NFL hot seat index: Five coaches who could be in trouble once 2020 season ends
The approach of the 2020 NFL season’s final regular-season weekend also means “Black Monday” – practically Black Sunday in more recent years – is drawing inexorably nearer.
The Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and Houston Texans have already hit the reset button, each cutting ties with their head coaches and general managers once their respective campaigns derailed. But league history suggests more houses will be cleaned, each offseason typically bringing a half-dozen sideline openings, give or take. (The 2020 season opened with five teams under new coaching management.)
Here are five more HCs who seem to have varying degrees of heat under their respective seats:
5. Cooling: Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
December began with Da Bears in the throes of a six-game tailspin and seeking stability under center. It ends with a three-game winning streak and a win-and-in playoff scenario for Week 17. Nagy’s offense is in the midst of a stunning scoring outburst not seen in these parts in 55 years, long-embattled QB Mitchell Trubisky playing at a Pro Bowl level.
Flawed as this team is and despite the middling-at-best offensive results Nagy has produced in three years – and now the team has an unforeseen Trubisky dilemma as he heads toward free agency – it’s hard to argue with a pair of potential playoff births in that span, especially given the coach isn’t responsible for roster construction. ESPN reported this week that Bears brass now seems inclined to stick with Nagy … though you never know what a bad Sunday against the hated (NFC North champion) Packers might do.
Pederson sounded like a man advocating for himself – and he has taken Philly to the playoffs three times in five years – noting, “I know exactly how to get things fixed. We’ve won a lot of games around here. … I’ve seen it, I’ve done it. That’s where my confidence lies.”Lawrence among factors that could make Jaguars most attractive job of offseason
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2. Scalding: Doug Marrone, Jacksonville Jaguars
This group doesn’t have many good players – partially by design given starters DE Yannick Ngakoue, RB Leonard Fournette and S Ronnie Harrison were offloaded days before the season started. But as hard as it is to win 14 consecutive games in the parity-imbued NFL, it’s nearly as hard to lose 14 straight … yet that’s exactly what the Jags have done.
Gase said earlier this month. “For (owner and chairman Chris Johnson) not to feel a playoff feel of being competitive in December, it’s disappointing to me that we haven’t been able to do that for him.”
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