There have been a ton of really poor head coaching jobs in the NFL this year. Let's power-rank the worst approaching Week 18. A head coach getting fired in-season happens nearly every single season, and for the most part, there are about 5-8 head coaching openings every season.
It's one of the hardest jobs in sports, and it's a classic case of "you get what you pay for." There is a reason why the Denver Broncos made a trade for their head coach, Sean Payton, and are paying him top-dollar.
And the same goes for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jim Harbaugh, who are also paying top-dollar for their head coaches as well. Let's flip the script a bit and take a look at the worst head coaching jobs in the NFL this year.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking worst head coaching jobs approaching Week 18
4. Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots
Jerod Mayo seemed to be the head coach in waiting for years in New England, but why? He is cut from the same, failed "Patriot Way" cloth that only ended up being because of the greatness of Tom Brady. Mayo is not a good head coach and is not the guy that is going to dig this franchise out of misery.
They need an outside voice, and Mayo is anything but. He's also said some questionable things many times to the media this season. There just isn't a lot to like about Mayo's tenure, but at least Drake Maye looks the part!nfl
3. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders
Antonio Pierce was never the right move, and it's landed the Las Vegas Raiders a 4-12 season thus far. Heck, they have actually won two games in a row, which is interesting, as they have totally tanked their draft position in 2025. Pierce is probably not coming back if you ask me, and I am not sure what made the Raiders make the move to hire him in the first place.
It's clear that he simply isn't ready to be a head coach at the NFL level, and this was one of the worst coaching jobs in the NFL this year.
2. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars
It's a shame that the Jacksonville Jaguars have been this bad. They really haven't been good since about the halfway mark of the 2023 NFL Season. The Jags broke out in 2022, won the AFC South, and even won a playoff game. Since then, it's been a free-fall. Pederson is clearly not going to come back to coach the team in 2025, and heck, could this be his last stop as a coach in the NFL entirely? It's possible if you ask me.
1. Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears (Fired)
Perhaps the worst head coaching job in the NFL this year, Matt Eberflus lost his job with the Chicago Bears after that horrible end-of-game situation when the Bears were playing the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. It was an awful ending to a tenure that probably should have ended after the 2023 NFL Season. And I am not sure Eberflus is even going to land a defensive coordinator job this coming offseason.
The worst head coaching job in the NFL belongs to Matt Eberflus.