As the NFL season progresses, more and more teams fall to a lower record. The pressure on coaches and teams escalates as well. As the results of more games become clear, several coaches and star players are feeling the pressure and beginning to fall behind. This pressure is resulting in numerous coaches being put on the “Hot Seat.” Being on the hot seat doesn’t mean they should be automatically fired, but instead, they need to produce something positive. Otherwise, they will be fired.

1. Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins)

Mike McDaniel has been on the hot seat for a few seasons now. Even with the Miami Dolphins having some of the most talented players in the league such as Tyreek Hill, De’Von Achane, Jaylen Waddle, head coach Mike McDaniel struggles to produce postseason success or even success in the regular season. McDaniels has led a few successful regular seasons, but has failed to win a postseason game in his career. Miami Dolphins player Tyreek Hill has been one of the most well known wide receivers in the league in past years. However, recently, he has fallen off and failed to produce. This lack of achievement raises questions about how McDaniels is using him throughout his offense and if Hill is worth keeping around to the owner, Stephen Ross. Since Vic Fangio, the previous coach, left the Dolphins in 2024, their defense has fallen off the rails. Being ranked the 23rd defense in the league is a huge drop since they were the 10th-ranked defense when Fangio was still the head coach.

2. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns)

Kevin Stefanski joined the Browns in 2020. The Browns franchise brought Kevin Stefanski to the Browns to produce a successful offense. He began his Browns career with winning the Coach of the Year award and won it again in 2023. However, since then, he has been unable to turn the Browns into a dynamic team. The Browns are now one of the most inconsistent teams in the league. This inconsistency is partially because Stefanski is unable to lead a successful offensive performance. For a team that has such strong defensive players such as Miles Garrett, Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit, its offense lacks tremendously. He consistently makes predictable play calls and runs the ball after it fails repeatedly. When the Browns need over 10 yards, he continues to run the ball and gains no yards. Additionally, Stefanski has had 12 quarterbacks on his offense since he began his coaching career for the Browns. His decisions on quarterbacks throughout his career with the Browns have been nothing but unsatisfactory. Stefanski’s inability to lead a talented offense has created a weak team that constantly falls to the bottom of the rankings throughout the league.

3. Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills)

Although McDermott has been one of the most consistent coaches in the league by getting his team to the playoffs seven of nine times he has been with the Bills, he has been incapable of making big moves during the playoffs. As his time with the Bills progresses, the pressure of making it to the Super Bowl is increasing. This demand leads to questioning if he is the right person to lead the talented quarterback Josh Allen to make the big moves he is capable of. The Bills tend to lose in high-pressure games. Many argue that McDermott is incapable of making the correct play-calls in tough situations. As Allen is in his prime right now and the team has already lost a key player, Stefon Diggs, the team is looking to achieve something impressive now. The Bills need to make a big breakthrough, or the question of whether McDermott is the correct person to lead this talented offense will be questioned and put to the test.

4. Jonathan Gannon (Arizona Cardinals)

Gannon was hired in 2023 in an attempt to improve the Cardinals team culture and provide insight into the defensive aspect of the team. However, he has yet to help in that aspect at all, ranking 31st in defense in 2023. Although the previous year, Gannon in Philadelphia was able to bring the Eagles to the Super Bowl. On the other hand, Gannon is a poor leader and does not show support to his team. For example, Emari Demercado, a running back on the team, fumbled the ball on an important play. Gannon reacted by hitting the player aggressively on Demercado’s shoulder. Gannon was fined $100,000 for hitting a player on the shoulder, and this aggressive behavior raises concerns about how Gannon leads the team. By having your coach react so negatively and aggressively, presents to the franchise that the team culture has not improved as intended. Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. are both strong players and were drafted high. Murray was drafted first in the 2019 draft and Harrison was drafted fourth in the 2024 draft. Yet, the Cardinals seem to lack using these two players in an effective way, and this lack of production leads to questioning why these two strong players are unable to shine.

5. Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Although some may say that Mike Tomlin is a top coach and has impacted the Steelers positively, I disagree. Tomlin has been the Steelers’ coach for 19 years. Yes, he has won one Super Bowl. However, he has not won a playoff game since 2016. Despite having 12 appearances in the playoffs, Tomlin hasn’t had his team do anything in the playoffs since the 2016 season. The Steelers are one of the most successful franchises in the league –winning six Super Bowls, tied for the most in NFL history. Additionally, the Steelers have only ever had three coaches in their history, which shows how consistent they should be. But, despite that, Tomlin hasn’t excelled for the Steelers in nine years. They haven’t reached their public standards, and he hasn’t done what past coaches have done for the Steelers. When examining the past coaches’ influence, Chuck Noll led the Steelers to win four Super Bowls. Bill Cowher won 12 playoff games with the Steelers and had a Super Bowl. Even though Tomlin has been successful in the past, he has taken the Steelers into a playoff slump for eight years now.

In a franchise where success is measured by wins, the room for error is incredibly small. Whether it is McDaniel’s underperforming offense, Stefanski’s inability to maintain a quarterback, McDermott not being able to lead the Bills in the playoffs, Gannon’s poor defense and bad leadership and even Tomlin’s playoff slump – the NFL is progressing, and the coaches need to step it up. Although these coaches have made positive impacts on their teams in the past, the pressure on them to succeed is increasing and time is running out. Will they change their ways and lead their teams to success, or will they run out of time before that moment happens?