{"id":284285,"date":"2026-05-21T09:30:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=284285"},"modified":"2026-05-21T06:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T10:01:18","slug":"head-coaches-on-the-hot-seat-entering-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/05\/21\/head-coaches-on-the-hot-seat-entering-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Head Coaches on the Hot Seat Entering 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NFL coaching carousel has gotten more active in recent years. There were 10 head coaching changes throughout the 2025 season, tied for the most in a single cycle<\/a>. Patience is in short supply in the NFL, with head coaches expected to, at a minimum, reach the playoffs within their first few seasons. Most of these hires don’t work out in the long run. Finding the right head coach is incredibly difficult, but teams that do are set up for sustained success. While this upcoming coaching carousel likely won’t see as many changes, there are still several names worth following. Which head coaches are on the hot seat entering the 2026 season?<\/p>\n

Head Coaches on the Hot Seat for the 2026 Season<\/h2>\n

Aaron Glenn- New York Jets<\/h3>\n

The Jets<\/a> were abysmal in 2025, going 3-14 and failing to record a single interception all season. While it was Aaron Glenn’s first season at the helm and expectations were low, he may not survive another dismal season in 2026. Glenn is a defensive-minded coach, and New York ranked second-worst in scoring defense<\/a> in 2025. With Geno Smith<\/a> at quarterback and a rebuilding roster, there’s a good chance the Jets are among the worst teams in football again.<\/p>\n

While Glenn doesn’t have to reach the playoffs to be back in 2027, there needs to be some signs of improvement. New additions Minkah Fitzpatrick<\/a>, T’Vondre Sweat<\/a>, and second-overall pick David Bailey<\/a> should help the defense. With better personnel on defense, Glenn needs to see significant progress on that side of the ball.<\/p>\n

Zac Taylor- Cincinnati Bengals<\/h3>\n

Cincinnati<\/a> has a track record for being patient with its head coaches, but Zac Taylor is running out of time to right the ship. After making back-to-back AFC Championship appearances and reaching Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals have missed the playoffs for three consecutive years. While injuries to Joe Burrow<\/a> have played a role in their drought, it’s hard for a coach to stick around after missing the playoffs in four straight seasons. With all the talent on offense, along with a defense that added Dexter Lawrence, a playoff berth is expected in Cincinnati. The Bengals have a premier quarterback, and can’t afford to keep wasting years of his prime.<\/p>\n

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Shane Steichen- Indianapolis Colts<\/h3>\n

Like Taylor, Shane Steichen has missed the postseason each of the past three seasons. Head coaches don’t usually reach year five after not sniffing the playoffs in their first four seasons. While Steichen has a strong track record as an offensive mind and hasn’t exactly had elite quarterback play, the Colts<\/a> eventually need to take that next step. Daniel Jones is coming off a torn Achilles<\/a>, but should be ready to go Week 1. The biggest question for Indianapolis is if it can get similar production from Jones in the first half of 2025. An 8-2 start may have shown enough for Steichen for now, but the Colts need a full season of quality play in 2026.<\/p>\n

Dan Quinn- Washington Commanders<\/h3>\n

A year ago, it would have seemed impossible that Dan Quinn would enter 2026 on the hot seat. The Commanders<\/a> reached the NFC Championship, led by rookie sensation Jayden Daniels<\/a>. Washington entered 2025 with lofty expectations, but an injury-riddled season from Daniels left it 5-12. While one bad season can be overlooked, if the Commanders falter again in 2026, some difficult questions have to be asked.<\/p>\n

Quinn’s defense allowed the most yards per game last season and ranked towards the bottom in various major categories. Head coaches are expected to get results on their side of the ball. While Quinn has had more recent success than other head coaches on the hot seat, his defense has to improve to support Daniels and the offense.<\/p>\n

Todd Bowles- Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/h3>\n

Similar to Steichen, Todd Bowles survived a late-season collapse in 2025. After reaching the postseason in his first three seasons at the helm in Tampa Bay<\/a>, Bowles missed the playoffs in a weak NFC South. It wasn’t long ago that the Buccaneers were viewed as a serious contender in the NFC. If they can retake the division, Bowles should be back in 2027. Baker Mayfield<\/a> is still a quality quarterback, and the defense should be better with the addition of Rueben Bain Jr.<\/a> There aren’t many head coaches with more pressure to win in 2026 than Bowles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The NFL coaching carousel has gotten more active in recent years. Patience is in short supply in the NFL, with head coaches expected to, at a minimum, reach the playoffs within their first few seasons. Most of these hires don’t work out in the long run<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5581,"featured_media":265871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431],"tags":[7463,217,9485,224,4584],"class_list":["post-284285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","tag-aaron-glenn","tag-dan-quinn","tag-shane-steichen","tag-todd-bowles","tag-zac-taylor"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284285"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":284379,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284285\/revisions\/284379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}