Unless he can get on a winning streak sometime soon, Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn will remain on the hot seat. At 1-4-1, with some questionable game-management decisions in recent weeks, Quinn is fortunate that the NFC East is bad this season and the Commanders remain alive and well in the divisional race.
On Sunday, the Commanders return from a bye week. Washington looks for its first division win as it hosts the Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 1 rematch. Philadelphia is just ahead of Washington in the standings, but has lost five consecutive games. The Eagles are also dealing with numerous injuries, including to starting quarterback Jalen Hurts.
If one coach’s seat may be as hot — if not hotter — than Quinn’s, it’s Eagles head coach Nick
Sirianni.
At 2-5, Sirianni has had a disappointing start. He’s had a new offensive coordinator in each of the past five seasons. Sirianni was on the hot seat after last season, but the Eagles gave him another shot.
Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports recently ranked the top five coaches on the hot seat after Week 7. Two NFC East coaches — Quinn and Sirianni — made the list.
Sirianni came in at No. 5:
Sirianni's situation is odd. It's hard to blame him for the Eagles' struggles on the injury front. Along with Jalen Hurts, the Eagles were missing DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks and Nolan Smith during Monday night's 38-21 loss to the Cowboys. Saquon Barkley played but was a non-factor in the second half, as his hamstring is clearly still an issue.
The issue is that the Eagles were already in free fall before Hurts' medical situation. Philadelphia started the season with two unimpressive wins before being blown out in Week 3 by a Bears team that didn't have Caleb Williams. Shortly after that, they lost two-fifths of their starting offensive line when Lane Johnson retired and Cam Jurgens was traded to Baltimore.
This is the second straight season in which the Eagles have fallen well short of expectations. Philadelphia's struggles since its Super Bowl-winning season have put Sirianni's status beyond this season in jeopardy.
Quinn was just ahead of him at No. 4:
Quinn's heat has been intense since Washington's inexplicable lack of clock management at the end of their eventual tie against the Giants in Week 5. That game was sandwiched between two losses that put the Commanders at 1-4-1 entering their Week 7 bye.
The shine from Quinn's first season in Washington is gone. The Commanders are just 6-16-1 since their 2024 NFC Championship game run, and it appears that things may get worse before they get better. The Commanders recently lost their best skill player -- Terry McLaurin -- for the season after he injured his knee during the team's Week 6 loss to the 49ers.
If there are any positives for Washington, it's that Jayden Daniels is healthy and looking more like the 2024 version of himself. The Commanders also appear to have a budding star in rookie linebacker Sonny Styles. Additionally, Washington plays in the winnable NFC East, where every team has a losing record.
Barring one of these teams winning the NFC East — there’s a chance — it feels like both are heading for major changes. For now, the Commanders have a much better shot at catching the Giants, with quarterback Jayden Daniels healthy. Daniels gives Washington a chance to win every game, regardless of the opponent.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Two NFC East coaches firmly on the hot seat entering Week 8
