Usually, there's a pretty clear group of coaches on the hot seat when the season begins. Last year, it was pretty clear early on that teams like the Patriots, Jets, Raiders and Bears would probably be in the market for new head coaches.
This year? It doesn't feel quite as clear! I mean, there's one very, very obvious hot seat option that people have thought could be out for a few years now, but other than that, things might need to go monumentally bad for other coaches to lose their jobs.
But hey, this is the NFL! Things often do go monumentally bad out of nowhere. I mean, did anyone expect Doug Pederson to get fired before last season began? Probably not, but things went south, and he wound up out in Jacksonville.
Here are six coaches who could wind up on the hot seat. Some of these are likelier than others to be moved, so let's highlight the scenario for how each could wind up without a job.
Zac Taylor - Cincinnati Bengals
It might be time to have a conversation about Zac Taylor.
Yes, he's helped build one of the league's most prolific offensive attacks, but the Bengals are just 46-52-1 under his tutelage. At some point, Joe Burrow putting up massive numbers doesn't matter if you can't win football games.
The team had two really good seasons under Taylor, including a Super Bowl trip in 2021, but the past two years have seen the team finish 9-8. Last year, Burrow led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns, yet the team missed the postseason.
Cincinnati made a change at defensive coordinator this offseason in hopes that it would fix that unit and get the team back to the postseason, but if the Bengals miss out on the playoffs for a third year in a row, then it might be time to see if someone else can get this team over the hump.
Kevin Stefanski - Cleveland Browns
Look, you've got to feel bad for the position Kevin Stefanski has been put in by the Browns. The ill-fated Deshaun Watson trade destroyed all the momentum he'd been building, and last year the team plummeted to 3-14.
The Browns should give Stefanski a relatively long leash here, because he's in another impossible situation because of the quarterback issues in Cleveland. However, if the Browns have another season like they did in 2024, it might be time to clean house and start fresh.
I mean, personally, I'd give Stefanski a chance with a rookie quarterback next year if I were in charge in Cleveland. He deserves that. But the NFL is an unforgiving place. If the Browns win a total of, like, six games during a two-year span, Stefanski will likely be packing his bags.
Brian Schottenheimer - Dallas Cowboys
Hiring Brian Schottenheimer this offseason felt like the Cowboys had just thrown their hands and settled for whatever they could get.
Moving on from Mike McCarthy was a fine decision. McCarthy is an experienced coach, but it'd become clear that he wasn't the guy who'd get Dallas to the next level. But hiring McCarthy's offensive coordinator to take over after a season in which the Cowboys finished 26th in points scored feels...IDK, it just feels like a weird move, though Jerry Jones is known for making weird moves.
The Cowboys need to make major strides on offense this year to justify this hiring. They should be able to do that with a healthy Dak Prescott in tow, but nothing is a guarantee.
Shane Steichen - Indianapolis Colts
Through two seasons in Indianapolis, Shane Steichen's Colts are 17-17. That's been a crucial improvement over where the team was at in Frank Reich's final season, but there's a good shot that this season looks closer to Reich's 4-12-1 season from 2022 that ended his Colts tenure than it does to Steichen's first two years.
That's because the quarterback issues that Steichen has survived through the past two years might finally catch up to him. Naming Daniel Jones as the starter over Anthony Richardson is essentially a play to try to sneak into the playoffs. If things fall apart and the Colts win something like five games, then, like...do they just clean house and look for a new coach to lead them next year with a new rookie quarterback?
Probably not. Steichen is in a very difficult spot here and has shown he can win a handful of games with mediocre quarterbacks. One bad year shouldn't be the end of things, but there's definitely a scenario where 2025 is just too bad to ignore.
Brian Daboll - New York Giants
Would have to say that this is the likeliest name on this list when it comes to getting fired. The fact Brian Daboll survived this long feels like a miracle, as his Giants teams have gotten worse each year. The team went just 3-14 last season.
Daboll has to prove he can win with Russell Wilson at quarterback this year. If he can prove that, he'll get a chance to stick around in 2026 and coach Jaxson Dart once he takes over.
But if the Giants get off to a bad start and have to turn to Dart early, Daboll might not even survive to the end of the season. Watch out for a midseason firing.
Brian Callahan - Tennessee Titans
The 2025 season should be about maximizing Cam Ward's development. The Titans will have to decide if Brian Callahan is the guy for that.
His experience as the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati suggested that maybe he can be that guy, but what if he was simply boosted by Joe Burrow there? In five seasons as OC, the Bengals finished top 10 in passing yards twice, which happened to be the only two seasons where Burrow played a full season while Callahan was there.
And once Callahan left, Burrow promptly went out there and led the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns while Callahan led a three-win season in Tennessee.
There's a good chance that Callahan isn't the guy to fully unlock Ward. If the Titans realize that quickly, he could be out of a job at the end of the 2025 season.