One quarter of the way into any NFL regular season – 23.5% if we’re being precise in the era of the 17-game docket – and the temperatures begin to cool. The same is unexpectedly true for quite a few teams in 2026, with five failing clubs still winless through four weeks.
Yet frigid football squads tend to turn up the heat on their head coaches – especially those who are not managing especially adverse circumstances and/or haven’t been recently shown the most important vote of confidence, i.e. a new contract or an extension. (Sorry, Green Bay Packers fans, but whatever frustrations you might harbor regarding Matt LaFleur, he’s been hamstrung by personnel issues beyond his control … and was also signed to a multi-year extension in January by Ed Policy, who became the organization's CEO and president just 15 months ago. Don't expect a quick pivot in Titletown.)
But HC job security seems as tenuous as ever in the league, the ten who were replaced in this year’s hiring cycle tying the record for a single offseason. Owners seem to be offering ever-shorter runways to pave the way to success at a time when it’s as difficult as ever to prepare teams constantly in roster flux and seemingly less willing than ever to use the preseason as a forum to integrate new systems and philosophies or even dress starting players.
So though LaFleur almost certainly isn’t on a hot (or even especially warm) seat going into Week 5 – and temperature control can certainly be quite variable in October – nine of his peers (listed alphabetically) are doubtless already craving ventilation:
Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4)
He had to inform The Tampa Bay Times of his return in January, which tells you Bowles was already on relatively shaky ground. And while the currently winless Bucs won the NFC South in Bowles’ first three seasons, they’ve also benefited from their residence in the league’s least competitive division – one Bowles failed to capture amid a 2-7 collapse to end the 2025 campaign. Now 36-40 in Tampa, Bowles could be doomed given QB Baker Mayfield is out indefinitely with a dislocated thumb on his passing hand – but it’s important to note the team wasn’t playing well even before he went down late in a Week 3 loss to Minnesota. It's conceivable Bowles' team won't be favored to win another game this season.
Aaron Glenn, New York Jets (1-3)
Despite its record, Gang Green has been more competitive this season. That’s also a pretty low bar given they ended 2025, Glenn’s first year on the job, on a five-game slide that was the first in league history during which all of the defeats were by at least a 23-point margin. And while the Jets only lost by 11 in Chicago on Sunday – albeit to a Bears team without QB Caleb Williams – they became the first one this century to surrender more first downs (34) than plays run by their offense (32). Glenn, a Pro Bowl corner with the Jets once upon a time, unsurprisingly made his coaching bones on the defensive side of the ball. But the Jets have hardly excelled there, picking off their first pass of the Glenn tenure 21 games in. Worse for him, this is a team expected to push heavily to obtain its next presumed franchise quarterback in the 2027 draft – meaning, barring a decisive turnaround, it's hard to envision a scenario where Glenn is retained given the likelihood the organization would covet an established offensive mind to groom and develop a young QB.
Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers (0-4)
It’s worth wondering at what point a guy who tends to get a four-year itch applies the heating pad himself. Harbaugh, who had never started a season – in the NFL or college – 0-2 as a head coach keeps taking Ls. He’s in Year 3 of what’s been reported as a five-year, $80 million contract, so it doesn’t seem especially likely the Chargers are in a hurry to make a change. But the Bolts have yet to win a playoff game under his stewardship, getting blown out in the wild-card round in both 2024 and ’25, and are displaying staggering regression this season. Harbaugh has been regularly asked if first-year OC Mike McDaniel will get the ax. Even normally emotionless QB Justin Herbert has shown signs of agitation. From a historical perspective, Harbaugh hasn’t lasted more than four seasons at any of his previous HC stops, his nine-year run at the University of Michigan notwithstanding – and though he left the Wolverines with a national championship, he also left a mess behind. Currently ineligible to coach at the college level until 2038 in the aftermath of the investigation in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh also probably won’t have the full menu of options he’s been used to perusing when change has been imminent in the past.
Dan Quinn, Washington Commanders (1-3)
It feels longer than two years since he and then-rookie Jayden Daniels fueled a stunning run to the NFC title game. It’s also unfair to skewer Quinn, who’s only had his star quarterback in the lineup for nine of the 21 games since. But as relatable as Quinn, who’s beloved by his coaches and players, is, at some point injuries will only provide so much cover – and Washington, forced to play third-string rookie QB Athan Kaliakmanis in Sunday’s loss in London, has shown it can beat a team as good as the reigning champion Seahawks without Daniels. Also, elsewhere in the NFC East, the New York Giants currently sit in first place despite having QB1 Jaxson Dart for basically just one game. New Commanders owner Josh Harris has shown a lot more patience in general than his reviled predecessor, but it’s a situation worth monitoring if Washington goes down the drain again after finishing 5-12 in 2025.
DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans (0-4)
He’s guided this team to postseason in each of his first three seasons, overcoming an 0-2 start (one an 0-3 start) in two of those. But 0-4 may be too deep a hole for even Ryans to climb out of. A star linebacker here during his playing days, Ryans is known for his defensive chops, level-headed approach and ability to communicate. But EVP/GM Nick Caserio – and his bosses – could wind up having to ask some tough questions in a few months. Why did a team built to win now lose so much? Why has a seemingly elite defense been so bad, surrendering an average of 30 points so far at home? And why did QB C.J. Stroud, the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year, seemingly peak that year and how complicit is Ryans in his stunted development? A loss to the Titans on Sunday will set off any remaining alarm bells that aren’t already blaring.
Robert Saleh, Tennessee Titans (0-4)
Hopefully he gets a legitimate chance to turn this franchise around. But Saleh, who spent three-plus years coaching the dysfunctional Jets, doesn’t have a successful track record as a HC to fall back on, even if the deck was stacked against him in New York. Through four winless games, the Titans aren’t building momentum toward a 2027 season when they’ll move into a new a stadium. Perhaps more worrisome, QB Cam Ward, the top pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, has yet to show significant growth under Saleh and first-year OC Brian Daboll. Fight should count for something, and Tennessee’s last three losses have all been by one score. But results count for more, and Saleh’s predecessor, Brian Callahan, didn’t get them … and didn’t last to the end of his second season.
Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles (2-2)
His name seems to surface every year … that the Eagles don’t end as champions. By that metric, Sirianni’s reign has been disastrous, Philly capturing just one Lombardi Trophy in his first five seasons. Just about any other fan base would love to have a guy who’s never failed to reach the playoffs, has led the Eagles to two Super Bowls and currently sports a 67-32 record (including postseason). Still, the ’26 Eagles have been a tough watch so far and are probably fortunate to be at .500. The marriage between QB Jalen Hurts and new OC Sean Mannion has seemed pretty rocky, based on the on-field results, and even Vic Fangio’s defense has been a relative disappointment. And with a growing list of injuries, the abrupt retirement of Pro Bowl RT Lane Johnson, a team captain, and an upcoming trip to London to face the formidable Jaguars, things could get a lot worse before they get better. Time will tell where that ultimately leaves Sirianni, who’s generally enjoyed the support of a locker room that tends to embrace his occasional, if authentic, on-field histrionics. However his relationship with Hurts has often been a matter of speculation, and perhaps one that could determine how long one (or both) of them remain employed here.
Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts (2-2)
They’re also back at .500 following wins over Houston and the undermanned Commanders. That’s not likely to give Steichen and GM Chris Ballard much relief, especially given all the win-now moves they’ve made over the past 11 months … a stretch when the Colts have prevailed in three games. After an impressive start to the 2025 season, Daniel Jones, now in possession of a two-year, $88 million extension, has reverted into the turnover-prone quarterback the Giants disposed of two years ago. And whatever offense Steichen is extracting from his troops – mostly RB Jonathan Taylor – it hardly seems like enough to compensate for one of the league’s worst defenses. And remember the mandate owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon delivered at the end of last season, saying: "We have been very clear with Chris and Shane that giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher.”
Steichen could certainly wind up as collateral damage for some of Ballard’s short-sighted decisions, though he’d likely be snapped up quickly in an OC role – and a reunion with Sirianni and Hurts sure seems sensible if he becomes available.
Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals (2-2)
Whether this organization values stability or whether it values not paying people to whom it owes money, Taylor’s standing is also worth keeping a close eye on. While the Bengals are again dealing with key injuries, particularly within their high-priced receiving corps, QB Joe Burrow is fully functional. And blame can no longer be laid at the feet of an under-resourced and/or unhappy defense. Taylor, now in his eighth season, was hired after Marvin Lewis lasted for 16 years here – and Taylor came much closer than Lewis to leading the Bengals to their first championship, coming up just short in Super Bowl 56. But Cincinnati hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2022 and continuity – Taylor was the only returning head coach in the AFC North this season – hasn’t seemed to give them much of a bump yet, the Bengals currently a game back of the Browns and Ravens in the divisional standings. The biggest issue could be the ever-swirling speculation around Burrow, who’s only amplified the expectations around this team while also having to address his own occasionally cryptic remarks regarding his future in Cincinnati. But Burrow seems to hold more sway than anyone in this operation, and there’s little doubt who would stick around if it became a choice between the Ohio-bred franchise QB and his coach.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL hot seat coaches include Jim Harbaugh – but still not Matt LaFluer
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