Being a head coach in the NFL might be the toughest gig in sports, so it's no surprise that a few head coaches are already on the hot seat. Much like the position, no team in the NFL is going to win it all without an elite head coach.
There are around five head coach vacancies nearly every year, and sometimes there are more. The turnover from year-to-year is actually quite high. Well, we've barely made it through the fallout of the 2025 NFL Draft, and we've already got a few head coaches who are clearly on the hot seat.
But the biggest question is; who are they?
2025 NFL Season: Are these head coaches already on the hot seat?
Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
Going 9-8 in year one and 8-9 in year two, Shane Steichen might unfairly be on the hot seat, as his GM, Chris Ballard, hasn't exactly given him a competent QB room, but it's not always likely that we see a GM and not a head coach get fired.
A GM in the NFL typically gets two head coaching hires, and Ballard has been Indy's GM for quite some time, so his rope is getting shorter. If the Colts don't make the playoffs in 2025, Ballard could very well get the boot, but that may also make Steichen a lame duck, so he could get the axe as well.
Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
Mike McDaniel went to the playoffs in his first two years as the Miami Dolphins head coach, but the team didn't win a game, and they totally missed the postseason in 2024. It's clear that McDaniel's teams really soften up when the weather gets cold, and it just does not feel like he's the type of head coach who will be able to lead a group of 53 men late in the season. There is reason to believe that unless the Miami Dolphins go on a playoff run this year, McDaniel could be out of a job.
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Do I really need to explain why Brian Daboll is on the hot seat? The one interesting thing here is that the New York Giants drafted a project QB in Jaxson Dart in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft, so you have to wonder if Dart's presence could actually buy Daboll and GM Joe Schoen another year on the job?
Well, I would assume that they have a 'win now' mandate, and that could be a primary reason why they signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. It's an interesting situation to follow, but a slow start could force Schoen to make the tough call to give Daboll the boot.