Training camp hasn’t even started yet, but the pressure is already building for a number of NFL head coaches heading into the upcoming season.
While the regular season is still over six weeks out, job security is already a topic of conversation around several franchises. For coaches like the New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles, and Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, a stumble out of the gate this fall could put their futures in serious jeopardy. Others, including Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur and Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni, aren’t facing immediate danger — but disappointing seasons could quickly change that calculus.
Bowles enters his fifth year leading Tampa Bay with a 35-33 regular-season record and three NFC South division titles to his name. However, last season’s collapse — in which the Buccaneers dropped seven of their final nine games to finish 8-9 and miss the playoffs — raised serious doubts about his future with the team. Tampa Bay chose to retain him, but expectations are high. Analysts believe he’ll likely need ten or more wins, a strong bounce-back from quarterback Baker Mayfield under new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, and at least some postseason success to keep his job. Bowles, who personally oversees the team’s defense, will also need that unit to show significant improvement.
Carolina’s Dave Canales guided the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since 2017, though the team backed in with an 8-9 record after a rocky, inconsistent season. The Panthers started 1-3, won three in a row, then alternated wins and losses over eight games before dropping their final two — ultimately losing in the wild-card round.
Canales is 13-21 across two seasons in Carolina. He was brought in largely to unlock the potential of quarterback Bryce Young, the top overall pick in the 2023 draft, but Young’s development has been uneven. Canales has since handed play-calling responsibilities to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, and his job security may hinge on whether Young can finally string together consistent performances this season.
Glenn, a former Pro Bowl cornerback, returned to New York to restore the Jets to relevance as their new head coach. Things did not go as planned. He became the first coach in franchise history to lose his opening seven games, and the team finished a dismal 3-14, missing the playoffs for the 15th consecutive year.
In response, Glenn revamped his coaching staff, bringing in Frank Reich to lead the offense and Brian Duker as defensive coordinator. Glenn himself will now call plays for a defense that made history for all the wrong reasons — becoming the first unit in NFL history to go an entire season without recording a single interception. The Jets also traded for quarterback Geno Smith as a stopgap while the franchise searches for a long-term answer at the position. Another losing season could put New York in position to draft a franchise quarterback early next year — though Glenn may not be around to make that pick.
At first glance, LaFleur seems out of place on this list. He’s reached the playoffs six times in seven seasons, holds a 76-40-1 regular-season record, and signed a multiyear contract extension back in January.
But his postseason résumé tells a different story. LaFleur has just one playoff victory since 2021, and his overall 3-6 record in the postseason has some Green Bay fans growing impatient. A four-game skid to close the regular season, followed by a first-round exit at Chicago in which the Packers blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead, added to the frustration.
With quarterback Jordan Love expected to keep Green Bay in contention, LaFleur’s seat likely won’t get truly hot until January. But if the Packers can’t manage at least one postseason win, the temperature could rise quickly.
Like LaFleur, Sirianni’s position in Philadelphia doesn’t appear to be in immediate danger. In five seasons, he has a Super Bowl championship, two NFC title game victories, three NFC East crowns, and a 59-26 regular-season mark.
Still, last season ended with real disappointment when the Eagles were knocked out at home by San Francisco in the wild-card round. A strong rebound — including a meaningful postseason run — is expected this year, even as the team adjusts to life without wide receiver A.J. Brown as quarterback Jalen Hurts’ primary target in new coordinator Sean Mannion’s offense.
It’s worth noting that Sirianni was already on shaky ground heading into the 2024 season after the Eagles faded late and got routed by Tampa Bay in the playoffs. He responded by leading Philadelphia to a Super Bowl title. Both Sirianni and the Eagles faithful would gladly take a similar turnaround this time around.
Indianapolis’s Shane Steichen was drawing Coach of the Year buzz after the Colts sprinted to an 8-2 start. Then came disaster — quarterback Daniel Jones tore his Achilles tendon and was lost for the year, and Indianapolis dropped its final seven games, even after pulling Philip Rivers out of retirement, to miss the playoffs.
Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon was impressed enough by the team’s first-half performance to keep Steichen on board. Now 25-26 in three seasons with a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs in five years, Steichen’s future looks considerably brighter with Jones healthy and locked in on a two-year extension — provided the Colts can recapture the form they showed through the first ten games last season.
Taylor’s Bengals have long struggled with slow starts in September, but last year they opened 2-0 and seemed ready to shed that reputation. Then a turf toe injury sidelined quarterback Joe Burrow for nine games, and Cincinnati limped to a 6-11 finish — a third straight year out of the playoffs.
Getting Burrow back at full strength is the most critical factor for Cincinnati’s success. A rebuilt defense, bolstered by the addition of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, should provide some help. But with the team’s Super Bowl run in the 2021 season feeling like a distant memory, Taylor — now entering his eighth year with the Bengals — will need to end the playoff drought this season, or someone else may be tasked with doing it next year.
