The 2023 season has been unkind to some of the league’s most storied head coaches.
Sure, Andy Reid and Pete Carroll are still going strong, but Bill Belichick and Sean Payton? Two wins between them.
The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos have sunk to the bottom of the AFC, plumbing new depths of despair for two future Hall of Fame coaches (Payton is obviously the more divisive of the two when it comes to Canton, but winning a Super Bowl and leading the former doormat New Orleans Saints to prosperity will almost certainly lead him to enshrinement, regardless of how badly he wets the bed in Colorado). Belichick is getting next to nothing from his quarterback room as Mac Jones remains broken. Payton’s rehabilitation job on Russell Wilson has led to empty stats and an awful record.
It’s unlikely either would be fired given their status, but both have put forth the kind of effort that would put a no-name playcaller firmly on the hot seat. Let’s see who else is joining them after Week 5.