With only five weeks remaining in the regular season, we all have a strong idea of who’s good and who’s not. We already have a handful of teams with their eyes firmly set on the offseason, while other teams are locked in for the postseason.
The same applies to the head coaches of the NFL, and the vast majority of them already know if they’ll remain employed with the current team or not. This article will categorise them into how safe their jobs are, while also taking a deep dive into those whose jobs are up in the air.
Safest Coaches
Sean McVay
Ben Johnson
Mike Vrabel
Sean Peyton
Liam Cohen
Mike McDonald
Kellen Moore
The first section contains those who are ironclad locks to remain in their current roles next season. You have veteran head coaches such as Sean McVay and Sean Peyton who are in the Superbowl hunt. Coaches on new teams, such as Ben Johnson, Liam Cohen, and Mike Vrabel, who are delivering more than expected.
Then you have Mike McDonald, who had taken the Seattle Seahawks from a fringe playoff team in his first year to a bonafide Superbowl contender. Kellen Moore may look out of place here, but for the New Orleans Saints, this season was always considered a right off. He’ll be judged much more harshly in 2026.
Can’t See it
Kyle Shanahan
Dan Campbell
Kevin O’Connell
DeMeco Ryans
Jim Harbaugh
Brian Schottenheimer
Dave Canales
Shane Steichen
Dan Quinn
This section goes to the head coaches that we fully expect to see next year. If they’re not in these jobs next year, then something terrible must have happened, such as a full-on squad mutiny.
Some of these coaches are as good as any in the league, but have just been unlucky this year. Many of these coaches are not to blame for their teams' underperforming due to circumstances outside of their control. While some have taken steps in the right direction after past years where they underwhelmed.
You could argue that Kyle Shanahan deserves Coach of the Year for his team's performance this season in the midst of a terrible injury crisis. The only reason he’s on here is that he’s been the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers since 2017 and has yet to win a Super Bowl. Inspiration might strike, and the orginisation could just decide to tear it all down.
If it Goes Bad
Nick Sirianni
Matt LaFleur
Andy Reid
Aaron Glenn
This list contains coaches that are likely to be safe this offseason, but if disaster strikes and they bottom out, then they could be gone. This and the next section will see each coach get a closer analysis.
Nick Sirianni
Being the reigning Superbowl winning head coach should guarantee job security for the next few seasons at least. But for the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach not to be in the top section shows how he is perceived.
The Eagles sit at 8-4, having lost their last two games. Their offence, despite its talent, is one of the worst in the league, leading every team in going three and out.
Sirianni’s handpicked OC, Kevin Patullo, marks the second time in his tenure that appointing his own guy to lead the offence has backfired. It happened back in 2023 when Brian Johnson was appointed, and the Eagles lost five of their last six games.
That offseason, there was intense speculation that Sirianni could have been let go, but instead, he was kept on, and Howie Roseman appointed Kevin Moore and Vic Fangio as the coordinators. If history is to repeat itself, then Philly may consider that Sirianni is preventing a potential dynasty instead of directly contributing to their status as a Super Bowl contender.
Matt LaFleur
The Green Bay Packers head coach is an interesting one and is an example that it only takes a couple of weeks for a shift in public opinion.
Despite being in a position to claim the NFC North and the #1 seed, the Packers still have losses to the Cleveland Browns and the Carolina Panthers on their record. Their third loss of the season came against the Philadelphia Eagles. In each of these games, their offence, which LaFleur calls, failed them, combining for a grand total of 30 points.
LaFleur has been the head coach of the Packers since 2019 and has yet to reach a Superbowl. This is despite having a roster capable of it in many of those years. Another playoff letdown could well see a call for change for one of the most established franchises in the league.
Andy Reid
A legendary head coach who has achieved more than most teams would dream of. But is his time at an end?
This is perhaps an even more shocking inclusion than Nick Sirianni, considering that Reid has led the Chiefs to the last three Super Bowls, winning two of them.
But as Kansas City sits at 6-6, on the precipice of a non-playoff season, there have been calls for him to step down. Perhaps a Patrick Mahomes-led team missing the playoffs is unfathomable, so a scapegoat is needed. Or Andy Reid just doesn’t have it anymore.
From 1999 to 2012, Reid was one of the league's most successful head coaches during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. This included reaching four consecutive conference championship games, including reaching the Superbowl in one of them. Following that, however, there was a long period of decline where his tenure fizzled out.
To sack Reid now would be a much faster decision than when he left the Eagles. But perhaps there is a chance for the Chiefs to pull the plug now rather than later, allowing a new head coach to usher in the next decade of Patrick Mahomes.
Aaron Glenn
The New York Jets have a history of making the wrong decision, so whatever they do here is likely to backfire on them.
If they were to let go of Glenn, then it would be incredibly harsh. Even though they started the season 0-7, they’ve gone 2-1 in their past three weeks. However, unlike Kellen Moore, the Jets at least expected to be somewhat competitive.
While Glenn hasn’t been a disaster, he’s been far from a sure thing. Despite being a defensive-minded head coach, the Jets' defence has been horrid. They hold the honour of being the only team yet to record an interception this year.
With stars of the defence, Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams, traded away, the Jets look set for a rebuild. Rookie GM, Darren Mougey, may be looking at some of the other head coaching hires in the league with envy for their immediate success. As the New England Patriots did with Jerod Mayo last season, Mougey may be looking to reroll his head coaching dice this offseason.
Time For Change?
Mike Tomlin
John Harbaugh
Sean McDermott
Todd Bowles
Zach Taylor
Kevin Stefanski
These are for coaches that, while not bad, also don’t inspire much confidence. They’re likely to have been around too long or never really excelled in the first place.
Mike Tomlin
This is the big one. He is in his 19th season as a head coach and is yet to suffer a losing season. But the Pittsburgh Steelers have also not won a playoff game since the 2016 season.
This weekend was perhaps the lowest point, with Steelers fans openly chanting, ‘Fire Tomlin’.
John Harbaugh
In a similar vein to Tomlin, Jim Harbaugh is successful and beloved, but that success occurred too long ago. Unlike with the Steelers, though, the Baltimore Ravens have been built for sustained success ever since they got Lamar Jackson. Yet they don’t have a Superbowl appearance to show for it.
Just playoff disappointment after playoff disappointment.
Sean McDermott
Another head coach who has been around for a while has had an elite quarterback, but is unable to make it to the big game.
Yes, it’s unfortunate for your tenure to coincide with Patrick Mahomes, but for at least one of these years, figure it out. If the Bills flame out in the playoffs once more, McDermott is likely gone.
Todd Bowles
A lot of people say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the league's better defences, but they never really do. Outside of 2020, when they were loaded, the Todd Bowles-led Buccaneers defenses have flattered to deceive.
Paired with that, Bowles is one of the most conservative coaches in the league, often preventing his team's strength, the offence, from controlling games.
Zach Taylor
No one considers Zach Taylor a great coach. Even when they went to the Super Bowl. Even when their offence was putting up historic numbers.
He is often considered the main reason why the Bengals have started so slowly year after year. An issue that has cost them a potential playoff spot in the past two seasons.
Kevin Stefanski
Two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski may be the definition of chaotic neutral in the league. Doesn’t do enough when the team is good enough, but it manages to pull off miracles when they should be down and out.
It’s not his fault (at least I hope so) that the Cleveland Browns gave up the future for DeShaun Watson. But he’s also not the answer to guide them out of the cesspit that they’re currently in.
Hottest Seats
Jonathan Gannon
Pete Carroll
Raheem Morris
Mike McDaniels
This is the group that is guaranteed to lose their jobs by the end of the season. They’ve all bottomed out this season and their teams are planning for a future without them.
Pete Caroll was always a short-term solution, but what's happened is worse than what was considered possible. And while Mike McDaniels’ Miami Dolphins appear to be performing better now than they were earlier in the year, his tenure has still been underwhelming. With the future of Tua Tagovailoa in purgatory, too, this offseason would be a suitable separation point.
