Top 10 NFL Coaches on the Hottest Seat Going Into the 2024 Season
As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, we enter the draft season and then prepare for the 2024 season. There were some big changes made already, most notably longtime coaches Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll both stepping down from their respective roles.Interestingly, after winning the National Championship at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh is officially back in the NFL, taking the coaching position for the LA Chargers. Some teams have already made changes, but for these coaches, changes may be coming sooner rather than later, meaning they are on the hot seat.
Michael John McCarthy is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He previously coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006-2018. He led the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XLV against his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm shocked Jerry Jones is doubling down on Mike McCarthy. Regular season-wise, he's been good, but the Cowboys continually get embarrassed in the playoffs. With how talented the Cowboys were this season, the way they got absolutely waxed at home by a young Packers team is unacceptable. Make no mistake, he got humiliated by his old team, Green Bay, in Dallas, mind you. The final score was closer than the game actually was. He got outclassed by a Packers team that barely made the playoffs. In fact, his playoff record in Dallas is 1-3.
You'd think with Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh available, Jerry Jones would move on, but shockingly, he decided to stick to his guns. Mike McCarthy has always had the same issues since his Packers days: solid coach but carried by the talent around him. 2024 is do-or-die time.
The Bears are at an interesting position right now. His 2021 season was absolutely abysmal with a 3-14 record, but he has the excuse of having absolutely no talent on that roster. There was some hype coming into this season from the fanbase, and they proceeded to start 0-4. Granted, they managed to rebound from that and show signs of improvement, finishing 7-10.
You get the #1 overall pick again this year, thanks to the trade with Carolina last year. This brings up an interesting decision. You can stick with Justin Fields or draft the top quarterback prospect in Caleb Williams and likely trade Fields in this scenario. Whatever you decide to do, the fanbase will once again have higher expectations in 2024.
This is a big decision that will either save your reputation or, if you make the wrong decision, get you run out of town. Either way, you have to hope Fields or Williams can actually show some progression in 2024. I'm very curious to see how this offseason plays out for Chicago.
Sure, the Saints' defense has been alright for the most part, but this Saints team screamed inconsistency all season long, which made it difficult to take them seriously. Turns out a used Derek Carr didn't solve all the problems. The Saints have talent on offense, but it just feels like they can't unlock their full potential on that side of the ball.
Another thing working against Dennis Allen is the NFC South. That division is incredibly weak, and the expectation was the Saints should be able to handle their business and win, but they failed in that regard. The inconsistencies held this team back all season long. If you don't win this division in 2024, it might be time to switch things up because this current regime is massively underachieving.
Robert Saleh has been pretty unlucky in his Jets tenure, with Zach Wilson being your primary quarterback as a big reason why. Last year was supposed to be different when they traded for Aaron Rodgers, who unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury within 4 plays. So, we never got to see the potential of the Jets led by Aaron Rodgers. 2023 was his mulligan. To his credit, the Jets were still competitive despite the frustrations.
However, they were really only competitive on defense. The offense was pretty pathetic for the most part, and Robert Saleh will not have the injury excuse in 2024. His leash is getting shorter.
The biggest things that must be addressed this offseason are the offensive line and WR2 behind Garrett Wilson. If the Jets can't contend for the AFC East title or at least make the playoffs, I imagine they will give Robert Saleh the boot. You cannot justify keeping a coach who loses 10+ games for 4 seasons in a row.
One year after nearly winning the Super Bowl, the Eagles would follow that up with one of the biggest collapses in NFL history. They started off so well at 10-1 and looked poised to make it back to the Super Bowl, yet they proceeded to have a 1-6 finish to the season and looked completely abysmal in their playoff game against Tampa Bay. This was literally the reincarnation of the 2020 Steelers. Their efforts in the playoffs alone are a fireable offense. Replacing your DC with Matt Patricia was your first mistake.
If Nick Sirianni can't get things back on track, he will be shown the door. I firmly believe that Eagles team has too much talent to utterly collapse like that.
Buffalo had a weird year where they went from borderline missing the playoffs to winning the division and then losing to the Chiefs again at home. It's frustrating knowing you have a superstar in Josh Allen yet lose to Kansas City 3 out of the last 4 seasons. He may be relatively safe for the time being because he at least knows how to get Buffalo to the playoffs, but this coming season will be very telling of who's really to blame.
The talent is there, but they still can't get over the hump. McDermott is a defensive-minded coach, so some will argue that it's time for an offensive-minded approach.
Brian Daboll won Coach of the Year in 2022 for making the playoffs in his first year and overachieving with the Giants. Last year was a reality check. The offense was pretty stagnant most of the time due to injuries and/or regression across the board.
The Giants are a relatively patient organization, so I imagine Daboll will be safe for now. If they don't show that 2023 was a fluke year, then I imagine things will heat up.
Didn't Denver just hire Sean Payton? Yes, but the NFL is a "what have you done for me lately?" league. Sean Payton went 9-8 with the Saints in 2021 and 8-9 last year with Denver. Granted, the Broncos did improve as the season progressed, but let's not forget they didn't give up 70 points to the Dolphins. He was brought in to try and fix Russell Wilson, and he didn't really do that. This past season was very much the same as the previous season for Denver.
I imagine if he can't bring the Broncos back to the playoffs, he will probably be shown the door as a coach close to past his expiration date.
The Jaguars' offense looked strangely "off" for most of the season. The Jaguars had a massive collapse in the second half of the season, causing them to not only miss the playoffs but watch Houston win a playoff game. The talent is there, and they underachieved. The expectations were to be more competitive in the AFC, and they completely failed on that front.
I doubt Doug Pederson gets fired this offseason because he's an overall decent coach who has won a Super Bowl. But if things go wrong again next year, expect his seat to be scorching.
Miami was supposed to be this elite offensive team, yet they still can't manage to live up to expectations. The Dolphins cannot beat quality opponents not named Dallas and were rightfully called fraudulent. Even in the -30 degree playoff game against Kansas City, they looked as awful as the Peacock broadcast itself.
The offense can't function without the Cheetah, apparently, and Tua doesn't seem to have the clutch factor when it matters most. Mike McDaniel is basically becoming Kliff Kingsbury. The seat is slowly heating up, and if they end up in the same place again by this time next year, expect McDaniel to be canned.