Every year there are multiple NFL coaches on the hot seat who are tasked with trying to save their jobs as quickly as possible. In recent years, teams have given their head coaches even less time to turn things around during the regular season. It’s just as evident in 2024, with two NFL coaches fired this year.
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh was the first NFL coach fired in 2024, dismissed after Week 5 following a 2-3 start. Nearly a month later, the New Orleans Saints added Dennis Allen to the list of NFL coaches fired following a seven-game losing streak. More firings are coming.
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Let’s immediately dive into the NFL coaching hot seat after Week 7, examining which NFL coaches are in jeopardy of being fired. We’ll include an analysis of just how hot the seat is, when that NFL coach could be fired and why they are on the hot seat.
NFL coaching hot seat: Which NFL coaches will be fired?
1. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars – Moving Box Already in the Office
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Doug Pederson was fired as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach following the 2020 season (4-11-1 record) because he refused to part ways with quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Press Taylor. Nearly four years later, Pederson is still choosing loyalty to Taylor over the team’s best interests.
- Doug Pederson coaching record: 62-60-1 overall, 20-23 as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach
There are a number of reasons why the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach is among the NFL coaches on the hot seat. For one thing, this team is 3-12 since December 2023. This is the same coach who after a recent loss, first wanted to blamed players at his press conference rather than putting the responsibility on the shoulders of the Jaguars coaching staff. Pederson himself has also even called out the need for a culture change in Jacksonville, the type of thing that typically happens by firing a head coach. We’ll say it now, Pederson will join the list of NFL coaches fired this year before December.
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2. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders – Scapegoat Time
Following a 6-11 in 2022 with the Las Vegas Raiders, head coach Josh McDaniels was fired after Week 8 of the 2023 NFL season with a 3-5 record. Raiders owner Mark Davis made a surprising decision in hiring linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as interim head coach. After Las Vegas went 5-4 with Pierce, Raiders players including star Maxx Crosby demanded that Pierce remain head coach in 2024.
- Antonio Pierce coaching record: 7-11 as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach
Let this season serve as an example for both why interim coaches should rarely be given the full-time job and why the threat of a trade demand if their favorite coach isn’t hired should be ignored. The Raiders are a worse football team this season (2-7) than they were a year ago with McDaniels. Las Vegas plays undisciplined football and Pierce’s decision-making in critical spots shows his inexperience.
He’s also thrown multiple players under the proverbial bus in press conferences and just found his first scapegoat, in firing the offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. We wrote before the season why the hiring of Getsy was a mistake, but the Raiders needed experience on the coaching staff because Pierce had very little. This was a flawed process from the start and by next year, Crosby might demand a trade anyways.
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3. Brian Daboll, New York Giants – Good as Gone
One of the worst things to happen to the New York Giants in the last decade might’ve been this team sneaking into the playoffs in 2022. It allowed Brian Daboll to win NFL Coach of the Year, with the Giants head coach credited for doing with Daniel Jones what he previously did with Josh Allen. In reality, Allen’s still an MVP-caliber quarterback without Daboll and that 2022 season has proven to be fool’s gold.
- Brian Daboll coaching record: 17-25-1 as the New York Giants head coach
The Giants have one of the worst NFL offenses in 2024 and Jones has regressed this season under Daboll. Even with the additions of rookie playmakers Malik Nabers and Tyrone Tracy Jr, New York routinely looks just as bad offensively this year as it did last season. We’ll also remind you that this is the same Giants head coach who got into a bitter feud with his defensive coordinator, created toxicity within the Giants coaching staff is reportedly losing the Giants locker room and has a shaky reputation league-wide. Daboll is among the NFL coaches on the hot seat right now and we’re confident he’ll be one of the NFL coaches fired after Week 18.
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4. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys – Clock and Contract Running Out
While Mike McCarthy is among the NFL coaches on the hot seat after Week 9, we’d be willing to bet the Dallas Cowboys don’t fire him during the season. Team owner Jerry Jones is very loyal to people working inside his organization, that is one of the most well-known facts around football. It will buy McCarthy time, but the Cowboys coach is headed for the same fate as the man he replaced.
- Mike McCarthy coaching record: 45-30 with the Dallas Cowboys
A week after the 2020 NFL regular season ended is when Dallas finally parted ways with Jason Garrett. Except the Cowboys coach wasn’t fired, the team announced that his contract wouldn’t be renewed and a Cowboys coaching search would begin. Guess what’s happening four years later? McCarthy’s contract expires in January, that’s going to be how Jones makes a change once again. He gets to avoid firing someone and the Cowboys can conduct another coaching search.
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Fired NFL coaches 2024
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints – 2-7 – FIRED
The first mistake the New Orleans Saints made came in 2022 when they promoted defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to replace head coach Sean Payton. Before becoming the Saints’ defensive coordinator, Allen posted a combined 8-28 record as the Oakland Raiders head coach from 2012-’14. A decade later, he once again proved to be in over his head as an NFL head coach.
- Dennis Allen coaching record: 26-53 overall, 18-25 with the New Orleans Saints
Allen was among the NFL coaches on the hot seat entering the season. Then, New Orleans won its first two games in historic fashion and seemed to be a contender. It unraveled immediately with a seven-game losing streak and Allen lost support from the locker room and organization. While we expected him to be fired, the surprise came from the timing as it seemed like the Saints organization would wait until Black Monday. Instead, Allen became the second NFL coach fired this season.
Robert Saleh, New York Jets – 2-3 – FIRED
Aaron Rodgers, along with New York Jets owner Woddy Johnson, made their decision much sooner than anyone expected. Just a day after the team returned from London following the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Robert Saleh was fired on Tuesday morning.
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Saleh certainly isn’t entirely responsible for this disappointing season. Rodgers hand-picked Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator, that’s the only reason why the Jets hired him before the 2023 season. Likewise, Hackett stuck around for another year because of his relationship with Rodgers. It’s also evident that Hackett’s offense and Rodgers’ decision-making on the field are some of the team’s biggest problems right now.
With all that said, Saleh didn’t have much power in the organization. Jets general manager Joe Douglas built the roster and, since his arrival, Rodgers had far more input than the head coach. Saleh isn’t necessarily the scapegoat, considering New York gave him four seasons to make it work, but his defense kept this team in half-decent shape for years as the offense tried to drag it to the bottom of the NFL standings.