Ranking the top 10 coaches under the most pressure this NFL season

There’s an old adage in the NFL that head coaches are hired so that they can eventually be fired. The trick is to extend the tenure as much as possible in what has become an increasingly impatient league. We’ll rank the 10 NFL coaches who are under the most pressure to perform heading into the season. All statistics are sourced from Football Reference.

Daboll has gone from the greatest thing since sliced bread in his first season with the Giants, only to be viewed as a leader with no answers in year two. Entering his third season, Daboll will be motivated to break the tie with regard to his perception, but his main job will be to coax an acceptable season out of quarterback Daniel Jones.

In his first action of the preseason, Jones threw two interceptions, which is not what the coaching staff wants to see. NJ’s website noted that Daboll needs to win now, which might cause him to make dramatic moves sooner than he would otherwise. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Drew Lock under center if Jones can’t get things going.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Canales hasn’t even coached one regular season game in Carolina, but given the recent turmoil with the franchise, it seems fair to say that he might already be on the hot seat. Canales was able to engineer a resurgent season from Baker Mayfield as offensive coordinator with Tampa Bay, and will need to come up with an even more impressive miracle with the Panthers.

Including interim tags, the Panthers have had six different head coaches in the last five seasons. Carolina’s front office has not shown a willingness to hang in with a coach after a dismal season, and Athlon Sports also wonders whether Canales might be a one and done coach if demonstrable progress isn’t shown in 2024.

In a remarkable display of consistency, McCarthy has led the Cowboys to 12-win seasons in each of his first three years. It’s hard to complain about that level of play in the regular season, but McCarthy’s teams have folded when it comes to step up in the postseason.

For as outspoken as Dallas owner Jerry Jones is, he doesn’t tend to make panic moves when it comes to the head coaching position. That should bode well for McCarthy moving forward, but another playoff calamity, especially at home, could lead management to lean in a different direction next offseason.

McDermott faces a similar challenge as McCarthy. He’s shown to be a strong head coach in the regular season, as Buffalo has won 10 or more games in five straight seasons. However, the Bills have zero Super Bowl appearances to show for it, and patience might eventually wear thin in Western New York.

Over the last couple of years, Buffalo has parted ways with defensive coordinator Leslie Fraizer, and fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in the middle of the 2023 season. NBC Sports’ Mike Florio thought McDermott might have been shown the door this spring, but the chatter will only grow louder if Buffalo falls short of a Super Bowl berth this year.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

Sirianni’s career 34-17 record in Philadelphia is nothing to sneeze at, but his credibility took a bit of a hit during the Eagles’ late season swoon. He didn’t seem to have an answer on either side of the ball, as both of his coordinators from the 2022 Super Bowl run were hired away as head coach.

Philadelphia brought in Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio to give Sirianni the support he needs, but the excuses will be in short supply if the Eagles aren’t playing their best come January. Sirianni told NBC Sports Philadelphia, “It’s Philly, it’s the NFL. I mean, at the end of the day, if we don’t win enough, it’s going to be hard for me to continue to work here, right? And I get that.”

The Jaguars appeared to have a playoff spot all but guaranteed in early December, as they raced out to a commanding AFC South lead. Jacksonville lost five out of their last six games and found themselves on the outside looking in with regard to a postseason berth.

The Jaguars might be somewhat leery of turning the page on Pederson after the spectacularly disastrous hire of Urban Meyer in 2021. Pederson is at least a competent NFL head coach, but Jacksonville might have to take a good look in the mirror if the Jaguars miss the postseason in two consecutive seasons.

Sports Illustrated reported that Denver is paying Payton $18 million annually in order to get the franchise back to respectability. They were average in Payton’s first year in 2023, as it seemed like the former Super Bowl winning head coach was looking to establish a foundation for future success.

Payton and veteran quarterback Russell Wilson never seemed to be on the same page, so the franchise has revamped the quarterback room. Fans expect rookie passer Bo Nix to get the lion’s share of the snaps for the Broncos. That might buy Payton a little bit of time, but the offense will need to produce at a respectable rate to shift the pressure off of him.

Allen’s career as a head coach with the Raiders and Saints in 24-46, so how he is still employed, is anyone’s guess. With that said, New Orleans did squeak above .500 for a 9-8 finish last year, but the NFC South figures to be much improved. Allen and the Saints won’t have the same number of winnable games that they did a year ago.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport believes Allen was able to escape being fired because of New Orleans’ decent finish down the stretch of the 2023 campaign. They’ll need to start the 2024 season the way they ended last year in order to keep the mounting group of naysayers at bay.

Eberflus’ name came up often as the Bears struggled mightily during the Justin Fields era. Chicago’s defense also wasn’t getting the job done, which was embarrassing considering Eberflus’ background as a defensive coach. With that said, the roster has been much improved, leaving Eberflus without recourse if things don’t go well.

The offense has been bolstered by proven veteran talent such as D’Andre Swift, Keenan Allen and Gerald Everett. Kevin Byard was brought in to help anchor the secondary on defense. General manager Ryan Poles feels pretty good about what he accomplished, and likely won’t hesitate to make a move if Eberflus can’t make a leap with this group.

After the 2023 season, Saleh told the NFL’s website there are two types of coaches. “Those who have been fired and those who are about to get fired.” Luckily for Saleh, he didn’t fit into either category during the offseason, but he appears to be on thin ice. Like everyone else in New York, Sales hopes a healthy season from Aaron Rodgers will pacify the fan base.

Want to see more like this? Follow us here for daily sports news, profiles and analysis!

It’s accurate to point out that Saleh’s teams have suffered greatly from lackluster quarterback play, but the narrative can’t continue to be used year after year. The Jets are built to win now, and if they continue to extend their NFL-high streak of missing out on the postseason, Saleh will be out of a job come 2025.