Heading into Week 15, the list of NFL head coaches who have been fired is now two. That included Carolina Panthers head man Matt Rhule getting his walking papers after Week 5 with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich fired following an ugly Week 9 loss.
With that said, there’s other coaches who find themselves firmly on the hot seat now that we’re heading down the stretch of the regular season. Below, we look at several NFL head coaches who are on the hot seat and where they stand right now.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated NFL power rankings
NFL head coaches with hot seats set afire
Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona Cardinals
An argument can be made that Kliff Kingsbury is one of the worst NFL head coaches today. Here’s a guy who has posted a 28-32 record since joining the Cardinals. Arizona has also lost 13 of its past 18 games dating back nearly a calendar year. He’s currently mired in a rift with quarterback Kyler Murray, who the Cards inked to a long-term deal this past offseason.
Sure Kingsbury signed an extension himself. But it’s becoming readily apparent that he’s in over his head in the NFL. That has the embattled head coach firmly on the hot seat and it could lead to him getting those walking papers come “Black Monday.”
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 13 games. The team currently sits at 3-10 on the campaign and is coming off yet another loss to the division-rival Chiefs.
Denver ranks dead last in the NFl in scoring at 14.9 points per game. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Russell Wilson is putting up, by far, the worst performance of his career. From an in-game coaching perspective, we’ve seen Hackett make mistake after mistake.
At this point, Denver’s new ownership group likely won’t move off Hackett before the 2022 season comes to a conclusion. But it’s hard to imagine him lasting into Year 2. They have no built-in relationship with him. This season has been a disaster. It could lead to Hackett being among the first NFL head coaches fired come January.
Related: Sportsnaut’s updated NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Lovie Smith, Houston Texans
David Culley went one-and-done with the Texans a season ago. Is it possible that Smith could now follow suit? We wouldn’t put it past joke of a franchise. After all, the decision to hire Smith in the first place last winter didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense.
Houston heads into Week 15 with a league-worst 1-11-1 record. It ranks 31st in the league in scoring and is being outscored by more than a touchdown per game. Quarterback Davis Mills has proven he’s not the long-term solution. Flush with two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, it might actually make sense for the Texans to move off Smith for a younger, offensive-minded head coach.
Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders
McDaniels’ seat seemed to cool off a bit after a three-game winning streak for the Raiders heading into a Week 14 matchup with the injury-plagued Los Angeles Rams. A win in Southern California last Thursday night would have kept Vegas in playoff contention.
Instead, the Raiders blew a late-game lead to Baker Mayfield mere days after he landed on the roster via waivers from the Carolina Panthers. Vegas was up 16-3 with 3:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, only to allow two touchdown drives to conclude the game. This represents the fourth time McDaniels and Co. have blown a two-score lead on the season.
Sure there’s reason to believe that owner Mark Davis will stick with McDaniels for a second season. The finances surrounding his contract is one of those reasons. But it’s rather apparent that McDaniels just isn’t up to snuff as an NFL head coach. It’s that simple.
NFL head coaches on the hot seat: Temperature turning up
Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers
Now in his fourth season as the Packers’ head coach, LaFleur is overseeing major regression. Following a Week 12 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay has lost seven of nine games for the first time since Aaron Rodgers first season as its starter back in 2008. That’s despite a Week 13 win over Chicago.
The backdrop here is Rodgers’ questionable status moving forward. The two-time reigning NFL MVP is in the midst of a down season. He’s talked openly about retirement in the recent past. Despite signing an extention this past offseason, no one knows what Rodgers is going to do when the 2022 campaign comes calling. With the quarterback injured, that’s only magnified further.
As for LaFleur, he posted a 39-10 record in his first three seasons as the Packers’ head coach before this year’s meltdown. Even if Green Bay opts to blow it up and rebuild should Rodgers retire, he might be the man to lead said rebuild. We’re just not 100% sure whether the Packers’ brass agrees.
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans’ late-game meltdown against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 13 could act as a precursor to Allen going one-and-done. The Saints were up 16-3 with three minutes left, and ended up losing by the score of 17-16.
This is the latest reason to believe that Allen just doesn’t have what it takes. New Orleans is now 4-9 on the season. Dating back to his days as the then-Oakland Raiders head coach, Allen boasts a career 12-37 record. With the Saints likely set to tear it down this coming offseason, Allen is on the hot seat. In fact, he could be one of the first NFL head coaches fired once the calendar flips to January.
Arthur Smith, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta headed into its Week 14 bye at 5-8 on the campaign. Typically, this would be a lost season. But in the NFC Sourth, it is just one game behind the first-place Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In no way does this mean the Falcons have proven themselves to be playoff-caliber under Smith.
In particular, the offense has been a major issue. Atlanta just benched Marcus Mariota in favor of rookie Desmond Ridder. It heads into the latter part of the season ranked 31st in the NFL in passing. As someone who earned his reputation as a genius on offense, this is less than ideal. And while we know owner Arthur Blank has proven to be loyal, a rebuild in Atlanta might end up being led by another guy.
NFL head coaches fired during 2022 season
Frank Reich, Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis’ latest loss to the New England Patriots by the score of 26-3 was simply humiliating. With Sam Ehlinger under center, the Colts put up 121 total yards of offense. This seemed to be the final straw for owner Jim Irsay.
Indianapolis had done everything to stay loyal to Reich. It simply had no other choice than to fire him following a disastrous 3-5-1 start to the season in which the Colts rank dead least in the NFL in scoring at under 15 points per game.
While Reich ends his Colts tenure with a winning 40-33-1 record, they’re a mere 12-13-1 since the start of the 2021 campaign. That’s the definition of average, something Irsay is not OK with. Whether Jeff Saturday (of all people) changes the dynamics as the interim coach remains to be seen.
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.
Bookmark this page for continued updates on NFL head coaches on the hot seat throughout the remainder of the season.