NFL Coaches Hot Seat Going Into 2017 Season

NFL Coaches Hot Seat Going Into 2017 Season. Here are the coaches whose seats are hot and who desperately need to perform well in 2017.

Each year multiple NFL coaches are fired either during or after the season. It might only be July, but it’s not too early to start talking about which NFL coaches are on the hot seat. Below are the head coaches in the NFL, in no particular order, who are on the hot seat going into the 2017 season.

NFL Coaches Hot Seat Going Into 2017 Season

Todd Bowles, New York Jets

Under Todd Bowles‘ watch the Jets finished with a 5-11 record in 2016. And it probably won’t get any better for Bowles and the Jets in 2017. The only quarterbacks on the roster are Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty. A dynamic running back can certainly help, but the NFL is a passing league and none of the signal callers on the Jets roster instill any confidence. Hackenburg has hit reporters with errant passes and he’s still in the mix to start at quarterback. That fact alone is very telling. Gang Green might be OK on defense this coming season, but they will be dreadful on offense.

The Jets lacking talent, particularly on offense, and the lack of a difference maker at quarterback, is not all Bowles’ fault, but it’s just not working with him at the helm in New York. The Jets also don’t appear to have their franchise quarterback on the roster as of yet. There’s a good chance that multiple, potential, franchise changing signal callers will be available in next year’s draft (Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen, out of USC and UCLA, respectively). With the moves the Jets have made this off-season they appear to be in complete rebuild mode. That could easily mean a new head coach in addition to a new quarterback next season after the Jets finish near the basement in 2017.

Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts

Ryan Grigson, the former general manager in Indianapolis, is no longer with the Colts. And the new general manager, Chris Ballard, seems to already be a better fit in Indy. The Colts went 11-5 in Chuck Pagano’s first three seasons, but only managed to go 8-8 the last two seasons.

Pagano, by some miracle, received a four-year extension last off-season, but if he can’t do better with Andrew Luck as his quarterback and Ballard as the general manager, the Colts will need to move in a new direction at head coach. If the Colts fail to make the playoffs this season Pagano will be out in Indianapolis. If they fail to make it to the AFC Championship game in the weak AFC Pagano might be gone anyway.

John Fox, Chicago Bears

John Fox is certainly not solely to blame for the Chicago Bears issues (their front office is absolutely terrible), but they only went 6-10 in Fox’s first season at the helm in Chicago and then regressed to 3-13 in 2016. That’s only nine wins in two seasons.

The Bears need help everywhere, but getting a quarterback was of upmost importance. They signed Mike Glennon and then traded up to secure the second pick in this year’s draft so they could take select Mitchell Trubisky out of UNC. And, allegedly, Fox wasn’t even aware of the Bears draft day intentions to take Trubisky until a couple of hours before the draft.

True, Fox’s seat was going to be hot going into 2017, regardless of how involved he was in taking Trubisky, but the head coach being so out of the loop on such an important move doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in Fox’s tenure in Chicago lasting past this season. The Bears seem destined to have a third straight losing season under Fox. If that happens he will be looking for a new job in 2018.

Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals

Marvin Lewis has been with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2003 and with Lewis at the helm the Bengals have won 118 games (118-103-3 record) and made the playoffs seven times, including a stretch of five straight postseason appearances from 2011-2015. But during Lewis’ tenure the Bengals have won exactly zero playoff games and finished last season with a 6-9-1 record, finishing ahead of only the Cleveland Browns in the division.

Yes, Cinci got bit by the injury bug (most notably wide receiver A.J. Green), in 2016, but that serious slip in results, combined with no playoff victories could mean it’s time for a change in Cincinnati, especially if the Bengals don’t win at least one playoff game this season. After New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Lewis is the longest tenured coach in the NFL, but he is entering the final year of his current contract. It is extremely unlikely Lewis receives an extension of any kind. He is basically coaching for his job in 2017.