We’re almost a quarter of the way through the season, and you can almost feel the coaching carousel starting to spin as various teams start to flounder. There’s no real official start date for all this, but several coaches are already in serious jeopardy, including at least one surprising name. These are the three who are likely to be first up when firing season starts for real, especially since they’re on such shaky ground.
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
It felt like Daboll’s job was already on life support back when the G-men got stomped by the Vikings, 28-6, in their NFL season opener, and nothing that’s happened since has convinced anyone that he can turn this thing around. That’s the curse of being stuck with Daniel Jones, who remains the ultimate trick-or-treat quarterback as Halloween approaches.
To add insult to injury, the Giants were exposed as a poorly run, chaotic organization during their regrettable stint on Hard Knocks, which featured both Daboll and GM Joe Schoen getting involved in an ordinary training camp scuffle that quickly escalated into an embarrassment for the franchise.
The 1-3 Giants have yet to score 20 points in a single game; the closest they came was 18 in their 21-18 loss to the Washington Commanders. Washington supposed to be battling New York to escape from the basement of the NFC East, but instead rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has transformed the Commanders from cannon fodder to contenders, which makes Daboll look even worse.
Given how bad New York’s situation is, it’s worth taking closer look to see when owner John Mara might pull the plug on this mess. The Giants have a tough road game coming up against Seattle, which will be on a short week after playing the Lions on Monday night.
New York has the Eagles two weeks after that, which might be a battle of coaches who are about to hit the unemployment line. There are second dates with Washington and Dallas in November, but at this point it’s almost impossible to imagine Daboll making it that deep into the season.
Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles
Speaking of Sirianni, his fate as head coach of the Eagles continues to be week-to-week. This past week wasn’t a good one for Sirianni, as Philly got beat handily by Tampa Bay. That’s the same Bucs team that was supposed to be easy pickings for Philadelphia in last year’s playoffs. The clock is ticking on Sirianni’s season, with most of the focus centering on the coach’s relationship with QB Jalen Hurts.
Hurts hasn’t been anywhere near as bad as Daniel Jones, but he has taken on a Jekyll-and-Hyde persona. When his Mr. Hyde side surfaces and Hurts starts hesitating and committing turnovers, Philly usually folds like origami.
The only thing saving Sirianni’s job for the moment has been Saquon Barkley, who has been playing like a rejuvenated demon to power the Eagles offense. No one knows exactly with the firing version of the Liberty Bell will finally toll for Sirianni, but his coaching seat can turn red hot at a moment’s notice.
Doug Pederson is the NFL coach least likely to be on this list
Pederson was supposed to be a long shot candidate to make this list, but instead he’s unexpectedly risen to the top of the charts. Trevor Lawrence was supposed to provide Pederson with at least some protection, but the way Lawrence is playing right now his coach is very exposed.
No one seems to know exactly what the problem is when it comes to Lawrence’s struggles. Poor decisions are at the heart of it, but there seems to be way more going on, to the point where Pederson and his star QB don’t seem to be on the same page any more. Pederson has been throwing his players under the bus in the last couple of weeks, and he played “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” when he was asked about his job status after last week’s loss to the Texans.
Owner Shad Khan, meanwhile, doesn't seem up for another show of patience with his embattled coach. He put the “win a playoff game” bullseye on Pederson’s back before the season, but it will take another stunning winning streak to get there, much less win an actual game. If you followed Pederson's storyline back when he got canned in Philly not long after his stunning Super Bowl victory, what’s happening now is starting to feel all too familiar.