Aaron Glenn and more coaches who will be fighting for their jobs in 2026

The NFL's patience with coaches has reached a new low as turnover in the head coaching profession has rapidly accelerated. 10 teams hired new coaches in the offseason, making it 27 of 32 overall who have hired their head coach within the past five years.

Some long-standing coaches also were replaced this winter, as Mike Tomlin parted ways with Pittsburgh while Baltimore fired John Harbaugh and Buffalo sacked Sean McDermott. With the league's structure set up to make playoff appearances easier to achieve with proper management, the heat is on for a coach to quickly turn around a rebuilding team.

The hiring cycle should be a bit less chaotic this season with all of the new hires we saw this past cycle, but there are always a handful of decisions that are baffling at the end of the year. Let's take a look at four coaches who may be fighting for their jobs if they don't meet expectations in 2026.

Aaron Glenn, New York Jets

Things aren't off to a good start for Glenn in his homecoming with the Jets, which began his first year 0-7 and landed the No. 2 pick in the draft in a one-quarterback class. Glenn also admitted defeat on his initial coaching staff by replacing both his offensive and defensive coordinators this offseason, hiring Frank Reich and Brian Duker to succeed Tanner Engstrand and Steve Wilks.

Duker is likely to be more involved in game-planning as Glenn is expected to take on play-calling responsibilities, putting more pressure on him to deliver a better performance from a unit that failed to record an interception in 2025. GM Darren Mougey invested a lot of resources into the defense in the offseason, including the return of Demario Davis at linebacker and taking edge rusher David Bailey at No. 2. If the Jets can't turn things around, Glenn will be squarely on the hot seat.

The Jets have three first-round picks in 2027, which should give them plenty of ammo to find their quarterback of the future, but the last thing the franchise can afford to do is start yo-yo-ing a rookie through multiple coaches. If Glenn doesn't show marked improvement this season, it would make sense for New York to move on and hire a coach who can develop its next quarterback.

Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts

It is very rare for a head coach to survive four straight years of not making the playoffs, so Steichen is officially on the clock after being retained despite three consecutive postseason misses in Indianapolis. The Colts have gone either 9-8 or 8-9 in each of Steichen's first three seasons, but 2023 saw them fall short in a division title game against Houston in Week 18 while 2025 included a collapse from 7-1 to out of the playoffs entirely.

Injuries played a role in 2025's disaster, including a torn Achilles tendon for quarterback Daniel Jones, but there were signs that the Colts' hot start was a bit fluky even before poor health took its toll. Indianapolis invested heavily in its roster when it got off to a fast start, trading its next two first-round picks to the Jets in exchange for cornerback Sauce Gardner — and essentially making the team pot-committed to Jones and their current core.

With Jones still working his way back from his injury, things could get dicey for the Colts in a division where both Houston and Jacksonville won at least 12 games a year ago. If Indianapolis is cold to start the year, don't be shocked if they pull the plug on Steichen to see if an interim coach can salvage their season.

Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Things have slowly been declining for Tampa Bay under Bowles, who was Bruce Arians' hand-picked successor after he retired prior to the 2022 season. Bowles, like Steichen, has hovered around .500 in each of his first four seasons, but he does have three division titles to show for it — with the highlight being a tight loss to the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round in 2024.

The 2025 season was a dumpster fire for the Bucs, who saw a 6-2 start melt into an 8-9 finish that saw them lose the NFC South on a tiebreaker to the Carolina Panthers. A combination of injuries and a decline in Baker Mayfield's performance didn't help, but Bowles had no answers when the train started coming off the tracks down the stretch.

Bowles did receive a multi-year extension after the 2025 season, which could buy him some time, but Tampa Bay is approaching an inflection point after Mike Evans' departure in the offseason and with Mayfield in need of a contract extension. If Mayfield can't turn things around and Tampa Bay falls short again, Bowles could be shown the door in order to prioritize salvaging Mayfield with an offensive-minded coach.

Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

There has been a lot of drama in Cincinnati the past few years, but Zac Taylor has managed to survive thus far. A trip to the Super Bowl in his third season followed by a tight AFC Championship loss in his fourth bought him a lot of good will, but the Bengals haven't made the postseason since falling at Arrowhead Stadium in January of 2023.

Ill-timed injuries to Joe Burrow have sabotaged two seasons in a row while a defensive meltdown over the past few years hasn't helped. Cincinnati has invested heavily in its offense, giving big-money extensions to Burrow and both of his top pass catchers (Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase), but they haven't gotten nearly enough out of that trio to overcome their defensive issues.

A fourth straight postseason miss could lead Cincinnati to move on from Taylor to prevent Burrow from taking the Carson Palmer route and forcing his way out of town. Taylor's teams have also underachieved over the past three years, so perhaps it is time for a new voice for the Bengals if they can't get back to the postseason in a winnable division in 2026.

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