NFL coaches on shaky ground entering 2024 season: Ranking eight hot-seat candidates to watch

Some NFL coaches have permanent job security: Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs, for example; or even Mike Tomlin, who just got a three-year extension from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Others are not so lucky. Due to recent struggles, high ownership expectations, or a combination of both, each season tends to put a number of coaches on the chopping block. So which leaders will find themselves on potentially shaky ground in 2024?

Here’s how we ranked eight coaches who will be most scrutinized:

8. Sean McDermott (accounts)

Year: 8th | Record: 73-41 | Decisive games: 5-6

Not only does McDermott come from the Andy Reid tree, but his head coaching resume practically mirrors Reid’s early career with the Philadelphia Eagles, when year after year of regular season success – and resilient locker room culture – was overshadowed only by one failure in getting to the big game. As such, it’s hard to imagine Buffalo actually eyeing a change at the top. Yet McDermott’s teams have reached just one AFC title game in five seasons with MVP-level Josh Allen as the full-time quarterback. Now overseeing a revamped squad, the coach’s long-term prospects are cloudier than usual.

Year: 3rd | Record: 17-17 | Decisive games: 1-2

Bowles can coach a defense as well as anyone, and his group of 2023 underdogs — with the struggling Baker Mayfield under center — nearly advanced to the NFC title game. But his clubs also hit .500 in two seasons in arguably football’s weakest division, and his situational decision-making drew criticism. With the departure of offensive coordinator Dave Canales, it is fair to wonder if he will be able to elevate a “backward” squad.

6. Nick Sirianni (Eagles)

Year: 4th | Record: 34-17 | Decisive games: 2-3

Sirianni’s track record is excellent; his .667 winning percentage ranks third among all coaches, he has led three playoff runs in three years and is just two years removed from a Super Bowl shootout with the Chiefs. However, his Birds looked increasingly uninspired in a 1-6 stretch to close 2023, including a postseason failure, while his personnel choices and boisterous personality backfired. Reloaded with new coordinators and an all-star lineup, Sirianni has a conceivable path back to glory, but the bar is set so high in Philadelphia that it’s almost a surprise he’s back no way.

5. Mike McCarthy (Cowboys)

Year: 5th | Record: 42-25 | Decisive games: 1-3

Like his NFC East counterpart Nick Sirianni, McCarthy has big numbers on his resume — lots of regular-season wins, even a Super Bowl nod in the past — but only conditional support from ownership. Jerry Jones actually proved to be more patient than expected in Dallas, but not even three consecutive 12-win seasons translated into a legitimate playoff run for McCarthy’s Cowboys, lending Jones also pressure on longtime quarterback Dak. Prescott. The offense has always worked very well here, but with Dan Quinn no longer overseeing the game’s defense, all eyes will be on McCarthy, who recorded a single playoff victory in his last six years as boss.

4. Matt Eberflus (Bears)

Year: 3rd | Record: 10-24 | Decisive games: N/A

If Chicago wanted to start from scratch, this offseason would have been the logical time to do so, before a reset at quarterback with No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams. But Eberflus’ defense has finally steeled itself to make Chicago competitive late in 2023, and general manager Ryan Poles has finally equipped him with a quality lineup backed by veterans. Still, 10 wins in his first two seasons means there will be pressure to finally sniff out the playoff race and/or properly guide Williams’ development, a year after his team suffered in-season rotations.

3. Dennis Allen (Santos)

Year: 3rd | Record: 16-18 | Decisive games: N/A

Like Todd Bowles in the NFC South, Allen remains a respected defensive mind, always capable of forcing a physical and/or low-scoring contest. Unlike Bowles, he has yet to guide his own playoff bid, leaning toward conservatism as a decision-maker in difficult times to barely keep New Orleans above water. In four and a half years as boss, dating back to his time with the Las Vegas Raiders, Allen has gone just 24-46, although his current team has prioritized “win now” pieces over long-term rebuilding. It’s probably playoffs or bust for him and Derek Carr.

2. Brian Daboll (Giants)

Year: 3rd | Record: 15-18-1 | Decisive games: 1-1

Few current coaches have seen their stock rise and fall in such a short period of time. Aptly crowned Coach of the Year for rejuvenating Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley en route to a surprise playoff victory in 2022, Daboll has been much more mercurial as a leader and situational player amid the string of injuries to his 2023 roster. defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, he will be tasked with reviving Jones once again and securing a commitment from a club that hasn’t retained a head coach in more than two years since Tom Coughlin.

1. Robert Saleh (Jets)

Year: 4th | Record: 18-33 | Decisive games: N/A

Aaron Rodgers joked this offseason that if he doesn’t return to his best form in 2024, “we’ll probably all be out of here.” And he’s probably right. Saleh’s first two years confirmed his talent as a defensive teacher, but they were wasted as the offense — both young quarterback Zach Wilson and Saleh’s handpicked staff — repeatedly floundered. Championship hopes legitimately arose when general manager Joe Douglas signed Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers before 2023, but the grand plan evaporated after three snaps into the regular season thanks to the nearly 40-year-old quarterback falling behind a weak O-line. . Meanwhile, Saleh inexplicably returned to — and stayed with — Wilson as Plan B, essentially ensuring a third straight losing season. If Rodgers and the big names stay healthy, perhaps the pendulum will finally swing. But both Saleh and Douglas have struggled to alter the narrative that Gang Green is more effective as a reality show than a formidable football program.