Nfl Hot Seat Index: Which Coaches Are Running Out Of Time?

The Tennessee Titans’ firing Brian Callahan this week signaled nan unofficial commencement of nan coaching carousel.

Six weeks into nan season, a convention built for parity is uncovering location is small to spell around. Nearly half (14) of nan league’s teams this play are 2 games complete .500. Three others person winning records and different 3 (the Chiefs, Panthers and Commanders) are 3-3 pinch an upward trajectory.

On nan other end, six teams are 1-5, pinch their playoff hopes each but complete successful October. Only 1 of those teams (the Saints) has a rookie caput coach. Callahan was nan first coach to beryllium dismissed, but location are toasty seats crossed nan league.

Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins

2025 Record 1-5
Career Record 29-28

For a while, McDaniel looked for illustration nan early of coaching. He was different. He was fun. He was creative. But McDaniel’s schtick has tally retired of steam. The Dolphins person nan longest postseason drought successful nan league, and that’s not changing this season.

After being blown retired by nan Colts successful week one, you tin astatine slightest manus this to McDaniel: his squad has fought. Even aft losing Tyreek Hill for nan season, nan Dolphins’ discourtesy has been productive. But aft different inexplicable late-game illness past week against nan Chargers, it feels for illustration his clip has tally out. The on-field merchandise has been poor. And nan vibes successful Miami look arsenic fractured arsenic anyplace successful nan league.

The on-field malaise has seeped disconnected nan field. In his postgame comments to nan media past week, Tua Tagovailoa exposed problems successful nan locker room. He criticized players for missing aliases arriving precocious to player-only meetings, arsenic good arsenic nan team’s play preparation. When players start publically criticizing nan culture, a coach is connected borrowed time.

Blame for this year’s debacle should spell crossed nan organization. It was proprietor Stephen Ross who decided to tally it backmost pinch McDaniel and GM Chris Grier this season, contempt small grounds that nan 2 could section a playoff-caliber team. Grier has assembled different disheveled roster, patching together a lopsided defense. He placed each his chips connected nan protect front, leaving nan weakest secondary successful nan league exposed. McDaniel’s discourtesy has shown signs of life since week one, but Miami’s defense has been truthful uncompetitive that it’s almost meaningless.

The Dolphins person a manageable schedule coming up. But wins complete nan Browns aliases Falcons are improbable to move nan needle. They will only hold nan inevitable. Whether it’s in-season aliases astatine nan extremity of nan year, McDaniel will beryllium out. To yet extremity nan 25-year hunt for a playoff win, though, nan Dolphins will request much sweeping changes.

Hot Seat Meter 10/10

Aaron Glenn, New York Jets

2025 Record 0-6
Career Record 0-6

Coaches are seldom one-and-done successful nan NFL. Owners are excessively proud. Executives aren’t keen to admit that they hired a dud. If a coach is axed aft 1 season, it’s typically because of an off-the-field ungraded aliases because they perpetrate nan cardinal sin: they make nan squad look incompetent.

The Jets fired Robert Saleh past season, a defensive-minded coach whose transportation for nan caput coaching gig was that he would amended nan team’s culture. That didn’t work. So Woody Johnson pivoted to Aaron Glenn … a defensive-minded coach whose transportation was that he would found a caller culture. So far, it’s been a complete failure.

Expectations were debased for nan Jets this offseason. Somehow, Glenn has driven them down. They are worse defensively than astatine immoderate constituent nether Saleh, sitting 28th successful EPA/Play. The discourtesy tin churn retired yards successful nan tally game, but cannot get thing going done nan aerial unless it’s garbage time.

More importantly, Glenn looks successful complete his head. He isn’t a strategy guru; he’s a culture-builder. He was expected to reconstruct accountability and competency to nan building. He would opportunity what needed to beryllium said, and he would beryllium connected apical of nan small specifications that tin beryllium nan quality successful one-score games. But he’s continually flubbed his lines. He effectively discontinue connected his ain quarterback astatine nan extremity of nan first half against nan Broncos successful week six, past lit up a reporter for asking if nan coach was pondering a backmost switch. In each six games, he has bungled timeouts, struggled to grasp nan basics of end-of-half situations and coached not to suffer alternatively than trying to win. If that were all, Glenn would apt beryllium fixed time. But it’s not. His ain portion has fallen disconnected a cliff – and he’s refused to make immoderate staffing aliases schematic changes to stem nan bleeding.

The Jets are not a talented team. But pinch nan existent roster, they shouldn’t beryllium winless. There is talent on nan violative line, a fistful of playmakers astatine nan accomplishment positions and value starters astatine each level of nan defense, though it’s difficult to show astatine this shape of nan season.

Glenn has taken each opportunity to constituent backmost to his clip successful Detroit, erstwhile he was moving alongside Dan Campbell. Going from laughing banal to contender was a slow build. Campbell won only 3 games successful his first play arsenic Detroit’s caput coach. But moreover erstwhile losing, nan Lions ne'er looked unprepared aliases incompetent. The Jets do.

Glenn tin spend to suffer much games, truthful agelong arsenic nan Jets commencement to look competitive. That starts pinch a backmost alteration aliases an overhaul of nan defense. But pinch a tempestuous owner, Glenn cannot spend immoderate much guidance calamities.

Hot Seat Meter 6/10

Miami Dolphins caput coach Mike McDaniel speaks aft an October defeat. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP

Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns

2025 Record 1-5
Career Record 41-49

Stefanski is simply a two-time Coach of nan Year who is fighting for his job, acknowledgment mostly to nan failings of his beforehand agency and owner.

The Browns are successful rebuild mode, betting connected their rookie people to transportation them into a caller era. They are stocked pinch draught picks for adjacent year’s draft, wherever they will person a chance to maneuver nan committee to onshore whichever assemblage backmost they prefer.

Perhaps Stefanski will show capable down nan agelong that he will beryllium kept astir to spot done nan rebuild. He continues to oversee 1 of nan NFL’s champion defenses, and if nan Browns tin onshore a serviceable backmost successful nan offseason, they could compete successful nan AFC North adjacent season. Stefanski has proven that pinch coagulated backmost play, he tin portion together a bully offense. But he was handed nan roughest of assignments past offseason, asked to activity it retired pinch a creaking Joe Flacco – who has since been traded – aliases a brace of mid-round rookies astatine quarterback. That was ever going to beryllium a look for less than 20 points a crippled and a losing record.

By nan extremity of nan year, Stefanski will astir apt beryllium nan autumn feline for Cleveland’s deeper failings. The Browns will manus nan franchise complete to a caller caput coach to usher successful a caller era pinch a caller quarterback. But Stefanski will onshore a occupation elsewhere. The messiness successful Cleveland is not connected him.

Hot Seat Meter 8/10

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens

2025 Record: 1-5
Career Record: 173-109 (One Super Bowl win)

The injury-riddled Ravens dropped to 1-5 aft losing 17-3 astatine location to nan Rams past week, marking nan worst commencement to a play successful John Harbaugh’s 18-year tenure pinch nan franchise.

Baltimore deed nan bye astatine nan lowest ebb of nan Harbaugh era. If they tin get nan bulk of their starters backmost from wounded aft nan break, astir notably Lamar Jackson, they could still make a playoff run. But nan likelihood of turning nan play astir are dwindling. Since nan existent playoff format started successful 2020, only 1 squad – Washington successful 2020 – has started 1-5 and made nan playoffs.

Harbaugh has lived a charmed life successful Baltimore. Even during nan years erstwhile nan Ravens person faltered, nan blasted has ne'er fallen connected nan caput coach. This twelvemonth is different, though. Baltimore’s defense is simply a messiness for nan 2nd play successful a row. The group sits 30th successful EPA/Play, down nan likes of nan Titans, Jets and Bengals. Last season, nan Ravens were capable to move it astir astatine nan midpoint of nan year, overhauling their attack and bringing successful extracurricular thief to streamline what protect coordinator Zach Orr was trying to do.

Harbaugh chose to tally it backmost pinch Orr this play aft falling short successful nan postseason. But it’s been a dud. Even earlier injuries took over, nan Ravens’ defense was retired of sorts. They struggled to get lined up, couldn’t pass and couldn’t effect opposing quarterbacks. Harbaugh often gets a walk for a unit’s failings because he’s viewed arsenic a erstwhile typical teams coach and is billed much arsenic a CEO-style caput coach. But Harbaugh’s branding is simply a touch misleading. His inheritance is successful defense. He sits successful each protect gathering and makes nan captious hires. It’s connected him, arsenic overmuch arsenic anyone, that nan portion has struggled retired of nan gates 2 years successful a row.

With Jackson astatine nan apex of his powers, nan Ravens are operating connected a year-to-year timeline. It’s title aliases bust each season. But Harbaugh is now 4-7 successful nan postseason since he won nan Super Bowl astir 13 years ago. And he is facing an uphill struggle moreover to make nan playoffs this campaign.

The Ravens are not a rash franchise. And it’s reliable to spot who connected nan marketplace would beryllium a amended fresh for nan Ravens than Harbaugh. But if nan squad fails to make nan postseason, location aren’t galore different levers to propulsion than changing nan caput coach.

Hot Seat Meter 4/10

Brian Daboll, New York Giants

2025 Record 2-4
Career Record 20-36-1

No coach’s profession is teetering arsenic overmuch arsenic Daboll’s. His early rests connected nan limb of 1 player: Jaxson Dart.

Daboll went into nan play pinch a singular instruction from Giants proprietor John Mara: find maine a quarterback. After messing astir pinch Russell Wilson for a fewer weeks, Daboll yet pivoted to nan rookie. And nan early returns person been strong. Dart has brought energy to a antecedently moribund offense, piloting nan Giants to 2 wins successful 3 starts, including a triumph complete nan Eagles without go-to targets Malik Nabers aliases Darius Slayton.

Dart embodies everything Daboll wants successful a quarterback: big, strong, mobile and a small reckless. While nan rookie has been up-and-down successful his 3 starts, he has undeniably brought a caller jolt to nan franchise.

This is simply a proof-of-concept twelvemonth for Daboll. He entered nan play pinch nan warmest spot successful nan league. But he yet has his ain hand-picked quarterback. The schedule for nan Giants nan remainder of nan measurement is tough; their adjacent 9 opponents each person a existent grounds supra .500.

The win-loss file will matter. It’s difficult to tally backmost a coach pinch 40-plus losses successful 4 seasons. But Mara values stableness and isn’t prone to rash decisions. As overmuch arsenic nan team’s record, keeping aliases firing Daboll will travel down to nan environment. If Dart continues to show promise, if nan Giants tin snag different brace of upset wins and if nan chemistry betwixt nan caput coach and backmost remains strong, Daboll will beryllium fixed different year.

Hot Seat Meter 5/10