Week 12 marked the two-thirds mark of the 2022 NFL regular season. That means struggling head coaches have six weeks to fix their teams before Black Monday comes for their jobs.
This season has already forced two coaches out of their offices. Matt Rhule, saddled with some of the league’s worst quarterbacks, wasn’t able to make the Carolina Panthers anything better than terrible and was dismissed. Frank Reich, who was much better at his job despite being stuck with retread veteran passers most of his Indianapolis Colts career, was let go weeks later and replaced by a former offensive lineman with a limited grasp on how timeouts work.
Those two were the first. They won’t be the last. 2022 has more candidates waiting to have their job titles ripped away, with only millions of dollars in yet-to-be-paid contract money to comfort them.
Brandon Staley, thanks to a game-winning two-point conversion vs. the Cardinals that kept his Chargers above .500, avoids the list this time around but remains in consideration. Kevin Stefanski could wind up on this list if his Deshaun Watson-led Browns remain as unimposing as they did in the 11 games Watson missed following more than 20 accusations of sexual misconduct and what the NFL described as “predatory behavior.” Texans coach Lovie Smith is in the conversation as well, though no one knows what the hell Houston is up to right now other than purposefully losing games.
These are the five coaches who are feeling the heat as the 2022 season rolls toward its conclusion.