NFL Power Rankings: Ranking head coaches on the hot seat heading into Week 3
Our latest head coach hot seat power rankings ahead of Week 3 in the 2024 season has some new arrivals. Let's get into the latest rankings. No head coach is going to get fired after just two games in any NFL season unless something major happened.
Well, even though it has only been two games, there are some head coaches who surely felt their seat warmers click on a little bit. The earliest we may see a head coach get fired, in my opinion, might be after five-ish games.
In our ever-changing head coach hot seat power rankings, let's dive into the latest rankings which do feature some new faces.
NFL Power Rankings: Ranking head coaches on the hot seat heading into Week 3
4. Robert Saleh, New York Jets
Robert Saleh is 19-34 as the New York Jets head coach, never having won more than seven games in a season. He probably has to get this team into the postseason this year to keep his job, but through two games, the Jets are 1-1. They barely scraped by against the lowly Tennessee Titans and got destroyed by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
The offense feels one-dimensional and the defense is not as good as some thing, especially now with pass-rusher Jermaine Johnson set to miss the rest of the 2024 NFL Season with a torn Achilles. It's just not a great situation for the Jets, who yes, have won a game, but don't feel like much more than an average team at this point.
The Jets need to start stacking wins here if Robert Saleh even wants to keep his job during the season. Nathaniel Hackett is on the staff, so the Jets could realistically make him the interim head coach if Saleh were to get the boot.
3. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars
We might have to start having a conversation about Doug Pederson, who is now 18-18 in his first 36 games as the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, and this team is rapidly regressing. They broke out in 2022, his first season with the team. They finished 9-8, won the AFC South, and even appeared in the AFC Divisional Round.
Since then, they've got 9-10 in the regular season including a depressing 9-8 record in 2023 where it felt like they regressed. They're now 0-2 to start the 2024 NFL Season and would have to go 9-6 the rest of the way to even finish with a winning record. The Jags again spent a ton of money in free agency and trotted out the best roster this team has seen since their deep run back in 2017.
Being 0-2 is just not acceptable and Pederson's name needs to come up at some point. Maybe he's just not the right one to lead this team. Trevor Lawrence inked a five-year, $275 million contract this past offseason, so they have invested a ton of money into this offense and QB.
Doug Pederson is not going to last much longer at this rate.
2. Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears
The Matt Eberflus era is not going to work out for the long-term. They somehow managed to win seven games in the 2023 NFL Season, so things were pointing up. They're 1-1 through two games in the 2024 NFL Season. The offensive line is a mess and the offense just does not have an identity.
Caleb Williams has looked bad and it just does not feel like this current coaching staff is going to be the one to unlock the Williams era, which has brought a ton of expectations already. At some point, the offensive struggles will need to be talked about more, and even though Eberflus is a defensive guy, the buck stops with him at the end of the day.
I would not be surprised to see an in-season coaching change if the Bears do not show improvement.
1. Brian Daboll, New York Giants
It is not Brian Daboll's fault, but the head coaches are usually the ones who get scapegoated first. The New York Giants General Manager, Joe Schoen, has done an awful, horrible, no good job at building this roster, and he should be the first one to go, but it's common practice in the NFL for GMs to get two head coaching hires.
And it's common for the head coach to be fired first. When Daboll does get let go, which feels likely at this point, he'll definitely land on his feet somewhere. The Giants from top to bottom need a total makeover and somehow are trotting Daniel Jones out there in year six.
Brian Daboll's seat is getting very hot. Since the start of the 2023 NFL Season, they have gone 6-13. No head coach is going to be able to win with Daniel Jones at quarterback, but it does feel like massive change is on the horizon.