Seats are getting warm this time of year, both in your Hyundai and in the NFL.
With the weather beginning to cool across most of the country, coaching jobs are also starting to be scrutinized. And head coaches who had the proverbial short leash during the summer are now feeling the pull of both fans and ownership waiting to see a winner.
While some coaches are spared the need for a real estate agent due to their relative inexperience on the job (see: Glenn, Aaron, and Moore, Kellen), others are veering toward precarious territory.
For this piece, let’s use the standard 1–10 meter. The low end represents complete safety. The high end—you get the point.
5. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
Hot seat meter: 5
It’s hard to know what the Bengals are going to do with Taylor after this season.
Assuming Cincinnati misses the playoffs after the loss of Joe Burrow to turf toe, the Bengals will have missed out on the postseason in five of their seven seasons under Taylor, including six with Burrow. Still, Taylor helped guide the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 2021 before leading them to the AFC title game the following year.
The case is there to think Cincinnati will keep Taylor. This is the same franchise that allowed Marvin Lewis to serve as coach for 17 seasons, despite never winning a playoff game. Taylor also has enjoyed success, and Burrow’s injury might be enough for owner Mike Brown to give him a pass if this season goes sideways.
Taylor is also 48–55–1, and while Burrow has endured three significant injuries, it’s the coach’s job to win games. The Bengals have struggled to do anything consistently on defense throughout Taylor’s tenure, despite multiple coordinators, and the offense relying on Burrow throwing to Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and little else.
If the Bengals retain Taylor, it’s defensible. If not, the same is true.
4. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
Hot seat meter: 6
The losing in Cleveland isn’t Stefanski’s fault. Ask Mike Pettine. Ask Mike Chudzinski. Ask any of the 10 full-time coaches who have coached the Browns since they were reinvented in 1999.
However, life in the NFL isn’t fair, and while Stefanski is generally regarded as a smart coach who could likely succeed with a decent roster, patience only goes so far. Now in his sixth season with the Browns, he is 41–48 with two playoff appearances, both as a wild-card team.
If Cleveland keeps Stefanski and wants him to be the one developing its next potential franchise quarterback—something it may land with two 2026 first-round picks—that’s an understandable decision. But if owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam decide to move on from both him and general manager Andrew Berry, Stefanski can’t claim he didn’t have ample time.
3. Brian Daboll, New York Giants
Hot seat meter: 7
Daboll has one hope to retain his job after this season: That Jaxson Dart looks the part of a franchise quarterback.
Selected with the 25th pick in April’s draft, Dart won his initial start against the Chargers despite throwing for just 111 yards and a touchdown in a 21–18 victory. On Sunday against the moribund Saints, Dart struggled, throwing for 5.1 yards per attempt with two interceptions and a lost fumble in a 26–14 defeat.
If Dart can ascend as the season progresses, especially after the loss of star receiver Malik Nabers to a torn ACL in Week 4, then there’s reason to keep Daboll around.
If Dart doesn’t perform, Daboll will be cooked. After winning Coach of the Year with a nine-win Giants team in 2022, Daboll has fallen off. Since the start of the 2023 season, he is 10–29, including a 3–14 mark last season.
Wins won’t matter as much this year if Dart is impressive. However, if he isn’t, ownership could—and should—clean house.
2. Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
Hot seat meter: 8
At 29–27 with two playoff appearances in four-plus seasons, there’s little on the surface to suggest McDaniel might have the hottest seat in the league this side of Callahan.
However, upon closer examination, the flaws become apparent. The Dolphins have lost in the wild-card round during both of those postseason trips, falling to the Bills and Chiefs. They’re also trending the wrong way. Miami is 9–13 over its past 22 games, with the roster aging and decaying.
Then there’s Tua Tagovailoa. Last offseason, the 2021 first-round pick signed a four-year, $212 million extension. Since then, Tagovailoa has started 16 games and Miami is 7–9, despite the former Alabama star throwing 29 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. But it’s been a struggle in 2025, with Tagovailoa averaging 6.7 yards per attempt with four interceptions and three fumbles (one lost) in five games.
If Miami can rally in the upcoming weeks and make a run at the playoffs, McDaniel may earn another year. If not, there’s little reason to keep him around.
1. Tennessee Titans, Brian Callahan
Hot seat meter: 10
Callahan is 4–19 as a head coach, and frankly, his performance isn’t helping matters.
In Week 1, he should have challenged a call that was ruled an incomplete pass for Tennessee, but didn’t because he failed to understand that one elbow equals two feet. In Week 3, Callahan sent out Joey Slye to kick a 64-yard field goal in the second quarter. Slye missed, and then on the next drive was asked to kick a 57-yard field goal on fourth-and-1. The Titans took a delay of game penalty and kicked a 62-yard attempt. It was also missed.
Callahan, who was the Bengals’ offensive coordinator before taking the lead job in Tennessee, has struggled to develop No. 1 pick Cam Ward. The rookie has looked lost at times, completing 51.8% of his attempts for 5.4 yards per attempt, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
If Callahan can’t make the team better with his decision-making, and he can’t develop Ward, why is he on the job?
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Coaching Hot Seat Rankings: The Jobs That Could Be Open Soon.
