost to the Green Bay Packers 30-27 even after Jordan Love left the game early due to a groin injury. Now, there are reports that Trevor Lawrence might miss the remainder of the season due to his left shoulder injury.
The schedule doesn’t do Pederson any favors, as the Jags will be decisive underdogs against the Detroit Lions in Week 11 and Houston Texans in Week 13 (with their bye week in between). A fourth straight loss could result in a pink slip heading into the Week 12 bye.
Pederson was brought in from Philadelphia to replace Urban Meyer and oversee the development of Lawrence. This hiring seemed like a genius move after the Jaguars went to the playoffs in Year 1.
Since then? Not so much. The Jags lost five of six games to close the 2023 season and miss the playoffs, a collapse that could have been written off if the team started 2024 with promise. That, however, didn’t happen. Jacksonville was the last winless team in the NFL this season and has now dropped eight of 10 games.
Considering Jaguars owner Shad Khan entered the season describing this as “the best team assembled” in franchise history and making it clear that he expected this group to win now, this is a tenuous situation that is worth monitoring.
Kevin Stefanski | HC, Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns won 11 games last season, but they got off to a horrible start this year, dropping six of their first seven games to start the year.
After Jameis Winston and Co. pulled off a shocking 29-24 upset win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Browns lost 27-10 to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9. Winston threw three interceptions and had a 56.5% completion percentage in a two-week span that perfectly sums up his NFL career.
The Browns have failed to score 20 points in eight of nine games this season, and they’ve allowed 20+ in eight of nine contests as well.
To be clear, there’s no easy way for the Browns to part ways with Watson. He still has a monstrous $72.9 million cap hit each of the next two years, and the fully guaranteed nature of his contract doesn’t give Cleveland any escape hatches. It seems like the Browns are stuck with him, even though he was dreadful prior to his injury.
Cleveland has a Week 10 bye, and then they’ll face the Saints in Week 11 in a battle of hot-seat coaches. It’ll be interesting to see if both Stefanski and Allen are still employed by then.
Mike McCarthy | HC, Dallas Cowboys
After last season, many questioned Mike McCarthy’s job security, but Jerry Jones decided to bring him back as the Dallas Cowboys head coach. But after a disappointing 3-5 start to the regular season, including several embarrassing losses at home, McCarthy is certainly on the hot seat in Dallas.
In Week 9, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Cowboys 27-21, handing Dallas their third straight loss.
It remains to be seen if the Cowboys will actually make any changes. It’s worth noting that Jones has been critical of McCarthy and his staff lately. During a recent appearance on “105.3 The Fan,” Jones criticized McCarthy, making his head coach’s seat even warmer.
“We’re designing bad plays, or we’re designing bad concepts,” Jones said. “The facts are that there’s some of that, but there’s also some of execution.”
Shortly after, McCarthy was asked for a response. While he didn’t agree with Jones’ assessment, he did take some accountability for the team’s recent struggles.
“I talk to Jerry all the time,” McCarthy said. “We’ve had time to go through the self-scout. I didn’t see the comments specifically, but I don’t think we have bad concepts and bad plays. But I’ll go back and check. We’re not where we want to be. That’s clear, and that’s ultimately my responsibility, and I’m fully aware of that. We’re very diligent. We’re on top of what we want to do.”
Recently, former Cowboys star Dez Bryant called for Jones to “fire everybody.”
In each of the last three seasons, the Cowboys went 12-5 in the regular season. After losing five of their first eight games, it’s hard to envision McCarthy’s team replicating that same success in 2024.
Which NFL Coaches Have Been Fired This Season?
Robert Saleh | HC, New York Jets
Two days after the Jets dropped to 2-3 after a loss in London to the Minnesota Vikings, New York parted ways with Saleh after 3+ seasons. The team also relieved offensive coordinator Nathanial Hackett of play-calling duties, turning them over to Todd Downing instead.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich stepped in as the interim for a team still in the AFC East race. This is the first time owner Woody Johnson has elected to make a mid-season change on the sidelines, which likely means we have a deep pool of replacement candidates as he tries to adjust on the fly for a team that entered the season in win-now mode.
In Week 9, the Jets picked up a much-needed win over the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football to improve to 3-6 on the season. New York entered this week with a 22.3% chance of making the playoffs, but their postseason odds climbed to 37% with Thursday’s win.
Rumors are going to swirl around Bill Belichick, but with his TV commitments, that seems more of a dream than a reality at this moment. Instead, here are some more realistic head coach candidates in 2025.
Luke Getsy | OC, Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, as first reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Following the team’s fifth consecutive loss, it was apparently time for change in Las Vegas.
While many were surprised to see Getsy receive another opportunity as an offensive coordinator in the NFL this offseason. In both of his seasons as offensive coordinator in Chicago, Getsy’s offenses ranked in the bottom half of the league. Yet, the Raiders were willing to give him another chance.
The Raiders currently average just 18.7 points per game in 2024, the seventh-lowest average in the NFL. While head coach Antonio Pierce clearly thought it was time for a change, it’s hard to envision Las Vegas’ offense improving much given the team’s lack of talent.
Pelissero mentioned former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who is the current Raiders pass game coordinator, as a logical candidate to replace Getsy.
Dennis Allen | HC, New Orleans Saints
After starting the season 2-0 and scoring 91 points in their first two games, the Saints have lost seven straight games, and Allen’s defense has totally collapsed. As a result, New Orleans fired Allen after losing to the lowly Carolina Panthers in Week 9.
The loss was the Saints worst of the season despite quarterback Derek Carr returning from an oblique injury.
Allen’s defense allowed 23 points to Carolina, including two rushing touchdowns to Chuba Hubbard and a passing score to rookie Xavier Legette.
Since outscoring opponents 91-29 (+62) during their 2-0 start, the Saints have been outscored 200-116 (-84) during their seven-game losing streak.
Not only is Allen’s .333 winning percentage the worst among active coaches, it’s the worst winning percentage of any head coach over the last 30 years (minimum 75 games coached). Allen finished 18-25 during his 3+ seasons in New Orleans.