NFL Hot Seat: 5 coaches that must win Week 3
By Josh Hill
There will be NFL head coaches on the hot seat all year long, but which ones need a win in Week 3 to lower the heat?
Only two weeks of regular season football have been digested, but already it’s growing clear which coaches will be looking for work in the offseason. Even though there are obvious candidate for the hot seat just three weeks into the season, now is the time where more fringe candidates will emerge.
There’s a lot of football left for those names to arise, though. For now, these head coaches badly need a win in Week 3 to lower the heat on their seat if only temporarily.
Sean Payton
Head Coach, New Orleans Saints
At some point, the greatness of the Sean Payton era in New Orleans is going to come to an end. Many mistake this for meaning that the era wasn’t as special as it was — which is just false. But all good things come to an end, and Payton has been living on borrowed time for a while now.
Drew Brees is likely going to be gone in the offseason as the Saints unload salary in an effort to not be handcuffed the way they have been in years past. The exit of Brees will likely be spurred by the firing of Payton, which will be a hard reset for a Saints team that just looks awful this year. The defense is stale, the offense isn’t much better and there isn’t anyone left to blame other than Payton.
There’s light at the end of the tunnel for both parties, which is rare in this situation. Payton will likely get a job in Indianapolis or Dallas (depending on what happens with Jason Garrett), while the Saints will probably go for an up-and-coming coach to develop the next generation.
But if there’s one thing that is certain, it’s that Payton’s borrowed time in New Orleans is finally up.