Matt Johnson
In the National Football League, head-coach firings are just part of the business. While owners have seemingly started to exercise a bit more patience, at least when it comes to in-season firings, the axe is always dropped eventually. Ahead of the 2026 campaign, we’re taking a crack at predicting NFL coaches fired this season.
Let’s dive into our predictions for which NFL coaches will be fired in 2026.
Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
Shane Steichen’s offensive mind, at a minimum, warrants being an offensive coordinator for as long as he wants. He’s also delivered some impressive stretches as the Indianapolis Colts head coach, as evidenced by a career 25-26 record with a consistent top-12 offense despite persistent issues at quarterback. However, an NFL franchise can only hold off making a change for so long when its head coach can’t make the playoffs. That’s the issue Steichen faces in 2026. Indianapolis hasn’t made the postseason in his tenure and we don’t see that changing this fall with Daniel Jones coming off an Achilles tear. We do believe the Colts will be in the hunt into late December, so Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard won’t be fired until the Monday after Week 18.
Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After posting a combined 24-40 record as the New York Jets head coach from 2015-2018, Todd Bowles got his second chance at the top job thanks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team made the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, but that says a lot more about how bad the NFC South was. Entering the 2026 season, both the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are on the rise. There’s even reason to think that if things go right for the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay could be the worst team in the division this fall. We anticipate a very slow start to the year for Tampa Bay, resulting in Bowles getting canned midseason.
Related: Bold NFL Predictions 2026, including First HC Fired
Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders
It initially seemed like the Washington Commanders struck gold with the hiring of Dan Quinn in 2024, especially since he didn’t seem to be the franchise’s first choice. Quinn was a viable candidate to win NFL Coach of the Year after a 12-win season that ended with a trip to the NFC Championship Game. Then the other shoe dropped, with Washington going 5-12 in 2025. Quinn is a very good leader, but his defenses in Washington have underwhelmed. Let’s also not forget that he’s posted a losing record in four of his last five seasons as a head coach. We don’t see enough talent on the Commanders roster to believe the team can overcome a rather pedestrian head coach. Quinn will make it through the entire season, but he’ll be fired the Sunday night after the Commanders lose in Week 18.
Related: Early Intel on If Dan Quinn Is On The Hot Seat
Todd Monken, Cleveland Browns
Todd Monken has been coaching at various levels since 1989 (Grand Valley State) and he has decades of experience in the NFL. It took until now, when he is 60 years old, for the long-time play-caller to become an NFL head coach. It’s also worth keeping in mind that multiple candidates turned down the Cleveland Browns during the hiring cycle this past offseason. We simply expect the Browns to be one of the three worst NFL teams in 2026 and their offense will be a bottom-five unit. However, they will have plenty of draft capital to rebuild this roster. Franchises can’t waste that. Monken will be a one-and-done head coach, with the Browns’ job becoming much more attractive since they’ll be in a position to take their franchise QB early in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Aaron Glenn, New York Jets
The New York Jets were historically bad in the second half of the 2025 NFL season. That’s partially due to the front office tearing the roster apart, but also because of just how poorly coached the defense was. That falls on Aaron Glenn. He also didn’t exactly do himself any favors with the New York media in his first year as a head coach. Fortunately for Glenn, the Jets’ front office finally made significant investments into the roster this offseason. That’s the good news. The bad news is that this remains a bottom-five club and general manager Darren Mougey has to know he’s on a short leash, too. Firing Glenn buys him another year and with a top-five pick in 2027 and all of the draft capital and cap space New York will have next offseason, this will be an attractive opening.
