National Football League

NFL head coach hot seat rankings: Brian Daboll rises amid Giants' embarrassing fall

Updated Dec. 10, 2024 12:36 p.m. ET

At this point in the season, there really is no rush.

It’s too late for the act of firing a head coach to have any impact on a team’s season. And most owners have probably already accepted that yes, things can still get worse. If they’ve been willing to endure the pain of a disappointing season this long, what’s another month, even if everyone knows that change is coming soon?

So chances are the three coaches who have been fired during this NFL season — Robert Saleh (Jets), Dennis Allen (Saints), and Matt Eberflus (Bears) — will be the only ones fired between now and the end of the season on Jan. 5.

But on Jan. 6 — Black Monday in the NFL — they could have a lot of company on the streets.

Here is the updated FOX Sports ranking of the coaches on the hottest seats heading into Week 15:

1. Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars (Previous ranking: 1st)

The Jaguars actually won a game on Sunday, coming from behind to beat the Tennessee Titans 10-6. They won on the road, without their starting quarterback, and they needed a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to do it. Impressive. In fact, it was a reason to celebrate — except for anyone rooting for the Jags to get the No. 1 pick in the draft for the third time in the last five years.

That pretty much sums up the season for the 3-10 Jaguars, where even wins feel like losses to their fans. They know what’s going to happen the day after the season. It would be a shock if Pederson isn’t fired, considering he’s 4-15 since the start of last December (when his team was 8-3). It really is unbelievable that he hasn’t been fired yet. If it doesn’t happen on Jan. 6, everyone in the NFL will be very, very surprised.

2. Brian Daboll, New York Giants (Previous ranking: 3rd)

He has been rocketing up this list the last few weeks and if it wasn’t for the fact that he got the dreaded "vote of confidence" from owner John Mara a few weeks ago, he might be No. 1. Multiple sources continue to insist that Mara really doesn’t want to fire another head coach. But they all add in a similar caveat of "unless he’s embarrassed."

Well, how’s this for embarrassing? Before the game on Sunday, a fan hired a plane to pull a banner over the Meadowlands that read "MR. MARA ENOUGH — PLZ FIX THIS DUMPSTER FIRE." The stadium had so many empty seats that an hour before the game fans could’ve gotten them for $1 on the secondary market. And then the Giants (2-11) ended up losing to a bad Saints team when their attempt at a game-tying field goal was blocked.

The worst part for Daboll is that he was hired for his offensive mind and the Giants are averaging 14.9 points per game this season — 2.1 points fewer than any other team in the league. They’ve obviously had quarterback issues and injury issues, but it still doesn’t speak well of his coaching ability.

Also, the Giants still have two more home games left, including this weekend against the Baltimore Ravens. So there is likely more embarrassment to come.

3. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders (Previous ranking: 2nd)

The Raiders had so much promise when they finished 5-4 under their then-interim coach a year ago, but it’s all devolved into a 2-11 mess. It’s hard to imagine an unproven coach surviving such a season, but there are a few things that might just work to his advantage.

One is that most of the Raiders’ problems revolve around the quarterback position. And since there’s a pretty good chance they’ll be drafting high enough to get one, it’s possible owner Mark Davis will give Pierce a chance to show what he can do with someone capable at that position. It also helps Pierce that Davis has cycled through four coaches in the last four years. That’s a trend he surely wants to break.

Also, these Raiders do play hard for Pierce — just not well. Is that enough in the face of a nine-game losing streak that could soon reach 13? Probably not. But it might at least make Davis stop and think.

4. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys (Previous ranking: 4th)

Somehow the Cowboys actually believed they could make a late run at the playoffs, against all odds. But that came crashing down on Monday night when they lost in a very Leon Lett-like way. They blocked a punt late in the fourth quarter, which would have set them up in game-winning field goal range … if only cornerback Amani Oruwariye hadn’t tried to pick up the loose ball and fumbled it right back to the Bengals.

That pretty much ended any longshot hopes for the 5-8 ‘Boys. Owner Jerry Jones sounded pretty ticked about the play, and even about calling for a punt block at that point, but he also keeps praising McCarthy’s work. Maybe he’s just being nice, since McCarthy’s contract still expires at the end of the season. But it does sound like a lot of players want McCarthy to stay.

It’s possible Jones wants to see how the season plays out, how those players fight for McCarthy over the last four games. Maybe he’s just thinking. But the clock is definitely ticking and the losses are mounting.

5. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals (Previous ranking: 5th)

He might have moved in front of McCarthy had the Bengals ended up losing on Monday night. Because watching Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase toy with opposing defenses, it remains remarkable that this team is 5-8 and has found a way to blow so many close games.

They are now 2-4 in their last six games, which has basically shut them out of the postseason. They are also 2-7 in games decided by a touchdown or less, when some good coaching and strategy might have made a difference. The Bengals are often the cheapest team in the NFL so it’s still possible that Taylor will keep his job just because ownership doesn’t want to pay another coach — even though an increasing number of people around the NFL seem to think they should.

In fairness to Taylor, it was only two years ago that the Bengals were in their second straight AFC Championship, and the year before that they were in the Super Bowl. But in today’s NFL, that feels like forever — especially the way the Bengals are playing right now.

6. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns (Previous ranking: 6th)

To be honest, if three NFL head coaches hadn’t already been fired, he probably wouldn’t be on this list anymore. No, things haven’t gone well for the Browns (3-10) this season, but they battled in losses in Denver and Pittsburgh over the last two weeks and they actually beat the Steelers in the snow three weeks ago.

Considering they’re playing without their starting quarterback, that’s not bad.

The real problem is that their quarterback, Deshaun Watson, will be back next season and remains virtually locked into the organization for at least one more year, maybe two. So far, Stefanski hasn’t shown any ability to get Watson to play like he did before owner Jimmy Haslam signed him to that wild contract.

Maybe nobody can at this point. That’s probably why Stefanski will be back for another try. Of course, this will also be the third time in five seasons he’s missed the playoffs, so his seat has to at least be a little warm.

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.