Dan Quinn and Bill O’Brien didn’t survive the winless beginnings for the Falcons and Texans. Who’s next on the list? Only one winless team remains in the league, but the list of candidates committing frequent fireable offenses grows and grows week by week.
In Quinn and O’Brien’s case, interim coaches got victory number one in their first game holding the reins. And while the Texans and Falcons likely aren’t a threat to make the postseason in 2020, fielding an immensely more competitive product than under the prior regime could be the sign some organizations need to move on from current employees.
5. Mike Zimmer – Minnesota Vikings
Although Zimmer sports a 58-43-1 record at the helm of the Vikings staff, his playoff disappointments paired with the abysmal 1-5 start in 2020 has the leading man sitting on the hot seat in year seven. Defensive losses from free agency, COVID-19 opt-outs and to the injury bug factors into the blame game when looking into why Minnesota’s squad possesses putrid statistics. 192 points against is the second worst mark in the league, only trailing the Dallas Cowboys.
If Minnesota was winning games, an obvious expectation entering the season, maybe the defensive woes go unnoticed. Instead, at 1-5, it’s a weekly talking point on national pregame shows. Zimmer’s career as a defensive-minded head coach touts high expectations for the phase itself.
As the team fails while the defense falters, past success won’t be the only determinate when it comes to the safety of Zimmer’s job.
4. Matt Patricia – Detroit Lions
2-3 in 2020 and 11-25-1 overall, Matt Patricia’s third year in Detroit isn’t going any better than the first two. Wins against Arizona and Jacksonville are nice to stuff in the pocket, but nothing about this Lions team screams “competitive.” Trading Darius Slay to Philadelphia only to draft Jeff Okudah with the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft only fixed a hole unnecessarily created via trade.
Nothing looks dynamically improved since Jim Caldwell’s tenure, the on-field product still struggles to hold any sort of lead, especially in fourth quarters when complacency hits. But most of all, Patricia appears combative at times with media, doesn’t seem to unify the locker room and struggles to carry the persona of an NFL head coach. Until Patricia understands the difference between his mentor Bill Belichick and himself, don’t expect any improvements. Continually pointing to previous success as a COORDINATOR with the New England Patriots reflects poorly when ineptitude as a head coach rears its ugly head on a weekly basis.
3. Doug Marrone – Jacksonville Jaguars
in·san·i·ty / noun / doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result (not really the definition)
Did you know the Jaguars claimed this wasn’t a tank year? They really thought Gardner Minshew and Doug Marrone would take an empty franchise out of the gutter of an already historically inferior division. Texans? Already moved on from Bill O’Brien. Colts? Sitting pretty with Philip Rivers. Titans? Undefeated.
The Jaguars took Indianapolis by surprise Week 1, nearly squeaked by Tennessee a game later, but in the weeks since, flopped to the Dolphins, Bengals, Texans and Lions. The easiest portion of their schedule flushed down the toilet like the gigantic turd of a franchise it is down in Jacksonville.
Marrone somehow successfully pleaded for his job last offseason, but it’s looking bleak as to whether he’ll even make it to the season’s halfway point.
2. Mike McCarthy – Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys somehow found a way. They found a way to not absolutely storm away with a steaming, heaping pile of soupy trash that is the NFC East. At 2-4, the Cowboys still lead the division, but the Eagles remain in the hunt at 1-4-1 while the Giants and Washington Football Team keep relevance at 1-5.
But a beatdown in Dallas at the hands of a shorthanded Arizona squad hurts any and all belief that McCarthy was the correct hire. Missing Dak Prescott for the season and potentially longterm could prove enough to spare McCarthy from Jerry Jones’ wrath. But Jones expects a winning football club and McCarthy’s outdated schematics and the glaringly apparent unpreparedness on nationally televised primetime Monday Night Football doesn’t bode well for the former Packers head coach.
A broken promise to infuse analytics, a seemingly falsified claim of an entire season, every moment studied, broken down and understood; McCarthy’s seat is hotter than a candle lit by Jerry Jones at the Jason Garrett head coach memorial… he’s not dead, but Jones loved Garrett, needed everything in him to bring himself to can Garrett, and his replacement can’t string a winning streak together with a stacked receiving corps, macho running back and one of the league’s best offensive lineman.
Through six games, even the players are losing confidence:
Kicking a 58-yard field goal on fourth down in the fourth quarter down twenty-five? That’s not winning football. Please, Mike… tell us where in your Pro Football Focus subscription did you read the analytics that propelled the dumbass decision-making to kick that ball?
He’s coaching his way out of a job for the second time in three seasons and there’s a very good chance this is his last opportunity to run a team from the head coaching position.
1. Adam Gase – New York Jets
The only remaining winless franchise is in full tank mode. If successful at staking claim to the #1 overall draft selection in 2021, Sam Darnold’s time with New York is likely over. Arguably the worst run franchise in the NFL, nothing should inspire Jets fans. It’s almost unimaginable that the Jets could land a top-tier head coach, even with the allure of possessing the #1 pick.
Adam Gase, Gregg Williams, Dowell Loggains, top down overhaul of everything. I don’t know if that’s enough. You can find props on the Jets to finish the season winless as low as +350 just six weeks into the season. Vegas is well aware of the troubled franchise stinking up New Jersey. Losing 24-0 to the Miami Dolphins and NOT firing Gase before reaching the locker room is all you need to know about the situation for the Jets.
There might be truth to the theory that Gase remains employed only for the purpose that he gives New York its best chance at losing games. Nothing else makes any legitimate sense.
Not on this list? Matt Nagy
The Bears sit comfortably in the NFC, even with Green Bay just one half game back in the NFC North. At 5-1 with the plethora of mistakes through six weeks, there’s a glimmer of hope that if the offense can put things together and click at the right time, a deep playoff run could be on the horizon. The reason I included Nagy here? This tweet from OddsShark:
It’s absolutely nonsensical to include a head coach with a 5-1 record on this list, borderline unprofessional.