As the NFL regular season ends, so does the fate for numerous coaches across the league who are eliminated from playoff contention and know they will not be playing meaningful football in the new year.
While some coaches will be given grace and expected to return with their franchises to rebuild in 2026, four coaches have their seats on fire as we head into the final three weeks of the season.
Per NFL insiders Tom Pelissero and Ian Rappaport, the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs, and Minnesota Vikings are all expected to remain in lockstep with their current head coach heading into next season.
For four teams, though, they are looking closely and might pull the trigger at any time after the season ends to begin their search for a new locker room leader.
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Cleveland Browns’ head coach Kevin Stefanski is officially on the hot seat following another season missing the postseason. While Myles Garrett is about to smash the all-time sacks leader list, the Browns offense hasn’t improved under Stefanski’s tenure, and it might cost him his job.
Over in Miami, no decision has been made yet on offensive guru Mike McDaniel, who lost the team early in the season and seemed to be a candidate to be fired midseason.
He did rally the squad back for a short winning-streak before it was snapped last week in a blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Las Vegas has been maybe the biggest disaster of any team with expectations in 2025, and legendary coach Pete Carroll might be out the door after just one season in Sin City.
From a putrid offense to a soft defense aside from a few standouts, the Raiders are in need of a facelift, and the 74-year-old might not be in the Raiders’ future plans.
Finally, Raheem Morris’ tenure might come to a quick end in Atlanta after only two seasons. The Falcons went all-in in the past NFL Draft by trading their 2026 first-rounder to Morris’s former team, the Los Angeles Rams, in a move to win the NFC South.
That risky move has failed miserably, and now Atlanta will enter next year without a top pick and will need a savvy leader to find gems in the later rounds.
