The NFL hot seat isn’t scorching just yet as we’re just two games into the season. It’s never too early, though, to look at the coaches that could find themselves on the hot seat as the season progresses. This isn’t just about the teams that are losing, it’s also about the teams that are struggling and aren’t showing signs of turning things around too.
The four coaches on this list aren’t necessarily on the hot seat, but their respective seats will start to heat up if things don’t change soon.
Kevin Stefanski, Atlanta Falcons
Rarely are coaches judged by their first season, but in Kevin Stefanski’s situation, well, the Atlanta Falcons are in a heap of trouble. They have not started every rostered quarterback not named Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., who both have yet to make their 2026 debut. This Falcons team is in a really good position to win and thrive this season, yet they can’t figure out the offense. It’s not ideal to be down both your starting and backup quarterbacks. That said, it’s Stefanski’s job to keep the team from looking as embarrassing as it does now.
Stefanski isn’t fully to blame for Atlanta’s struggles to start the year because injuries aren’t really his fault. Be that as it may, the Falcons should have beat the Steelers in Week 1 and definitely shouldn’t have gotten whooped by the Carolina Panthers. Stefanski will be under hot water if things don’t turn around quickly. The Falcons have one of the best running backs in the NFL and they have some solid weapons around the field to complement the offense. This quarterback situation isn’t just going to hold Atlanta back, but it will loom over Stefanski as well.
DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
DeMeco Ryans is a good coach, but has he reached his peak already? Houston is 0-2 after a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and it was a regression from a week ago. The overarching problem for Houston has been defense to start the season. That was their strength the last two seasons and now teams are figuring them out. Cincinnati scored 20 points on Sunday and Buffalo scored 36 points on them the week before. The other caveat is how to get Stroud to improve.
He didn’t play badly on Sunday, but again, he didn’t play well enough to win the game. Stroud threw for 353 yards, but the Texans couldn’t get into the end zone. The offense looked a lot different than it did a week ago, and while Stroud made some good passing plays, the run game was nonexistent. It’s going to take a lot for Ryans to get on the hot seat, per se, but it’s something to monitor if Houston doesn’t get back on track quickly.
Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay and Cleveland’s game on Sunday was hit with a more than hour delay with two minutes left in the game. Regardless of how long the game was, Todd Bowles can’t keep dodging the hot seat forever. Bowles and the Buccaneers once again struggled on defense. Struggling to slow down the Browns offense is a sign that maybe it’s a coaching problem. The Bucs defense has struggled to start this season.
That doesn’t fall exclusively on Bowles, but the key to Tampa Bay’s success has been on his defensive schemes. The offense has taken a dip this year as well, but the defensive side of the ball is what Bowles specializes in. If Tampa Bay fails to make the playoffs for the second straight year or fails to win a playoff game as well.
Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans
Robert Salah was expecting to be a better head coach the second time around and, well things look eerily similar to how it went his first time around as a head coach in New York. Tennessee, while looking a lot better this week than last, struggled once again this week against Philadelphia. I’m not sure how patient Tennessee is going to be with his development but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them get impatient if things don’t start progressing forward.
This isn’t just about wins and losses either, the team needs to look inspired. They have to show that they’re moving toward leaving the rebuilding phase rather than being shoved back into it. This Tennessee Titans team is improving, which is good, but they’re 0-2 right now. Losing won’t be an option too much longer if Saleh expects to be the head coach in Nashville next season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google