4 coaches who should also be on high alert after Raiders fire Josh McDaniels
By John Buhler
It came as a little bit of a shock when Mark Davis pulled the plug on the Josh McDaniels coaching experiment. The former New England Patriots offensive coordinator did not make it through his second season as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He was canned in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, alongside general manager Dave Ziegler. The Raiders remain a hot mess.
It was clunky pretty much the entire time for Daniels in Las Vegas. His team had talent, but quarterback issues and coaching concerns led to his abrupt dismissal midway through year two on the job. Because the Raiders will have a clean slate in the front office as well, this is not as bad of a job as one would think. Blessed with solid draft capital, the right head coach could turn this around fast.
So while the Raiders look towards 2024 with the recent moves they just made, other NFL franchises could be echoing The Silver and Black's sentiment when it comes to replacing their underperforming head coach. Keep in mind that only five jobs opened up last offseason cycle. We usually have around eight or so head-coaching positions become available right around the time Black Monday arrives.
With that in mind, here are four NFL head coaches whose seats are feeling mighty toasty right now.
4. Brandon Staley may need to win a playoff game in order to keep his job
Like clockwork, Brandon Staley finds new and creative ways to disappoint as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. This may be his third season at the helm, but he has been revealed to be a .500 coach in a division that features the best team in football and two other dysfunctional messes. After blowing a huge lead to Jacksonville during last year's Wild Card weekend, Staley is on thin ice.
Whether it is questionable play-calling, a defense that does not seem to get any better, not getting the most out of Justin Herbert's talent or not finding ways to mitigate the pervasive injury bug that always seems to plague the Bolts, time is running out for Staley in The City of Angels. From where I see it, the Chargers not only have to make the playoffs, but win a postseason game for him to stay.
With the Raiders having already made a big move, the Kansas City Chiefs not slowing down anytime soon and the Denver Broncos finally starting to turn the corner under new head coach Sean Payton, you have to wonder how much longer The Spanos family will tolerate Staley's inadequacies as a head coach. The Chargers are shamelessly cheap, but a better head coach gives them a winning product.
Unless the Chargers are one of the last eight NFL teams remaining, it is hard to see Staley sticking.