Life isn’t sunshine and flowers (sadly, it’d be nice). In elite-level sports, life is mostly darkness and hard times. If you think NFL stands for National Football League, you’re wrong; it means Not For Long.
There’s a constant need to show your worth in the NFL. From players, position coaches, coordinators, head coaches, scouts, and general managers. Everybody has to show up day after day to keep their job. It doesn’t matter if you were successful recently; it matters what you’ve done right now. Don’t look past Doug Pederson and the Eagles for an example. Just a few years after leading the Eagles to their first Super Bowl, Pederson was fired at the first sign of trouble.
Some of these coaches are experienced and enjoyed some sort of success recently. Others still hasn’t showed what it takes to lead their teams to success. Not all coaches here will be on a hot seat and there are coaches that could get fired who aren’t here. Also, they are’nt in any kind of order.
Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
As I just said, not all coaches here are on a hot seat. Dan Campbell has done an amazing job with the Lions’ culture. With Campbell at the helm, the Lions have won their first division title since 1993 and their first consecutive titles since the 1950s. After a 3-13-1 first season, the Lions have now three seasons above .500 in a row (first time since the 1990s) and back-to-back 12+-win seasons.
So why does a coach like Campbell has to prove himself? Because of his former offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson. In 2021, the first year of the Campbell era, the Lions had a below average offense. They already had most of their core players on offense, with names like Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, and Frank Ragnow on the roster. The problem is that Anthony Lynn, the then-OC, and Campbell weren’t able to make it work, and Campbell took on play-calling duties during the season.
Ben Johnson, who was the tight ends coach in 2021, became the offensive coordinator for the following season. The Lions jumped from 25th in points and 22nd in yards to 5th and 4th, respectively. Johnson became an instant head coach candidate, and the Lions offense would never rank below 5th with him as the OC. There were even some discussion at some point about who the Lions should keep, Johnson or Campbell.
Losing Johnson, who became the head coach of the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, sting. But Campbell is also losing Aaron Glenn, who took the HC gig with the New York Jets. Losing two coordinators would be tough in any situation, but losing two of the best playcallers in the league at the same time is worse. With the Lions expecting to be contenders now, Dan Campbell will have to show that he was the main reason of the Lions’ recent success.
Sean McDermott/John Harbaugh
I’ll put them together because is mostly the same argument for both. They have to beat the Chiefs in the playoffs at some point. Since 2019, when both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were the starters, they have a combined 139-60 regular season record (the Bills are 71-28 and the Ravens are 68-32). When facing the Chiefs between September and early January, they have a record of 5-4. If the game is in the playoffs, though, they are 0-5.
Both teams have loaded rosters and their QBs are MVP-level players. The Ravens play in a harder division, having to face the Bengals two times every year, while the Bills have a clearer path to winning the AFC East. They are constantly in the playoffs and fighting for the #1 seed in the AFC, but they have three AFC Championship Game appearances between them (and three losses to the Chiefs).
Harbaugh is nowhere near leaving Baltimore. In fact, he just signed a three-year extension with the Ravens this year. Sean McDermott, on the other hand, is in the last year of his contract with the Bills, and he’s constantly in “hot seat” lists. It’s rare for coaches to sign extensions this close to the season, so it’s likely that McDermott will coach out his deal. If he remains with the Bills in 2026 it’s another topic.
Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals
Gannon inherited a bad Cardinals team. The defensive coordinator for a very good 2022 Eagles’ defense, Gannon led a surprisingly tough Cardinals’ team in 2023. Although they finished 3-14, they shocked the football world by beating the Cowboys 28-16 in Week 3. They also beat the Eagles in Week 17 and made it tough for teams like the Ravens and Texans.
Although the roster still had some big needs, the Cardinals were trending in the right direction. The selection of Marvin Harrison Jr. with the 4th overall pick gave Murray a great, young receiver. They didn’t have a great start to the season, with a 2-4 record midway through October. However, a four-win streak put them at 6-4 before their bye week. With injuries to the 49ers, and slow starts to the Rams and Seahawks, meant the Cardinals led the NFC West going to their Week 11 bye.
But they crumbled after their off-week, losing five of their last seven games. These losses were painful, with two coming to the Seahawks. They also lost to the Vikings, who led only for the last minute of the game, an overtime loss to the Panthers, and a 13-9 loss to the Rams.
The Cardinals did a great job in the Draft, selecting DT Walter Nolen in the first round and a steal in the second, picking CB Will Johnson. The Johnson’s pick will go down as a genius move or a waste of pick, no in-between. An excellent prospect, the only reason he was available on Friday was because of a knee injury that could be serious. If this injury doesn’t impact him, he could be one of the biggest steals in recent memory.
Going into Year 3 with Gannon, the Cardinals aren’t on calm waters. The 49ers should be healthier, the Rams are a great and well-coached team, and the Seahawks have some great players. But, at some point, Gannon, Murray, and the Cardinals will have to rise to the occasion.
Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
I don’t know what kind of magic or deal with the devil he has, but Mike Tomlin never had a losing season. But, while the Steelers were a force to be reckon with during the majority of the 2010s, they now look to be in purgatory.
Yes, the last time they finished below .500 was in 2003, but the Steelers haven’t been truly good for some time now. To be honest, they haven’t been able to translate regular season-success to playoff-success since 2010. After making to two Super Bowls in three seasons and looking like a future dinasty, the Steelers simply never became one.
Tomlin led eleven 10+-win seasons and won the AFC North six times. But the last time they won a playoff game was in 2016. The Steelers won their first five playoff games under Mike Tomlin, but they are 3-9 since. From 2011 to now, their only playoff wins came in 2015 and 2016.
He is under contract throughout the 2027 season, and the Steelers haven’t fired a head coach since 1968. I doubt Tomlin will be fired after the season, but the front office and ownership spent a lot of resources in the 2025 season. They traded for WR D.K. Metcalf and CB Jalen Ramsey. They signed QB Aaron Rodgers. They made T.J. Watt the highest-paid non-QB in history. The fans and ownership won’t be satisfied with another 10-win season and a loss in the wild card.
Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
Not even the reigning Coach of the Year is beyond this. For those who don’t know, I’m a Vikings fan and I absolutely love Kevin O’Connell. He’s highly regarded as one of the best play-designers and play-callers in the league. He’s a great culture-setter, transforming the locker room of the Minnesota Vikings. He extracted the most of every QB he had in Minnesota. Joshua Dobbs had a “Linsanity” run under O’Connell’s tutelage.
O’Connell is the only coach in Vikings’ history with multiple 13+-win seasons, doing this in 2022 and 2024. The only time the Vikings didn’t reach thirteen wins was when they lost Kirk Cousins to an Achilles tear. Even after the injury the Vikings managed to stay competitive with Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall under center. If Cousins stayed healthy, they’d probably finish the season with eleven wins. Sam Darnold had multiple “bust” stamps on him, but had a renaiscence year under Kevin O’Connell and signed a massive deal with the Seahawks.
So why does O’Connell has to prove himself? Well, after winning 13 games in his first season, the Vikings lost to the Giants and Daniel Jones in the wild card. At home. After winning 14 games in 2024, the Vikings lost to the Rams and Matthew Stafford in the wild card. O’Connell is still trying to get his first playoff win, and now he will have to do it with J.J. McCarthy under center, a QB he hand-picked but who suffered a meniscus injury last season and has no NFL experience. Kevin O’Connell extracted the best out of every QB, and he will have to do it again.
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