7 NFL Coaches On The Hot Seat After Week 9

Week 9 of the NFL season led to the second coaching casualty of the year, as the Saints parted ways with Dennis Allen after extending their losing streak to seven games around a month after the Jets kicked Robert Saleh to the curb.

A couple of NFL teams have already decided to part ways with their head coach this season, but it’s pretty safe to assume that number is going to increase in the next couple of months based on the franchises that have failed to get it together.

As things currently stand, these guys stand out from the rest of the pack when it comes to the coaches who should be worried about their job stability.

Matt Eberflus—Bears

Matt Eberflus failed to post a winning record during his first two seasons with the Bears, and while Chicago is theoretically still in the playoff hunt, most fans are pretty pessimistic thanks to what unfolded during Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals.

The Bears were hoping to bounce back after being stunned by a game-winning Hail Mary against the Commanders, but they fell to 4-4 after getting dominated by Arizona in a 29-9 loss.

Eberflus has now gone 0-18 in road games on Sundays during his tenure, and it’s hard to ignore the many coaching decisions that have come back to bite Chicago.

It might be a stretch to call the upcoming showdown with the Patriots a “must-win,” but it’s about as close as you can get given the pressure he’ll be facing if they lose.

 

Doug Pederson—Jaguars

Doug Pederson probably temporarily saved his job with a win over the Patriots, but the Jaguars weren’t able to keep the momentum going and are currently 2-7 after losing their last two games.

At this point, it seems like the Jaguars are satisfied with letting Pederson finish out the season, as I can’t think of any other reason they’ve allowed him to stick around this long based on how dismal they’ve looked.

It’s worth noting Jacksonville was sitting at 3-6 at this point in the year during his inaugural campaign in 2022 and managed to make the playoffs with a 9-8 record, but it’s very hard to imagine a similar comeback is in store.

Antonio Pierce–Raiders

Pierce is technically a first-year head coach, but he managed to secure the job in the first place thanks to the 5-4 record he posted after being tagged with the interim label last season—which means he’s on a tighter leash than other guys who are truly in the midst of their first campaign with a team.

The Raiders parted ways with three offensive coaches after dropping to 2-7 with a 41-24 loss to the Bengals, so while those sacrificial lambs may buy Pierce a little bit of time, the blame for the team’s performance ultimately rests on his shoulders.

Brian Daboll—Giants

The Giants front office obviously deserves a fair amount of blame for their current woes by going all-in on Daniel Jones and letting Saquon Barkley defect to the Eagles, but Brian Daboll has also earned plenty of it.

The Commanders handed the Giants their fourth consecutive loss with a 27-22 win, and New York is one of six teams sitting in the basement of the NFL standings with a 2-7 record.

Daboll has gone 17-25-1 since taking over in 2022, and based on how things are trending, his third season will probably end up being his last.

Mike McCarthy—Cowboys

Jerry Jones went out of his way to voice his support for his head coach by saying “I’m good with Mike” after the Cowboys fell to 3-5 with their third loss in a row, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many fans who feel the same way.

Dallas will also be without Dak Prescott for at least a month after he suffered a hamstring injury, which makes the uphill battle the team was already facing even steeper.

If Jones was really all-in on McCarthy, he would have already signed the man in the final year of his contract to an extension, and it seems like a virtual certainty we’ll end up seeing someone else on the sidelines next season.

Kevin Stefanski—Browns

The Browns got a glimmer of hope after Jameis Winston helped them snap a five-game losing streak with a win over the Ravens, but anyone hoping he was going to be Joe Flacco 2.0 got a reality check when he threw three interceptions in the team’s 27-10 loss to the Chargers.

The Browns are 2-7, and while they may be able to eke out a win over the Saints this weekend, they have a pretty tough schedule to close out the remainder of the season.

Stefanski is still the reigning Coach of the Year and is their longest-tenured skipper since the 1980s, and it’s pretty obvious the QB situation is (once again) the biggest issue Cleveland is grappling with.

As a result, his job may be somewhat safe compared to most of the other people on this list, but he’s still in a somewhat precarious situation.

Nick Sirianni—Eagles

I’m somewhat hesitant to put Nick Sirianni on this list when you consider the Eagles have gotten off to a 6-2 start, but plenty of fans would tell you they’ve managed to post that record in spite of a head coach who’s been routinely criticized for some questionable play-calling that has made some of those wins closer than they’ve needed to be.

At the end of the day, Sirianni has gone 40-19 midway through his fourth season in Philadelphia, and the Eagles are well on their way to making the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year.

Another early exit in the postseason will likely spark another round of conversations about Sirianni’s future with the team, so while his job isn’t in any imminent danger, this is a long-term Hot Seat Watch worth keeping tabs on.