The 2022 regular season is seven weeks in, meaning it’s time for the list of NFL head coaches fired will rapidly gain strength. That list is now at one with the Carolina Panthers having opted to move off Matt Rhule after less than three full seasons as their head coach.
Change is inevitable in the National Football League as organizations set higher standards for excellence and patience wears thin. While change is expected, no one saw the Jon Gruden story coming last season. Urban Meyer’s firing was much easier to foresee. After frequently embarrassing himself and others, Meyer had to go. He became the first of the NFL coaches fired last season.
With that in mind, let’s examine the NFL head coaches who could be fired and those who have received their walking papers as the NFL season continues.
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NFL head coaches with hot seats set afire
Ron Rivera, Washington Commanders
Despite a stunning Week 7 home win over the Green Bay Packers, Rivera could be among the next NFL head coaches fired. Washington sits at 3-4 on the season and four games behind the NFC East-best Philadelphia Eagles in the loss column. It is also a shocking three games behind the second-place New York Giants.
That latter point is an issue for Rivera in that Washington seemed to be much further along in its rebuild process than New York heading into the season.
Here’s what we do know about Rivera and his status in Washington moving forward. He will continue to be tied to injured quarterback Carson Wentz. And as talk of owner Daniel Snyder potentially being forced to sell the Commanders heats up, we wouldn’t put it past the franchise head to change the news cycle by making a move here.
Washington has games coming up against the Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles heading into mid-November. If the Commanders are not in playoff contention at that point, we could see Rivera getting his walking papers during Washington’s Week 14 bye.
Frank Reich, Indianapolis Colts
Reich’s career with Indianapolis started out swimmingly with the team earning a playoff appearance in his first season back in 2018. Two years later, Indianapolis won 11 games and made a return appearance in the postseason. Unfortunately, it’s been completely downhill from there.
The Colts choked away a playoff appearance last season by losing each of their past two games. In turn, they opted to move off Carson Wentz for former NFL MVP Matt Ryan. Just seven games into the 2022 campaign, and Ryan has been benched with the Colts at a mere 3-3-1.
NFL head coaches shouldn’t get a pass in the modern league. Colts general manager Chris Ballard has done everything possible to build up a win-now roster. While he shares in a ton of the blame in Indianapolis, it’s Reich who is leading this team on the field. Should the Colts continue to sputter with Sam Ehlinger as their starter leading up to a Week 14 bye, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Reich got his in-season walking papers.
Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona Cardinals
Gross. That’s the best way to describe how Arizona has performed down the stretch during Kingsbury’s pedestrian tenure in the desert. The Cards are 7-15 in December and January under the head coach. Last season saw Arizona lose six of its final 10 games after starting the campaign with a 7-0 mark. It’s led to some rivals questioning Kingsbury as a head coach in the pros.
Even after defeating the New Orleans Saints in Week 7, there’s no guarantee that Kingsbury’s job is safe. We’re talking about a 3-4 squad that continues to invest heavily in its roster. The experiment with Kyler Murray and the head coach’s own relationship with his quarterback has now been placed under a microscope.
With games coming up against the Vikings, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers and Chargers heading into December, things are not great here. If the Cardinals do not find themselves near playoff contention after this string of games, could the ownership group move off Kingsbury? It would be a high price to pay after the Cards extended him last offseason. But the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. At the very least, another meltdown in December could have his seat as extremely hot heading into January.
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NFL head coaches fired on the hot seat: It’s getting hot in here
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland has been placed behind the eight-ball due to the Deshaun Watson suspension. But the team’s brass knew that was coming heading into the season. It still expected Stefanski to help keep the Browns afloat until Watson returns in Week 13. Through seven games, and that has not even been anywhere near the case.
The Browns now find themselves at 2-5 and tied for the second-worst record in the NFL. Dating back to Week 14 of last season they have lost eight of 11. Six of those defeats have come by less than five points. The inability to close out games is troubling. And now at 21-19 during his tenure in Cleveland, things seem to be getting hot in here.
Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos
Teams don’t fire head coaches less than one full season into their tenures unless it is an unmitigated disaster. See, Urban Meyer last season. At this point, Hackett could be headed in that direction with the Broncos through just seven games. The team currently sits at 2-5 on the campaign. It ranks dead last in the NFL at just over two touchdowns per game. Did we mention that Hackett earned this job primarily because he was widely respected as an offensive mind?
From an in-game coaching perspective, we’ve seen Hackett make mistake after mistake. He has failed to elevate the play of the Broncos despite the addition of future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson, who is struggling unlike anything we’ve seen from him before.
It could very well become clear to Denver’s brass and new ownership group that Hackett is in over his head. It’s not dissimilar to former Broncos head coach Vic Fangio proving that he was better suited in the NFL as a coordinator. It might not be before Week 18, but Hackett could be one of the first NFL head coaches fired come Black Monday after the season.
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NFL head coaches who are seeing their seat warm up
Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
This seems absolutely ridiculous on the surface. Shanahan has led San Francisco to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance in the past three seasons. He’s seen as one of the most-innovative offensive minds in the NFL. He just recently signed another extension with the 49ers. So, why would San Francisco mess with a good thing?
Well, it’s rather simple. The 49ers now find themselves at 3-4 on the season following an humiliating home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. That came after general manager John Lynch pulled off a blockbuster trade for All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey. Simply put, San Francisco did not look like it belonged on the same field as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Week 7.
More to the point. Shanahan is now a mere 42-46 in his career with San Francisco. The team has struggled finding a way to come back when faced with fourth quarter deficits. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ brass has exhausted a ton of finances and draft capital into building a Super Bowl contender. If things further go awry during the remainder of the season without San Francisco earning a playoff appearance, he could become one of the next NFL head coaches fired in stunning fashion.
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
Allen’s second tenure as an NFL head coach is not going any better than his first. The defensive mind was given another chance because of his work with that side of the ball in New Orleans prior to Sean Payton’s resignation. Through seven weeks, the Saints’ defense is yielding nearly 29 points per game. That’s his bread-and-butter. And in reality, he’s just not getting it done.
Dating back to his first stint as an NFL head coach with the then-Oakland Raiders from 2012-14, Allen is now 10-33 as an NFL head coach. The Saints are regressing fast this season. It would not be a surprise to see him handed his walking papers after just one season if things continue to trend in this direction.
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NFL head coaches fired in 2022
Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers
Matt Rhule was viewed as a lame-duck before the summer even began and he was among the favorites to be one of the first NFL coaches fired in 2022. Entering Week 5 with his job at stake, the Carolina Panthers lost 37-15 on Sunday and owner David Tepper fired him less than 24 hours later.
It’s not a surprise. Rhule went 1-27 when opponents scored at least 17 points, including 25 consecutive losses. One of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL never established his footing, going through multiple offensive coordinators and even more starting quarterbacks. While his time in the NFL is over, Rhule immediately becomes the most coveted coach in college football and should be among the leading coaching candidates for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Wisconsin Badgers.
- Matt Rhule record: 11-27
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