NFL head coaches don’t necessarily have nine lives. Josh McDaniels found that out with the Las Vegas Raiders after he was fired earlier this season.
Most recently, the Carolina Panthers fired Frank Reich after a 1-10 start to the season. He was given his walking papers after coaching just 11 games for the Panthers.
Could this potentially be the start of a trend around the NFL over the next several weeks?
ESPN’s Adam Schefter touched on this during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show Monday following Reich’s firing. What he had to say was eye-opening.
According to the insider, there is a belief that we’ll see between seven and 10 “head coaching changes” this year. Schefter went on to note that he’d “take the over.”
“There’s always somebody winning and always somebody losing. And the people that are losing are getting criticized, and coming under scrutiny, and people are getting unhappy,” Schefter on NFL head coaches being fired.
To put this into perspective, there were eight NFL head coaches fired during or after the 2021 season. That number stood at five during the last cycle. If 10 were given their walking papers, it would represent a modern record around the league.
Related: NFL head coaches on the hot seat
Bill Belichick and NFL head coaches likely to be fired
There are a number of coaches that are currently on the hot seat. There is an expectation that most of them will end up on the unemployment line.
- Bill Belichick, New England Patriots: New England is off to its worst start since the team went 2-14 back in 1992. Boasting a 2-9 record and the NFL’s 31st-ranked scoring offense, the expectation is that Belichick will be out of a job after 24 seasons in New England.
- Robert Saleh, New York Jets: A season that started with Super Bowl expectations has spiraled for New York. Obviously, Aaron Rodgers being injured four snaps into his career with the team has played a role here. Even then, New York heads into Week 13 ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring at under 15 points per game. The team has tallied a total of 50 points over the past five games.
- Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans: Widely respected around the NFL as a defensive mind, Vrabel has fallen on hard times with the Titans recently. They are 4-7 this season and boast a 4-14 record over the past 18 games. If Tennessee goes into a full-scale rebuild, having another coach lead it would make sense.
- Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers: What does Staley have to do in order to be one of the next NFL head coaches fired? Los Angeles is 4-7 this season and completely out of the playoff race. It boasts an 0-5 record in one-score games. His in-game coaching has been a disaster. We expect him to be the next coach fired.
- Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders: Pierce took over as Vegas’ interim head coach following the firing of McDaniels. After winning his first two games, reality has set in with two consecutive losses. That included being outscored 31-3 after taking a 14-0 lead against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. Look for owner Mark Davis to find an outside candidate to be the Raiders’ full-time head coach.
- Ron Rivera, Washington Commanders: Rivera found his fall guy in Jack Del Rio following a 45-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Though, this is not going to be enough to save his job. Washington has lost eight of 10 since starting the season 2-0. Newish owner Josh Harris is going to want to find his own guy moving forward.
Related: NFL head coaches fired this year
- Brian Daboll, New York Giants: The reigning NFL Coach of the Year being on the hot seat would seem to be a bit surprising. But that’s until we realize just how much of a disaster the Giants have been this season. Despite having won two consecutive, they sit at 4-8 on the campaign. New York is also being outscored by an average of 11 points per game while bosting the worst scoring offense in the NFL.
- Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears: At 3-8 heading into Monday Night Football, Chicago is simply playing out the string in another lost season. President Kevin Warren has been given the go-ahead to shake things up big time. That should include the firing of both Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles.