With nine weeks down and another nine to go, we’ve officially reached the halfway point of the 2023 NFL season. Some teams are cruising in the standings; the reigning Super Bowl contestants in Philadelphia and Kansas City, for example, are a combined 15-3 atop their respective conferences, while the Ravens might have a case as the best team in the NFL with a +115 point differential. Others are simply trying to get by — so much so that they could be in line for major changes in the coming months.
Head coaches are just one piece of the equation, but like quarterbacks, they tend to be held more accountable for a team’s struggles. With that in mind as we enter Week 10, these coaches appear firmly on the hot seat, if not now then very soon:
11. Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
Season record: 5-3 | Record with team: 35-23 (1-2 playoffs)
It’s not that McCarthy can’t guide a playoff contender. He’s done it in both Dallas and Green Bay. But owner Jerry Jones has a Super Bowl standard with a perennially glitzy roster, and McCarthy’s in-game management has frequently drawn criticism as America’s Team struggles to get over the hump when the lights are brightest.
10. Brian Daboll, Giants
Season record: 2-7 | Record with team: 11-14-1 (1-1)
New York will assuredly be hesitant to go two-and-done with yet another coach, especially after Daboll maximized a makeshift lineup to win a road playoff game in Year 1. But his offense has been even more rickety and situationally challenged in 2023, leading some veterans to openly question his handle on an injury-riddled franchise.
9. Dennis Allen, Saints
Season record: 5-4 | Record with team: 12-14
Endorsed by longtime HC Sean Payton and in his second stint with the team, Allen’s ties to ownership may be too strong for an exit after two years, and he’s once again shepherding a game-changing defense. But his curious game-day decision-making has often been masked by the…
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