Not every head coach begins their season with the same stakes at hand. Some enter the year already having established a dominance, and some enter worrying about whether they’ll be able to be on the sidelines for that year and the next.

The NFL is a multi-billion-dollar business and franchises can’t be wasting seasons. When the leader isn’t showing the qualities to make wins happen, changes will happen. Here are six coaches who might end up being some of them.

Aaron Glenn, New York Jets

A list for coaches on the hot seat will always be incomplete without featuring one from the New York Jets. Things have rarely gone well for the franchise in the recent past, and for the long list of head coaches who have previously helmed the team. Like clockwork, every similar list you’ll see will likely lead off with New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.

The former defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions stepped into the Jets facility hoping to be the change in leadership the franchise needed. However, the Jets made the wrong kind of history with Glenn as HC in 2025, setting an NFL record for not recording a single interception in an entire season.

For a coach whose specialty is defense, New York didn’t look good on that front either. After trading Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys mid-season, the rushing defense was abysmal. The team ranked second last in points allowed per game and fourth last in rushing yards allowed per game.

No one expected Glenn to turn this franchise around in one season, but signs of life need to start showing if he is to keep his job into the 2027 season. With the Jets expected to have a top pick in the 2027 NFL draft to select their franchise quarterback, it’ll be interesting to see how they handle Glenn. Do they fire him and hire a young offensive mind to develop a quarterback?

Or does Glenn show he can lead this team competently, and they end up keeping him for the long run?

It’s an intriguing suit, but Glenn is doing everything he can to keep his job. The team drafted David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq, and Omar Cooper Jr in the first round, and added Minkah Fitzpatrick and Demario Davis in free agency. What Glenn does with these new pieces will play a part in his career’s future.

Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

The Zac Taylor era in Cincinnati has weirdly been hot and cold. In his first two seasons with the team, he led them to six total wins, and the Cincinnati Bengals looked like one of the worst teams in the league. Over the next two seasons, the team won 22 regular-season games and made two straight AFC Championship Game appearances, with one Super Bowl appearance.

Since then, the team has looked lackluster and has a knack for starting off slow at the beginning of seasons.

Injuries have played a major part with franchise quarterback Joe Burrow repeatedly missing time. But even when he had one of his best seasons in 2024, the team still went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The defense hasn’t been good either, but going into 2026, it looks good. The addition of Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook should elevate this defense to not allow over 375 yards per game.

But if the team has a healthy season and starts off slow once again, missing the playoffs, expect Taylor to be shown the exit doors.

Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

No matter what Nick Sirianni does, it seems he’ll always be on the hot seat. He’s 59-26 with the Philadelphia Eagles so far, including two Super Bowl appearances and one title. Still, it’s not good enough, and the energy around the franchise this offseason has felt apprehensive.

That feeling started in the 2025 season, when the offense just clearly wasn’t up to par. But Sirianni was reluctant to make changes. The team fell in the wild-card round, and the offense finished with the 13th-best EPA/Play in the league.

The Eagles still have one of the more talented rosters in the sport, as has been for the majority of Sirianni’s tenure with the team. Still, the team struggles to reach its full potential, with stars like A.J. Brown forcing their way out because they couldn’t handle being on the team any longer. Sirianni fired Kevin Patullo hired Sean Mannion to fix the offensive woes as the new coordinator.

If the offense isn’t up to par, and signs of struggle are still showing, Sirianni could be on his way out before the 2026 season ends. General manager Howie Roseman has done a great job keeping it up to standard. It’s now Sirianni’s job to produce a deep playoff run.

Matt Lefleur, Green Bay Packers

After the Green Bay Packers lost for the second straight year in the wild-card round, there were rumors of Matt LaFleur potentially being let go by the team. The team held a 21-3 lead at halftime against their division rival, the Chicago Bears, but lost 31-27. Packers fans weren’t happy, certainly not with ownership.

But LaFleur is still one of the better coaches in the NFL. So, Green Bay decided to roll with him for the 2026 season.

The offense has been efficient with LaFleur at the helm and, in 2025, ranked fourth-best in EPA/play. The pairing of him and Jordan Love has been a match made in heaven. The issue has been closing games, and that was clear enough in the playoffs. The team still lost five straight games to close out the season.

Losing Micah Parsons to an an ACL tear was another big blow, but Lefleur had to shoulder a lot of the blame for the late-season collapse.

The Packers are once again contenders in the NFC, as the roster has remained largely the same. The offense will likely be efficient once again, and when Parsons comes back from his injury, the defense will get a much-needed boost. If LaFleur can’t muster up a deep playoff run this season and loses in the wild-card round, he could be on the way out next offseason.

Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Todd Bowles has put together a solid tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, having a 35-33 record and leading the Buccaneers to three NFC South titles in four seasons. But the 2025 campaign was a major setback.

Tampa Bay dropped five of its final seven games and fell short of the playoffs. Quarterback Baker Mayfield took a step back, earning a 64.8 PFF passing grade while battling injuries throughout the season. The running game failed to provide much, or any support, as the Buccaneers finished 26th in rushing yards per play.

Defensively, Tampa Bay struggled to slow down opposing passing attacks, ranking 27th in the NFL in passing yards allowed.

Throughout it all, ownership decided to keep Bowles around for the 2026 season. However Bowles now enters 2026 without veterans Mike Evans and Lavonte David; the wide receiver left for the San Francisco 49ers, and David retired. Instead, the head coach will have to rely on younger talents like Emeka Egbuka and Rueben Bain Jr., along with remaining veterans Alex Anzalone and Mayfield.

With expectations still high, another disappointing season could be the final straw for Bowles. The team needs a winning record to keep him off the hot seat, and failing to reclaim the NFC South title could make his long-term outlook even murkier.

Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings

This one may be a surprise, but if the Minnesota Vikings have another disappointing season on the offensive end, Kevin O’Connell could be on the way out next offseason. He is one of the better offensive coaches in the league, and his system has proven capable of elevating quarterbacks. That’s why drafting J.J. McCarthy in the first-round of the 2024 NFL draft seemed like a good decision at the time. The hope was O’Connell could develop the QB into a quality starter.

However, O’Connell only in for the opposite

McCarthy struggled throughout the 2025 season, finishing with a 60.1 passing grade on PFF and 15 turnover-worthy plays in 291 dropbacks. The Vikings had a defense that carried the team to nine wins and a playoff push. But it’s now time for the offense, which O’Connell is in charge of, to get this team over the hump and into the playoffs.

The Vikings went out and signed Kyler Murray in free agency to try and jumpstart this side of the ball. If Murray or McCarthy can’t get this offense to a stable level and the Vikings miss the playoffs again due to quarterback play, expect O’Connell’s seat to get hotter next offseason.