NFL Insider Adam Schefter released a list of coaches that are ‘Safe or Out’, which means they are on the hot seat, but the likelihood that they would be fired was to be debated in the segment. With all games now completed for the 2025-26 NFL Season, we can rank which coaches are most likely to be fired.
It has been reported that the Atlanta Falcons cleared house by firing their head coach, Raheem Morris, as well as their general manager. He will not be included in the rankings below, despite being listed in Schefter’s initial graphic.
Likely Retained
11) Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts
With an official announcement expected to be made tomorrow, it would’ve been hard to imagine blaming Steichen for the team’s downfall this season. He had QB Daniel Jones playing like an MVP candidate, only to lose him to a season-ending injury, and the team traded for All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner, only to see him lost for the season as well.
While they lost the last seven games of the season, and Steichen is not without blame for the sharp decline, the potential that this team flashed during their 8-2 start gives me more promise than anything going into next season and beyond, as long as they are fully manned.
10) Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills
While it feels like the Bills have criminally underachieved over the course of Josh Allen’s career, they have had alot more success than some other teams in the league, and that should not be so quickly forgotten. The team has some holes and unanswered questions, but McDermott should be safe for now.
9) Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
Magic Mike Tomlin did it again. When everyone counted Pittsburgh out and gave them little chance to have any success this year, he led them to another AFC North title. It came down to the end of the game and some luck, but being in that position to make the playoffs at the end of the season like this is impressive and is another testament to just how incredible Tomlin is.
2026-27 Fire Candidates
8) John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
John Harbaugh gets a mulligan for this past season, but the team may have made a colossal mistake by allowing Mike Macdonald to leave to coach in Seattle after retaining Harbaugh. However, he did earn the right to keep his seat, given the team’s success. In a year that started just about as badly as anybody’s did, his Ravens stood tall and continued to go toe-to-toe with the Steelers for a winner-take-all Week 18 game for the AFC North title, only to lose on a missed 44-yard field goal by Tyler Loop.
I think they may look to replace him if he cannot improve in 2026-27, but I don’t think that firing him right now will solve anything.
7) Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have been at the mercy of the health of Joe Burrow for Zac Taylor’s tenure. Still, it is hard for them not to take a hard look in the mirror and realize that they have never invested much of anything in protecting him, which has slowed his career trajectory down immensely.
I think that if the defense does not improve in 2026-27, Taylor will be replaced with a coach who gives that side of the ball some more attention.
6) Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The decline of this Tampa Bay Buccaneers team needs to be studied, as they were in the driver’s seat in the NFC South, only to finish the year 2-7 and in a three-way tie atop the division at 8-9, ultimately losing the division title to the Panthers in a tiebreaker. The team was banged up, and Baker Mayfield was playing some great ball, but it almost seemed that as they got more guys back on offense, they lost their mojo.
Bowles deserves credit for leading the Buccaneers to a win in Week 18 over the Panthers to match their record and give Tampa Bay a chance going into the final day of the season, even if that did not go their way. He has seen success in Tampa, and while I do think that they could have a quick leash with him in 2026 if things don’t improve from the second half of 2025-26, he has earned the right to get another chance with this squad fully healthy.
5) Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
Mike McDaniel has been one of the most intriguing coaches in the NFL for some time, and we can delve into his incredible rise to coaching another time. I believe that McDaniel is on the hot seat heading into next season. Still, he will have another offseason to develop his players and see if he can build some momentum with the roster he has, and rebuild the defense like he has done a few times already.
The team is bringing in Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman as a special assistant to the general manager to help build a roster capable of competing, or at least showing promise under McDaniel, in an effort to return the Dolphins to their competitive ways. If that doesn’t work, I expect it all to fall on McDaniel.
4) Aaron Glenn, New York Jets
While the Jets were awful this season, they didn’t exactly invest in this roster to be a playoff team, having traded away two cornerstone players. While the coach is sometimes blamed for these issues, I believe the Jets recognized that this wasn’t a one-year project, and for that reason, Glenn will be safe for this season.
Interestingly, despite their struggles, they were able to build a historically great special teams unit, which could help them bounce back and show year-over-year improvement next year, with a top draft pick also on the way.
Likely Fired
3) Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders
The legend of Pete Carroll was removed from Seattle and replaced with a young up-and-coming defensive coach who executed with the roster that they had. Carroll and his quarterback from the year prior, Geno Smith, were brought to Las Vegas to build a culture and bridge the team to a rookie quarterback in 2026-27.
However, things look bleak, and you could argue that players played harder for Pierce; yet, somehow, they were even worse this year than the cumulative 9-17 record they had under Pierce, despite having an inexperienced quarterback. It seems like a time to complete the overhaul and try to find the next Kellen Moore or Ben Johnson.
2) Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals
One may argue that Gannon has been given more than enough time to show promise or any sort of hope for fans, and his 15-35 record suggests that they have not executed effectively, including losing 13 of their last 14 games to close out the season. Gannon was a Super Bowl Champion defensive coordinator, but he hasn’t won the locker room or had any real run of success to think that things will improve under his regime.
1) Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
With another year of Browns football behind us, Kevin Stefanski is the coach I think is most likely to be fired once the Black Monday announcements begin. With the new all-time single-season sacks leader, Myles Garrett, on the defensive line, the Browns couldn’t capitalize on that incredible season into any sustained success, or even a solid season at all.
The defense has certainly been better than the offense, but they need someone who will take chances and really dig in to build a roster that can get this game changer into the playoffs. Unfortunately, Stefanski hasn’t been anywhere near that.
