It’s not often a two-time Coach of the Year finds themselves on the hot seat, but that’s where Kevin Stefanski is and there isn’t much left to save him from being unemployed in a couple of months. The Cleveland Browns have face-planted since reaching the playoffs in 2023 and while it was hard to blame Stefanski for much of the Browns’ shortcomings, it’s hard to avoid it this year.
As bad as it’s been for Stefanski, however, he’s not the only coach in the NFL facing a lot of scrutiny. Here are the coaches on the hottest seats after Week 12.
Raheem Morris, Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons had so much promise entering the season, so much so they gave up their 2026 first round pick to trade back into the first round of last year’s draft. You only do that if you don’t plan on needing it. With two months left in the season, they desperately need that pick. Raheem Morris may not be to blame for that trade, but he’s to blame for not getting the most out of this team.
The Falcons are just about out of the playoff picture and with Kirk Cousins back in the fold after Michael Penix Jr. missed his first game of the season after he tore his ACL in Week 11. The Falcons have a lot of questions, ones they shouldn’t have in a season that was supposed to be promising. The NFC South continues to be a dumpster fire with Tampa Bay the only ones good enough to avoid the chaos.
Morris has failed this team by not producing the results they should. The Falcons have talent, there’s just a disconnect between the players and the coaches, clearly. Atlanta will probably finish 3-3 in the final month-and-a-half of the season, meaning they’d finish 7-10. That’s on the coach for not producing the results.
He won’t get too many chances to course correct. Morris was brought in after a failed Arthur Smith regime. Unfortunately, he’s headed down the same path.
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Shedeur Sanders might be the only person that could save Steanski's job, and that’s a big if. Stefanski and Andrew Berry brought Sanders in and the only reason they may be allowed to return is to see if Sanders is the answer. Another regime taking over would pretty much seal Sanders’ fate. After his first NFL start, it’s likely the Browns let him finish out the season and if he does and strings together some wins, it might just save Stefanski and Berry. That said, the Browns will have to decide if another year of uncertainty with Stefanski is worth it.
Every year, it feels like the expectations are high for Cleveland with the talent they have and then they fall apart. If Stefanski can’t figure out how to get the most out of his team, he’s clearly not the right person for the job. Stefanski doesn’t have too many more excuses that will keep the Browns from letting him go.
Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
If Zac Taylor really wants to lose his job, he’d allow Joe Burrow to come back this season. While it’s not Taylor’s fault that the roster construction isn’t great, this team is vastly different from the ones that were competing for AFC championships not too long ago. Between some game management issues and some poor decisions, the Bengals wouldn’t be wrong to fire him.
That said, getting the head coach job with the Bengals is a great gig because they seldom make the drastic moves. Marvin Lewis overstayed in the locker room and you have to think Taylor will have the same luxury as the Bengals pride themselves on being traditionalists. Cincinnati learned once already, though, that they have to adjust to modern football, so maybe that means they’ll know Taylor’s days are numbered and they shouldn’t let him stick around longer than he needs to.
Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are in an awful position. They have question marks on offense, starting with their quarterback, and they just can’t figure out how to get out of the depths of NFL failure. Since Gannon has taken over, the Cardinals have been bottom feeders in the league. They were 8-9 last year, but they won just two of the last seven games. This year, they started 2-0 before dropping eight of the last nine.
This reminds me of what happened with Doug Pederson in Jacksonville except the Cardinals never made it to the playoffs. They thought letting Kliff Kingsbury go was the solution and that wasn’t the case. Now they will probably be on the search for yet another coach to help save this team.