Pressure is all relative, but there is no denying what these head coaches are up against this fall. While some of them have won in the past before, the NFL remains a "What have you done for me lately?" league. It is one driven by parity, but those who are at the bottom of a pile do not stay their for long, mostly because they run out of air. The clock is ticking on these coaches to improve their NFL teams.
What I will say is every year there seems to be a slew of head coaches we are certain are not going make it by season's end. In most instances, our intuition is correct. However, sometimes just delaying the inevitable is just par for the course in football. Over the last several hiring cycles, it has become readily apparent that there are simply not enough good coordinators and retread hires to go around.
So what I want to do today is outline five head coaches who can take themselves off the hot seat, at least temporarily, with a strong first half. Each job is different, as is the method of cooling one's hot seat off into the realm of newfound job security. Could all five of these head coaches be fired before Black Monday? I am not ruling that out of the question. I will say that two or three of these will survive.
Let's start with a coach who would get hired tomorrow if his team were to foolishly move on from him.
5. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski
I may be in the decreasing minority that thinks the partnership running the Cleveland Browns between general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski is still good in their roles. If either were to be fired, they would find work almost immediately. Maybe not in the same roles with the Browns, but in ones that will help a team go from good to great after taking on an overqualified role.
As far as how Stefanski takes himself off the hot seat, it starts by trusting Joe Flacco to stay healthy into October, as well as eventually giving the keys to the car to fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders. Cleveland is not expected to win a ton of games this year, but if they can somehow approach a .500 record in the the AFC North, that might be good enough to give him another season or so on the job.
The only way Jimmy Haslam can pull the plug on Stefanski is if Cleveland gets off to a dreadful start.
4. Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor
To say Zac Taylor is on the hot seat is certainly an interesting debate. If he were leading any other franchise than the Cincinnati Bengals, three-straight non-playoff seasons would likely result in his termination. It all comes down to if he has anything to be paid on his contract or not. There is nothing on god's green earth octogenarian owner Mike Brown hates more than having to eat dead money.
What I will say is if the Bengals do not look better on defense under Al Golden, that could be quite problematic for how Cincinnati has to win games. Joe Burrow is a phenomenal quarterback, but one more lower-body injury could sadly knock him out of his prime. I do not trust the big uglies in front of him, especially along the interior of the offensive line. A hot start will do wonders for Taylor's tenure.
For so many reasons, Cincinnati has arguably the highest variance of any team in the AFC this year.
3. Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen
If I had to describe the Indianapolis Colts in one word under their current regime, it would be directionless. Although the passing of late owner Jim Irsay could provide a newfound level of focus for the Colts, this team is not going anywhere with Chris Ballard continuing to serve as their long-entitled general manager. I am afraid his ineffectiveness will cost head coach Shane Steichen his job.
The biggest way for Steichen to prove his worth as a head coach to the Irsay Sisters is to put his trust and faith into Daniel Jones and move on from the grandiose idea that Anthony Richardson can be a franchise quarterback in this league. The Colts are not winning the division. They have not done that since around the time Andrew Luck could legally rent a car. Can they find a way to win big anyway?
Confusion may be the best way forward for Steichen keeping his job, but Ballard may scapegoat him.
2. New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll
There is a very narrow line in which Brian Daboll can keep his job after what does not look to be all that promising of a season for the New York Giants. He has to be bold in his convictions in assessing the quarterback position, as well as being in lock-step with general manager Joe Schoen. If there is any dissension, it could result in ownership doing what it probably should have done in canning both.
I do not care if he won a Super Bowl over a decade ago, do not let Russell Wilson start a game for this team. Cut him, I do not care. If Jaxson Dart is ready for primetime, them move forward with him. If not, then go with the man of the people that is Jameis Winston until Dart's day in the sun arises. Daboll cannot allow this quarterbacking conundrum to continue. He cannot lose the plot for the third time.
It should not be about wins and losses for the Giants this year, but rather cultivating a strong identity.
1. Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel
There are reasons why the Miami Dolphins have not won a single playoff game in a quarter-century. For as much of a believer I am in their head coach Mike McDaniel, I am a huge critic of Tua Tagovailoa's game going forward. I cannot believe the Dolphins paid him that much money for his occasionally slightly above average play, as well as the fact he is one injury away from retirement...
If the Dolphins are not a playoff team, it could be the end of the line for McDaniel in Miami. It would almost certainly mean the same thing for longtime general manager Chris Grier. In the end, McDaniel has to pray that Tagovailoa has his best season since his sophomore campaign at Alabama in 2018. The Dolphins might be washed to shore already, but I still have hope that McDaniel may revive them.
Just because I am so down on the Dolphins does not mean they are incapable of turning it around.