There are surely a few head coaches across the NFL currently on the hot seat. We power ranked them right here approaching Week 5. We are definitely approaching a territory where head coaches could be shown the door if their team's performance does not improve. Now at the quarter-mark of the season, the NFL hierarchy is beginning to shape up big-time.
Teams that are 0-4, for example, are likely not winning more than a few games. Teams that are 1-3 do have a sliver of hope, and the 2-2 teams or better are in decent spots. Anyway, being a head coach in the NFL is absolutely one of the toughest jobs in all of professional sports.
We tried to power rank the head coaches most on the hot seat approaching Week 5 of the 2025 NFL Season. Let's get into it here.
Head coach hot-seat power rankings approaching Week 5
5. Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers
Dave Canales has a tough gig on his hands - he inherited Bryce Young, a disastrous QB who just cannot seem to put anything together. On paper, the Panthers do have a decent roster, and they did win five games last year, but you get the sense that Carolina will absolutely have to begin stacking some wins, perhaps approaching seven or eight for Canales to keep his job.
I could personally see a world where the Panthers reset at head coach and QB in the 2026 NFL Season and just totally start fresh. Is Dave Canales on the hot seat? We think so.
4. Brian Daboll, New York Giants
For now, Brian Daboll and the New York Giants are riding high - Jaxson Dart made his first start in Week 4 of the 2025 NFL Season, upsetting the LA Chargers at home. However, that had 'trap game' written all over it, and that one win doesn't really change much for the G-Men and Daboll. This team is trending in the wrong direction, and unless Jaxson Dart is another rookie QB like Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, or Justin Herbert years ago, I am not sure he survives into 2026.
3. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins did earn its first win of the 2025 NFL Season on Monday Night Football, beating the New York Jets. However, Tyreek Hill has been lost for the year with a nasty knee injury, and the Dolphins don't really have much going for them. The QB is just OK, and the defense isn't really anything special.
Miami is the NFL version of a sports car - they can move the ball down the field at wicked speed, but their a bit soft in the middle and lack the desired 'muscle' to win games deep into a season. Mike McDaniel is by no means a bad head coach, but he seems to have overstayed his welcome a bit, and I do believe the Dolphins need a fresh start.
2. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Kevin Stefanski is not the primary person at fault for the Cleveland Browns' mistakes in recent years. However, he's been on the job for a while now, and the Browns might benefit most from a total reset. The Deshaun Watson trade blew up in its face, and does the Browns' ownership really want GM Andrew Berry to make two first-round selections in the 2026 NFL Draft?
This is yet another franchise that simply needs to reset and start fresh. Kevin Stefanski, I believe, is a good head coach, but he's in a tight situation.
1. Brian Callahan, Tennessee Titans
We might be watching the first winless team in the 17-game era. Not only is Brian Callahan not close to being a good head coach, but he can't even say the right things to the media half the time. Callahan might not get into 2026 to develop Cam Ward, their first overall pick, as nothing is working, and this simply might be an example of another coach not fit to be a head coach in this league.
Cam Ward is likely going to get all of the 2026 NFL Season to prove himself, but it's not likely Brian Callahan is a part of it - first-year GM Mike Borgonzi did not hire Callahan, so there really isn't much of a reason to the second-year coach to stick around unless a radical turnaround happens.