- Six weeks into the season, one NFL coach is already gone. History suggests more will follow – likely soon.
- Could one coach with a Lombardi Trophy on his résumé be at risk?
- Two others are trying to placate owners who were already getting antsy after rough 2024 seasons.
The Tennessee Titans’ termination of head coach Brian Callahan on Monday marked the first firing of the 2025 NFL season.
But the league’s HC grim reaper will be back.
There are seven new head men on the sidelines in 2025, which pretty much typifies the NFL’s annual turnover. But in recent years, the vacancies have been developing far earlier than the, well, traditional Black Monday bloodlettings of yore. Three jobs opened in the middle of last season, a signal that more of Callahan’s peers could be following him sooner than later in an ever-evolving profession.
And in a league of supposed parity, this year is already taking a unique shape that could lend itself to more job openings – and soon.
Nearly half of the teams (14) are presently two games over .500. Three others have winning records, and another trio beyond that is currently 3-3 – the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers, all seemingly headed in a decidedly positive direction.
The obverse of that? The bottom feeders are drowning. And fast.
Six clubs are already 1-5 or worse. One of them, the New Orleans Saints, is led by rookie coach Kellen Moore. Despite a resetting roster and no apparent long-term solution at quarterback, his scrappy team has been in nearly every game.
Another, the Cleveland Browns, is in a similar situation under two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who extended the contracts of Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry last year − not that new deals make anyone bulletproof in this league − appeared to be taking a long view of his franchise well before the season, even falling on the Deshaun Watson sword himself. That seemingly explains why the team’s brain trust was comfortable not only trading the No. 2 pick of the 2025 draft but also quarterback Joe Flacco (he started Cleveland’s first four games) last week. Sure seems like Berry and Stefanski will get to use those two first-round picks next spring.
Big picture, the circumstances – ever changing as they are – sifting out which coaches appear to be in growing jeopardy. Listed alphabetically, here are five on what seem to be incrementally warmer seats who, currently, seem at most risk of following Callahan into the unemployment line sooner or (likely not much) later, barring a reversal of fortune:
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
From the league’s toughest schedule to uncertainty behind center to an increasingly impatient owner (though John Mara values stability) – all of this heaped onto a 9-25 record the previous two seasons in the nation’s biggest and most unforgiving media market – the deck certainly seemed stacked against Daboll and GM Joe Schoen entering 2025. The next nine opponents for the 2-4 G-Men are currently .500 or better, so this remains a hazardous situation. And yet the temperature does seem to be cooling − is that good on slippery slopes? − around Daboll now that rookie QB Jaxson Dart has electrified the team while winning two of his three starts since replacing fading veteran Russell Wilson. With WR Malik Nabers (knee) due back next season as a major component of a promising young roster, the Giants seem positioned to return to relevance … whether or not Daboll and Schoen remain.
Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals
They won eight times last season, double what they’d managed during Gannon’s debut in 2023. But a team that appeared headed in the right direction and won its first two games is suddenly spiraling. The Cards have lost four straight, albeit by a total of nine points, but are quickly losing touch with the pack in the hyper-competitive NFC West. Gannon is fielding questions about the long-term future of QB Kyler Murray, who missed Sunday’s loss in Indianapolis – though the offense seemed to function better with backup Jacoby Brissett. A week earlier, the Cards suffered an epic meltdown at home to become the only team Callahan’s Titans defeated this season. Worst of all, Gannon precipitated an embarrassing and troubling situation on the sideline when he angrily confronted RB Emari Demercado – his careless fumble at the goal line on what should have been a breakaway 72-yard touchdown probably cost Arizona the game – appearing to make physical contact with a player who was already distraught over his gaffe. The Cardinals fined Gannon $100,000, though it’s worth wondering if the incident will partially initiate another job action soon enough.
Aaron Glenn, New York Jets
In fairness, he’s a rookie head coach six games into his tenure. In reality, the NFL isn’t a fair fight, job security hardly guaranteed to the game’s greatest coaches much less one at the controls of what’s now the only winless squad in 2025. And while half of Glenn’s setbacks have been by two points (another was by six), the heavily penalized Jets often look disjointed and undisciplined. He could be heard ripping into his players following a Week 4 loss at Miami, where the Jets became the only team to lose to the Dolphins this season. It’s quite obviously early. But Glenn, formerly an acolyte of other tough-talking coaches like Bill Parcells and Dan Campbell, needs to at least start making headway for an organization that traffics in chaos and is currently mired in the league’s longest playoff drought, one that dates to the 2010 season. And Sunday’s product in London, when the Jets managed 82 yards of offense and didn’t sniff the end zone, isn’t the kind that owner Woody Johnson is historically inclined to suffer for long.
John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
Hired in 2008, he’s the league’s longest-tenured coach aside from Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin. But the Ravens have hardly been the team so many (raises hand) forecast as a Super Bowl 60 participant. A rash of injuries to the team’s best players, namely perennial MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, is quite obviously stunting a 1-5 outfit, and Harbaugh seems confident his quarterback could return following a Week 7 bye. But the problems here don’t seem limited to the injury report. The Ravens’ toughest opponent consistently remains the Ravens, who historically tend to undermine themselves in the playoffs, often struggle to maintain significant fourth-quarter leads and fumbled away games they should have (Buffalo) or could have (Detroit) won before Jackson was injured. And long as the list of walking wounded is, it’s hard to justify how simply non-competitive Baltimore has been since Jackson went down in Kansas City on Sept. 28 – unable to even approach the opportunity to self-destruct. Harbaugh has come through adverse circumstances before. He’s also 4-7 in postseason since winning Super Bowl 47 nearly 13 years ago. A reckoning amid mounting unmet expectations seems inevitable at some point, whether it’s this year or not.
Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
He endured another round of slings and arrows Sunday, when the Fins couldn’t hold a lead against the decimated LA Chargers in the game’s final minute, the latest loss dropping Miami to 1-5. Worse, QB Tua Tagovailoa put the locker room on blast – and, by extension, McDaniel – following the defeat. During three-plus seasons near South Beach, McDaniel’s wizardry as an offensive architect and play caller has routinely been on display. So has a team that too often lacks accountability while struggling to beat good teams, especially away from Florida’s warm embrace. And with explosive WR Tyreek Hill out for the season, the Dolphins appear further than ever from winning their first playoff game in nearly 25 years, currently the longest dry spell between postseason victories in the league. McDaniel and GM Chris Grier don’t seem to be leaving owner Stephen Ross much choice after he essentially put them on notice following a disappointing 8-9 finish to the 2024 campaign, when Hill infamously quit on the team during the regular-season finale. A loss to the Browns on Sunday would seemingly make it even harder for McDaniel to even survive into a bye that’s still six weeks away.