6 NFL coaches entering the 2021 season on the hot seat

Aug 21, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy fist bumps quarterback Justin Fields (1) after a play against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Soldier Field. The Buffalo Bills won 41-15. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 21, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy fist bumps quarterback Justin Fields (1) after a play against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Soldier Field. The Buffalo Bills won 41-15. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
NFL 2021
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 21: Head coach David Culley of the Houston Texans leads his team against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of a preseason NFL game at AT&T Stadium on August 21, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

It’s the ultimate win-now league which means coaches can find themselves in trouble in a hurry. Which 6 are on the hot seat as the NFL 2021 season begins?

Every year in the NFL, there are a handful of head coaches who find themselves out of work. In the ultimate win-now league, leashes are often short and teams rarely operate the way the Pittsburgh Steelers do — where one coach sticks around for decades.

Instead, coaches for most teams are typically given three seasons — sometimes even less — to show they can be the leader of their respective franchise.

While it’s never fun to see anyone lose their job, it is a fact of life in a sports league. Here we look at the current stable of coaches and identify six of them who are entering the season on the hot seat.

6. David Culley, Houston Texans

This is already one of the rare cases where a coach might not get a shot beyond his rookie season to prove he can be the guy. David Culley is a very well-respected coach who started his career back in 1978 with Austin Peay as their running back coach. He’s bounced around in the NCAA and NFL but has never been a head coach.

Now at 65-years of age, he will be getting his first shot and while it’s not a given that an older coach will fail, it’s a tough ask to bring in someone of his age for a rebuild that will take several years.

On top of that, he was the passing game coordinator for Baltimore in 2019 and 2020 where they had a less-than-stellar passing game, and in 2018 he was the Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach. Once he left that job, Josh Allen took a big step forward.

Again, not complete indictments but it felt like a weird hire, and on top of that, he has a rough roster to work with. Sadly, this could be a one-and-done for Culley.