The early window games have concluded and several coaches have proved that their days are numbered with their respective teams. Mike McDaniel might have the hottest seat of any NFL coach as the Miami Dolphins season is in shambles. He’s far from the only coach whose job is in question, though. John Harbaugh might start hearing some rumblings as well as the Baltimore Ravens’ season is headed in the wrong direction as well.
Unlike college football where mid-season firings have taken center stage, I don’t anticipate any of these coaches getting fired just yet, but I will say, they are definitely on the hot seat after Week 6 in the NFL. Here’s who is on the hot seat as some coaches are feeling the pressure early into the season.
1. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
It’s time for Chris Greer and the Miami Dolphins to do what is probably overdue at this point and fire McDaniel. The Dolphins fell to 1-5 on the season and their only win is against the winless New York Jets. McDaniel has rapidly regressed from his first two seasons. You could argue a lot of that is because Tua Tagovailoa has either been unhealthy or simply inconsistent. Either way, this isn’t the same team from the beginning of McDaniel’s tenure.
As much as I want to give McDaniel the benefit of the doubt about how things have gone, it might be time to make a change. The Dolphins should probably clean house and honestly that could put Green in the crossfire as well. The Dolphins are at the bottom of the NFL and they don’t seem like they’ll be back at the top any time soon. If they don’t turn things around quickly, you have to think McDaniel will be the first to go.
2. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
I never thought John Harbaugh would be on a list like this, but he can’t avoid the spotlight with the way this team is playing right now. The Ravens have just one win and it’s a win over the Cleveland Browns. Lamar Jackson, though he’s been hampered by injury the last two games, isn’t playing great when he is healthy this year.
This team is severely underperforming, considering the talent on their roster. They have a former MVP at quarterback, a former 2,000-yard rusher in the backfield and a solid receiving core and defense. This team shouldn’t have just one win and be at the bottom of the AFC and AFC North. This isn’t the same Ravens team that was supposed to be contenders this year.
That falls on Harbaugh because even without Jackson, this team should be playing better. I agree injuries have hampered this team a lot and that’s not completely on Harbaugh. But the fact that they are struggling so much, you have to start pointing fingers at somebody and Harbaugh is next up.
3. John Gannon, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals looked like a team that was going to be sneaky good this year like the Indianapolis Colts are. Instead, they’ve now lost four-straight and are trending toward yet another disappointing season. This team should be better than they actually are and at some point they’re going to need the right coach to get them over the hump.
It wasn’t Kliff Kingsbury and it doesn’t seem like it’s Gannon either. There’s still time for them to turn things around, but this season is looking like it will be just as disappointing as the last few seasons have been. The only benefit of the doubt that they’ll get from me is that they’re playing in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL.
That’s not a good enough excuse though because good teams don’t have drastic ebbs and flows and well-coached teams don’t dig themselves into holes like the Cardinals have. Gannon has avoided any criticism since he took over, but that window is closing.
4. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Sometimes teams don’t improve until they go through a change and it feels like the Cleveland Browns need to overhaul their front office and coaching staff to get back on track. Don’t get me wrong, this team is struggling because they don’t have the players some of the other top teams do. Their offense is bad as Dillon Gabriel doesn’t look that good and he has no weapons to throw to.
The Browns offense has been holding this team back from being good and when you have an offensive-minded coach who calls the plays, he should get the criticism too. Stefanski has been on-and-off the hot seat between this season and last and it shouldn’t be a surprise why. This team isn’t playing at the level it should and it’s largely been because of the offense.
At some point, you have to stop blaming the players and the personnel and start blaming the person in charge of the offense. In the Browns case, it’s the same person that’s the head coach and he can’t keep getting passes.