They say the NFL stands for the Not For Long league, and nothing is truer than when you’re talking about head coaching positions. In a world ruled by “what have you done for me lately” and teams owned by billionaires who are used to getting their way and want to win now, it seems every coaching position in the NFL comes with an expiration date.
In a league that has 32 teams, 37 NFL head coaches have been fired over the last five seasons. That’s an average of 7.4 coaches getting the axe each year.
And while some franchises are perennial residents on the list of teams searching for the right person to lead, it’s interesting to think that, aside from a handful of exceptions like the Chiefs, the league essentially refreshes every five seasons.
Still, no man is immune from the hot seat. It doesn’t matter if you’re former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick; if you don’t have enough W’s in the win column, your tushy is getting toasty.
Fans have always been vocal about which coaches should consider putting their homes on the market, so we asked you, the readers over on The Feed, who you think should be on the hot seat in 2026.
Based on your feedback, we narrowed it down to five NFL head coaches most in danger of losing their jobs this season.
Here is what you said.
1. Todd Bowles – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Heat Rating: Using a blow torch to build a homemade rocket chair, and realizing too late that you installed it backward
Pretty much a unanimous selection by the AP Readers. Bowles’ time in Tampa may be coming to an end after a 0-3 start. But despite being winless, the Buccaneers play in a terrible division and are only one game out of first place, and it’s still early, so if they can turn things around, they might still be gifted a playoff berth. My bet, though, is that the slide continues and he doesn’t finish the season as Tampa’s head coach.
Here is what you had to say:
“Todd Bowles. He cashed in all his chips when he fired all the coordinators. That move saddled him with all the blame. Now the Buccaneers, who are a semi-talented roster, are 0-3 with an ugly loss to the Browns. No one to blame it on except Bowles, who also turned last years team from an early season contender to sitting at home in January”
“Bowles… Never pay Baker a compensated Baker is a losing Baker.”
“Todd Bowles. Again, he might be paying the price for a flawed roster under-going a soft rebuild. Even so, Bowles entered the season on a warm seat. If the team keeps losing, I could see management making a change to see if it could spark a run to the top of a bad division.”
– ChiefZed
2. Matt LaFleur – Green Bay Packers
Heat Rating: 1980s-era metal playground slide in the middle of July while wearing Daisy Dukes
The Packers went all in last season when they acquired edge rusher Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately, things haven’t panned out as they planned. Green Bay finished just 9-7 last year and are off to a 1-2 start so far in 2026. The Packers haven’t won their division since 2021, and may decide, much like the Baltimore Ravens did last season, that they need to make a change to get over the hump, or to lead them in a full roster rebuild.
Here is what you had to say:
“The Packers woes go back to the end of last year.. Not sure why they extended LaFleur after the way things ended for them.”
“What’s interesting about the Packers: apparently in the last 4 years they’ve only made the playoffs as a 7th seed 3 of those years. So one could argie had they not extended that 7th seed he’d be riding multiple seasons without a playoff berth”
“Matt Lefleur(I think he has lost the room)”
– Swaf
3. Jim Harbaugh – Los Angeles Chargers
Heat Rating: SUV seat warmer with a faulty wire that slowly keeps getting hotter and hotter until you suddenly realize there is a hole in the backside of your Zubaz
You almost have to feel bad for Chargers fans. First, their team moved to LA, where they are the equivalent of Dewey Coxin his father’s eyes. Then they get their hopes up when they sign Harbaugh as head coach, thinking they are getting the guy who won the National Championship at the University of Michigan. Instead, they got a snake oil salesman adept at slipping town just before things fall apart. This time, though, the timeline might have caught up with him.
Here is what you had to say:
“If the Chargers are winless going into their bye, somebody is getting fired.”
“The NFL averages something like 5 HC turnovers per year. After 3 weeks, when comparing preseason expectations vs early results, you’d put Jim Harbaugh…”– houjix
“After the way the Chargers have looked early I will start with Harbaugh.”
Guys who should be monitoring the temperature of their cheeks: Shane Steichen (Indianapolis Colts), Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals), Dan Campbell (Detroit Lions), Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles), Kellen Moore (New Orleans Saints)
