The point at which it is justified to fire a head coach mid-season seems to be getting longer and longer. We fired one after five games this season, and it looks like more may happen before Thanksgiving. Maybe Halloween.
The NFL is becoming more and more impatient, whether it's with draft picks, quarterbacks or coaches. Robert Saleh was fired by the New York Jets after starting 2-3. Perhaps this will embolden other teams to make decisions in the first half of the season.
Here are the coaches in the hottest spots heading into Week 7:
The hottest seat
Doug Pederson, Jaguary z Jacksonville
One has to wonder whether Pederson would have been fired if the Jaguars had not shown up in London this week for a second straight game.
Jacksonville is 1-5. The Jaguars had one unimpressive last-minute win over the Indianapolis Colts and then were blown out 35-16 by the Chicago Bears in London. The Jaguars lost five of their last six last season, with their only victory coming against the 2-15 Carolina Panthers, giving them a 2-10 record since the start of last December.
Pederson fired his defensive coordinator after last season, balked at the idea of Press Taylor taking over as offensive coordinator, and his young quarterback Trevor Lawrence shows no signs of progress. Basically, Pederson checks every possible box for a struggling coach.
If the Jaguars lose to a bad New England Patriots team in London on Sunday morning, it's hard to imagine Pederson will survive it.
Very, very hot
Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys
The only reason McCarthy might not be on this list is because Jerry Jones doesn't fire head coaches that easily. Many still hold him to that reputation for some reason, but Jones' displacement of Jimmy Johnson occurred three decades ago. If anything, he was too patient with his coaches.
This has to reach a breaking point. The Cowboys are 3-3 with an 0-3 record at home and have been embarrassed in all three losses. They conceded at least 20 points in all games. The offense has stalled, the defense has fallen apart, and unless the Cowboys become more competitive, perhaps Jones can be persuaded to consider a change. Everyone else is waiting for it.
Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles
Sirianni will likely be on this list after what happened last season. He oversaw a massive collapse, barely kept it running, but the owners decided to keep it at reduced power. This left everyone wondering how much longer he had left.
The Eagles aren't bad this season, but they aren't great either. Sirianni faced criticism for tweeting to fans at the end of Sunday's unimpressive win over the Cleveland Browns. although he apologized for it and maybe there was an innocent reason for his antics. Either way, it wasn't a great look.
The Eagles' schedule (with the Giants, Bengals and Jaguars) has an easy upcoming schedule, which should be good news, but it could also make Sirianni's seat much warmer if the Eagles lose some of these games.
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
The Saints seemed to be 2-0 up and were the team that surprised everyone a lifetime ago. Since then, the Saints have lost all four games, with Sunday being a new record. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated them 51-27. The Buccaneers had 594 yards. That's a terrible look for Allen, who has a defensive background.
It's a bad week for Allen to face Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos, and rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler starts another game on Thursday night. If Saints legend Payton comes to New Orleans and beats Allen for a fifth straight loss, no one in New Orleans will be happy. A defeat against Payton at home may be enough for the owner to consider a transfer.
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Daboll is 17-22-1 as the Giants' head coach, but he's trending in the wrong direction. The Giants had a lucky playoff run in Daboll's first season, and not much has gone right since then. They are 2-4 this season and whether Daboll will survive this year if the team continues to lose likely has to do with ownership's attitude toward the roster. It also makes sense that the team could hold Daboll accountable for quarterback Daniel Jones, who remains stuck under center.
Daboll seemed like a decent choice when the head coach became vacant this season. However, the Giants weren't terrible. We'll see how fed up he will be with the Giants if the team goes on a losing streak.
Who knows what might happen
Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders
Pierce was an employee who was the right fit for the moment, but he approached it with skepticism. The Raiders weren't wrong to see if the momentum they had last season could be maintained. It was also worth asking whether Pierce was ready to become a full-time coach.
This season hasn't been great. After a shocking victory over Baltimore, the Ravens suffered an inexcusable loss at home to a terrible Carolina Panthers team. There wasn't much accountability there from Pierce for the team's lack of preparation, poor in-game decisions or anything else. Davante Adams' situation quickly escalated, leading to a trade, which doesn't reflect well on Pierce either. It seems unlikely that Pierce will be fired during the season, but that could change if the Raiders' season gets out of control.
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Stefanski is a two-time NFL Coach of the Year and the Browns will not be better without him. But the Deshaun Watson situation is strange.
Even though Watson may be the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, not counting injury replacements, Stefanski wouldn't even consider benching him. If it's due to ownership, will Stefanski give up at some point and make him a target? If sticking with Watson is the case with Stefanski, this is an odd look. And it's not like team owner Jimmy Haslam is known for his patient and rational decisions.
Stefanski probably isn't going anywhere, especially if continuing to start Watson is the owner's decision and he continues to play the good soldier role, but there's a strange vibe among the Browns.
Dave’a Canalesa i Carolina Panthers
There is one reason Canales is here: David Tepper, who apparently loves firing coaches, and his new NFL head coach is 1-5. If Canales' Panthers hadn't beaten the Raiders in his only win, perhaps the coach would have been higher on the list. We know Tepper is impatient.
Bryce Young's move to the bench isn't Canales' fault, but it doesn't reflect well on him either. It looks like the Panthers will once again be one of the worst teams in the NFL. If the Panthers are, say, 1-10 in December, will Tepper hold up under a new coach? He should, but that doesn't mean he will. With Tepper, anything is possible.
