New York Giants head coach Joe Judge and company fired offensive coordinator Jason Garrett on Tuesday making the former Dallas Cowboys coach the first, but certainly not the last to have his 2021 season cut short.
It begs the question: Who else is on the hot seat entering Week 12 of the NFL season, and possibly soon to be out the door.
5. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers head coach
It feels like it’s been an eternity since the 49ers were getting waxed by the second-string Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, and that’s because consecutive, dominant wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars have put it in the rearview. San Francisco probably is out of the NFC West, but they’re right there in the playoff race. However, if the 49ers do miss the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons, it’s fair to say the once-promising head coach could be searching for a new job in the short term. Fortunately for Shanahan, and perhaps moreso than any other coach listed below, he’ll likely have other suitors calling.
4. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions head coach
You can’t be at the helm of the only team in the league that hasn’t recorded a win and not be on this list. Sure, Campbell is a first-year coach who puts a lot into the organization (I mean, he literally cried after an early-season loss), but that only gets you so far. The 0-9-1 Lions have a few decent chances to earn a win — Bears in Week 12, Broncos in Week 14, Falcons in Week 16 — but if Detroit does, in fact, finish the season without a win, it shouldn’t come as a shock if the organization goes elsewhere.
3. Vic Fangio, Denver Broncos head coach
Fangio’s Broncos have been perfectly average through the first 10 games of the regular season, but it’s hard to imagine he survives if Denver falls a few games below .500, and that very well could happen with the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs coming up in consecutive weeks. It’s even harder to imagine Fangio surviving this season if the Broncos fail to advance to the playoffs for the third time in his three years. And despite the fact the AFC remains wide open, the Broncos remain on the outside of the playoff picture as the fourth team in their division.
2. David Culley, Houston Texans head coach
This is a bit ironic to say now given the fact Houston stunned the conference-leading Tennessee Titans in Week 11, but the reality is that win isn’t going to matter and the 2-8 Texans still are in dire need of a complete reboot. The Deshaun Watson saga now can’t end until the offseason begins, but general manager Nick Caserio and the organization could decide to push the eject button on Culley, a questionable hire to begin with this offseason, before the season ends as a way to get a head start in their coaching search.
1. Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears head coach
Nagy has been skating on thin ice for far too long. He entered the 2021 campaign on the hot seat already and hasn’t done himself any favors as Chicago’s Week 11 collapse against Baltimore caused them to fall to 3-7 on the campaign. One report surfaced Tuesday essentially referring to Nagy as a dead man walking and acknowledging how he could be fired after Thanksgiving, and we can’t help but agree that his time in Chicago soon will end. First-round quarterback Justin Fields and the city of Chicago deserves better, too.
