It may be the middle of summer, but for some NFL head coaches, the clock’s already ticking.
Because in a league where patience is microscopic and expectations are massive, all it takes is a few bad breaks to turn any semblance of preseason optimism into a thing of the past in stunningly short order.
Whether it’s the result of a couple of bad seasons with underwhelming records, rogue front office pressure, or just locker rooms that seem like they are poised to tune out completely, these coaches are entering 2025 with one eye on the schedule and one eye on the job market.
Let’s take a look at 10 NFL coaches that are ALREADY on the hot seat heading into the year!
Which NFL coaches are in trouble of losing their jobs in 2025?
Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
Zac Taylor’s not a bad NFL coach, and it seems like the team likes him…
But we’re entering another year of Joe Burrow, and if you’ve got a top-five quarterback with zero playoff wins over the past two seasons, not to mention a year where you missed entirely, the heat under your chair starts to rise.
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Taylor got an early pass because the team rallied back from a 1- 4 start, but things never fully clicked, even with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins doing their usual. And now, with both stars locked in long term and the championship window narrowing by the week, excuses are no longer on the menu.
If this team whiffs on the playoffs for a third straight year, Zac Taylor might finally get the accountability memo… because in today’s NFL, having a franchise quarterback and still missing January football… That’s the kind of underachievement owners will notice without fail.
Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Crazy to say it about a former two-time NFL Coach of the Year and a widely respected one at that, but Kevin Stefanski’s seat has got to be heating up.
After a three and 14-season run that earned them the second overall pick, Stefanski went from a steady hand to a potential lame duck. It’s a stunning drop for a coach of his caliber.
To be fair, Cleveland’s roster was a mess. And that quarterback situation was the stuff of nightmares…
But the NFL is not built on sympathy, and Stefanski enters 2025 with Joe Flacco as his most likely starter and a roster that’s somewhere between rebuilding and… tanking.
If the Browns don’t flash early competence or at least sneak into wildcard contention, Stefanski could easily become the sacrificial lamb in a franchise that’s always one bad month away from pressing the red button.
Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
When Mike McDaniel took over in Miami, it felt like the Dolphins had finally found their guy. A sharp offensive mind, a cool demeanor, and a team ready to break out of playoff irrelevance.
But every time the playoffs roll around, they seem to stumble in some humiliating fashion trying to adjust to the cold weather.
To be fair, the offense has been humming. McDaniel’s system consistently ranks near the top, and when things are clicking, it looks like a track meet. But the narrative around Miami collapsing late in the year has stuck, for good reason.
This team is well under .500 from Week 13 onward during McDaniel’s tenure. And with big names aging out or potentially on the move—Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey, and even Tua Tagovailoa—Miami’s window may be closing faster than expected.
McDaniel doesn’t need a Super Bowl run to keep his job, but he does need a playoff win. If Miami comes up short again and limps into January—or worse, misses it altogether—don’t be surprised if the Dolphins hit the reset button.
Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
It feels weird putting Sean McDermott on a hot seat list of NFL coaches, considering all he’s done in Buffalo. After all, he, along with his protégé, Josh Allen, put Buffalo back on the NFL relevance map… But in this league, success without a ring has an expiration date—and McDermott’s might be approaching.
Especially if he has another unceremonious playoff exit.
He’s taken the Bills and turned them into a legitimate contender, but they’ve lost to the Chiefs in four of the last five postseasons and haven’t reached a Super Bowl during the Josh Allen era.
At some point, “close” stops being enough.
Buffalo’s roster is still talented, but it’s no longer the powerhouse it once was. They’ve lost key pieces on defense, and the offense hasn’t quite found that extra gear when it matters most.
McDermott isn’t on the verge of being fired today—but if 2025 ends with another early exit or a step back, it’s not hard to imagine the Bills deciding that a new voice might be the only way to get them over the hump.
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Two years ago, Brian Daboll looked like the miracle worker the Giants had been praying for since the Coughlin years. Now? The coach is clinging to relevance in what might be the NFL’s least forgiving media market.
Yes, the front office did him no favors—tying his fate to Daniel Jones, whose post-contract play fell off a cliff. Then came the scramble… In the form of a hybrid veteran flyer by acquiring Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston to bridge the team to their draft day gamble on Jaxson Dart.
It’s a quarterback carousel with no clear direction, and Daboll’s riding shotgun.
Especially following the disastrous 3 and 14 campaign in 2024, accompanied by Saquon’s departure.
Fair or not, Daboll enters 2025 with the hottest seat in the NFC East.
Ownership showed rare restraint, sticking by him. But if this team doesn’t flash something resembling progress—say, seven wins and a glimpse of hope from Dart—New York could blow the whole thing up and start from scratch. Again.
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys
It’s not often a first-year NFL head coach lands on the hot seat list before taking his first snap, but such is life in Big D, where the expectations are Texas-sized and the patience is microscopic.
After Jerry Jones made the surprising decision to part ways with Mike McCarthy, the rumor mill kicked into high gear. Names big and bold were floated. Maybe a splashy outsider. Maybe a prodigal return. Instead, the Cowboys simply slid their OC into the top chair and called it a day.
Schotty’s got weapons—Dak, CeeDee, and now George Pickens via trade. They even beefed up the line with rookie Tyler Booker. On paper, it’s fine. Maybe even good.
But in Dallas, good isn’t good enough.
Especially not with a brutal schedule, an impatient owner, and a fanbase that’s been scorned by too many playoff flameouts to count.
If the Cowboys stumble early, don’t be surprised if Jerry starts window shopping—again. Because if there’s one thing Jerry Jones doesn’t have anymore… It’s time… and given the underwhelming nature of the hire, the fans surely won’t be racing to his defense.
Watch for the Cowboys to limp into the bye week. Meanwhile, Jones will start daydreaming of a big-name hire again. Once they finish the season with another uninspiring mark, he’ll pull the plug for sure!
Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
Few NFL coaches walk into a situation as tailor-made as Shane Steichen’s. After helping engineer Jalen Hurts’ rise in Philly, he was gifted a rare combo in Indy—a front office willing to rebuild around a freakishly talented quarterback, and a clean slate to install his vision.
Anthony Richardson had all the tools. Steichen had the resume. The marriage made sense.
But entering Year 3, there’s a growing sense that the honeymoon is over—and the bills are starting to show up… Real life is starting. And it is hitting hard.
Richardson’s development has been turbulent to put it lightly… A couple of flashes of excellence, sure—a 50-yard bomb here, a red-zone scramble there—but also injuries, missed reads, and long stretches of offensive stagnation.
If Steichen can’t stabilize Richardson—or if the offense looks disjointed again—it might not matter that there’s “potential” on the roster. Colts ownership has been through a lot of almosts in recent years. Another season in purgatory might be the final straw.
Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans
When Brian Callahan took the Titans job, it was clear: this wasn’t about wins in 2024. It was about trajectory. Some sort of direction… Laying the first few bricks of a rebuild, that had no illusions about where it stood in the NFL hierarchy.
And to his credit, Callahan didn’t blink. He knew what he signed up for.
Now, entering Year 2, the tone shifts slightly—from blank canvas to you gotta at least show me the sketch… Especially with how pathetic the team looked last year.
Plus, he has his guy in Cam Ward, a dynamic quarterback with arm talent, mobility, and the kind of raw athletic profile that gets GMs giddy in draft rooms. But being a hot name in April doesn’t guarantee you’re a franchise cornerstone by November.
And outside of Ward? The roster seems to be held together by duct tape and developmental pieces. Kevin Zeitler is solid. Dan Moore Jr. might be an upgrade. But there are glaring holes everywhere—from wide receiver depth to defensive consistency.
The bar isn’t high, but it’s real. The Titans don’t need to be good—they just need to look like a team that could eventually be good. Something respectable that will get Titans fans back in the stadium.
That means visible development. Creative scheming. A spark on offense. If instead it’s another year of flatlining, where Cam Ward looks lost and the Titans lose convincingly… Callahan might find himself out of chances before the rebuild ever hits third gear—or he hits his third year.
Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals
It’s hard to blame Jonathan Gannon for everything that’s gone wrong in Arizona.
No coach in the NFL has ridden the line between rebuild patience and competitive pressure quite like Jonathan Gannon. He took over a franchise in disarray, saddled with Kyler Murray’s ACL recovery, a depleted roster, and zero real expectations. In 2023, that brought him grace. In 2024, it bought him time.
Then again, you don’t get three losing seasons in a row without raising a few eyebrows.
Gannon’s 12 – 22 record is exactly what it as uninspiring as it sounds. And his supposed area of expertise, defense, has been the team’s softest spot. They’ve been carved up, run on, struggled in the red zone, and ranked near the bottom in takeaways and third-down stops.
Sure, it is tough to get the defense firing when the offense is that lost, but still—you gotta prove something eventually!
This offseason, Arizona tried to turn the page. They drafted aggressively. Signed veterans like Josh Sweat and Calais Campbell. Kyler Murray is back in the fold, and the weapons around him—Marvin Harrison Jr., James Conner, Trey McBride—suggest this team isn’t just rebuilding anymore. They’re trying to win.
This team has talent now. So no more excuses.
If they don’t—and Gannon’s crew sleepwalks through another season while the defense lags and the team finishes bottom five again—the Cardinals might finally decide that the vision Gannon sold them heading into year one isn’t the one they’re interested in paying for anymore.
And you know what? We don’t blame them… and I don’t think Cardinals fans will be too sad to see him go!
Raheem Morris, Atlanta Falcons
While there are still a lot of promising pieces in Atlanta, it is a bit of a double-edged sword for Raheem Morris.
Credit to their coach for dodging the pink slip last year despite an 8–9 finish in a year where NFL playoff expectations were sky-high.
He was able to use Kirk Cousins and his ailing Achilles as a human shield.
But this year is a different story…
Preseason whispers around Michael Penix Jr. and beefed-up pass rushers offer optimism that they’ll bounce back and make a run in the NFC South.
But the margin for error is razor thin for Morris, considering the state of the franchise at large.
They are low on draft capital, and the last thing they want to do is spoil another prime developmental year for Penix Jr.
If the Falcons struggle out of the gate, don’t be shocked to see Morris get the hook.
