It's never too early to start looking at which NFL head coaches might be on the hot seat. As we head into Week 7, there are already plenty of reasons to debate which coaches may or may not be roaming the sideline not just this time next season but perhaps even by the season's end. Here are five NFL head coaches who could be in danger of losing their jobs.
Ron Rivera, Washington Commanders
Of all the mentioned NFL head coaches, Ron Rivera may have the lowest degreed seat of them all. Rivera and the Commanders are coming off a win over the Atlanta Falcons and currently hold a 3-3 record. However, they reside in the NFC East division with the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, where wins could become scarce unless they're playing the New York Giants. Additionally, the back half of the season could pose significant challenges.
Rivera's seat primarily gets its heat from new ownership in Washington that didn't hire him as much as they adopted him. The new owners might look at Rivera's tenure as the Commanders' head coach and see only one playoff appearance since 2020 and a 25-30 record, giving them plenty of reasons to consider new leadership. Rivera's best season was last year when he finished 8-8-1, which was only one win better than the previous two seasons.
Rivera may not get fired mid-season, unless the Commanders go on a massive losing streak. Rivera has proven he can lead a team to around a .500 record, but that may not be good enough to secure his job for a fifth season. His seat is probably more of a courtesy hot seat, with a polite message of, “Thanks, but we're going in a different direction.”
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
Hot seat and Bill Belichick seem like an oxymoron. Belichick hasn't been on the hot seat as an NFL head coach since his days with the Cleveland Browns, where he finished 36-44. Belichick has been with the Patriots since 2000, won six Super Bowls, and is a three-time Coach of the Year. But the now 71-year-old looks outdated and outcoached as the years seem to go on.
Granted, some of that is because he lost his star quarterback a few seasons ago. You've probably heard of him: Tom Brady. The chicken and the egg argument with Belichick and Brady now seems to be further separating itself by the season, particularly with the former looking like his team could be missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. That only happened twice with Brady as the starting quarterback in 20 seasons. It's happened twice in three seasons since his departure, with a third looking likely.
Again, there are still a lot of factors to consider with Belichick. You have to consider owner Robert Kraft and his sentiments toward Belichick. You also have to consider the deficiency at quarterback. But you also have to consider the lack of Belichick drafting and/or developing skill position players. Brady made up for a lot of deficiencies during his time with the Patriots, including that of his wide receivers. Times have changed, particularly as NFL offenses go.
Also, don't forget Belichick's odd decision for his coordinators last season when he at first had none officially. And then when he named Matt Patricia and Joe Judge his co-offensive coordinators, who both had no previous experience as offensive play-callers. This all has to be taken into account. The Patriots' current 1-5 record is just the exclamation point.
Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders
If there's a team across the league that has a mix of bad luck and a case of the just-can't-figure-it-outs, it's the Raiders. This team has just gone through its fourth re-location in its history just a few years ago, suffered some serious loss of player personnel due to legal issues, and had to fire their now two-time former NFL head coach, Jon Gruden, after leaked emails revealed some not-so-suitable language.
Josh McDaniels is now the fifth head coach to roam the sideline for the Raiders since 2012. This is only his second season in Las Vegas, but 6 and 11 doesn't look promising to this point. We're only six games into the 2023 season; however, so there could always be time for McDaniels and staff to turn it around a bit. But remember, this team is in the same division as the Kansas City Chiefs, who they have to play twice a year. Not to mention that free agent quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo can't seem to stay healthy, which could definitely adversely affect the Raiders' win total.
McDaniels has already faced this situation once, back in 2009-2010 when he was also in the AFC West with the Denver Broncos, where he finished 11-17.
Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears couldn't have begun the season any worse. They all of a sudden have their defensive coordinator quit on them, then their fielding equipment is ransacked, and then their starting quarterback, Justin Fields, comes out to the media saying he doesn't trust his coaching within the first few games.
The Bears are basically the Raiders of the north with their bad luck. This is a franchise that not only can't figure out the head coach, they can't figure out the quarterback, the wide receiver, either — they are historically offensively impotent. So why not hire a defensive head coach in Matt Eberflus? Makes sense.
In just 23 games, not even two whole seasons, Eberflus is 4-19. That's a gross .174 winning percentage. Maybe this team just tanks in hopes to get one of the many talented quarterbacks coming out of college this season. They have a good shot even at having the top 2 picks in next year's NFL Draft since they traded their No. 1 pick in this year's draft to the Carolina Panthers, who are winless.
Can Eberflus hang on that long, though? His seat at this point has to be scorching, even if he isn't halfway through his second season. The better question is, do the Bears' general manager Ryan Poles want to hang on to Eberflus? If Chicago wants to completely rebuild, starting with their quarterback, then an offensive-minded head coach seems like the way to go.
Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers
Somehow, someway, the Chargers keep finding ways to not finish games, and yet, Brandon Staley still has a job. For now. On Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys, the Chargers yet again found a way to lose, and lose by a familiar number of points at that. In the last two seasons, the Chargers have lost by three points or less in six games, which is the second most in the NFL during that timeframe.
For a team that is talented throughout, there's no way this team shouldn't be competing better. They're certainly better than their 2-3 record they currently hold. And they were better than their 27-point blown lead in last season's playoff collapse against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Mind you, these never-ending blown leads are coming from a defensive head coach, who continues to make baffling decisions that have contributed to a number of the Chargers' losses during his tenure. Speaking of defense, the Chargers spent the most of any team on their defense last season, nearly $142 million, according to Spotrac, via The Athletic.
Of any coach in the league, considering all the factors, the seat that's hottest should be Staley's right now. We'll have to see how many more blown leads go by before he's received his pink slip.
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