The 2023 NFL season is only two weeks old, but there are already a few coaches on the hot seat. Each one of these coaches entered the season needing to prove themselves and, thus far, they have failed to live up to expectations. Last year, the Carolina Panthers fired Matt Rhule after Week 4, so it’s safe to assume that a similar move could happen to one of these three coaches in the next couple of weeks.
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Top 3 NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat
Brandon Staley
Any coach in the world would love the opportunity to have Justin Herbert as their quarterback. The former first-round pick is one of the most gifted passers in the league, and in today’s pass-happy NFL, an elite quarterback should mean that you’re making a deep playoff run each and every year. Well, that has not been the case for the Chargers, and this lack of success has made Brandon Staley one of the top coaches on the hot seat.
It’s hard to put into words just how inept the Los Angeles Chargers would be without Herbert singlehandedly making up for Staley’s shortcomings. Staley, a defensive-minded coach, has overseen one of the worst defenses in the league over the past three seasons, and the lack of success is not due to a shortage of talent. Great players like Derwin James, Joey Bosa, and Khalil Mack have called Los Angeles home over the past few years, and if guys like these can’t get results, then you have to blame the coach. This complete inability to fix a defense combined with Staley’s insistence on utilizing Herbert’s rocket arm on a short-yardage aerial attack means that he’ll likely be out of a job before long.
Since 2021, teams win 9.7% of games when their defense gives up 34+. LAC has a league-leading 9 such games. Half a season's worth.
Herbert has had to deal with this more times than the other young Tier 1 QBs combined (8).
It sure would be cool if this stopped happening! pic.twitter.com/y0fNLEtWQw
— MIBPJ (@mibpj2) September 16, 2023
Matt Eberflus
After an entire offseason of optimism, the Chicago Bears are back into their usual state of panic. Justin Fields is playing some terrible football, but head coach Matt Eberflus isn’t making his job any easier. The second-year head coach is not putting Fields in the right position to succeed, and his defense has not improved despite the massive influx of free agent talent. Unless something changes dramatically, the Bears will have to decide between quarterback and coach, and there’s a very real chance the team parts ways with Eberflus to see if a change of scenery can save Fields.
Josh McDaniels
Josh McDaniels probably would have already lost his job if Raiders owner Mark Davis had the money to fire him. Fortunately for McDaniels, Davis was a little short on cash and the longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator had one more season to prove himself. So far, it’s not going well. After a narrow 17-16 victory over the Denver Broncos, Vegas lost in embarrassing fashion to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2. As it is, McDaniels entered the year on the hot seat, and he’ll be one of the first coaches out of work if he cannot turn this team around.
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