Coaching is a tough thing to analyze in the National Football League; what may seem to be a player’s error may simply be a situation a coach did not ready the team for.
Almost a quarter of the NFL’s head coaches have been fired each year in recent seasons, as owners look for them to put together winning teams, and quickly.
Which head coaches are struggling this season?
Take a look at Heavy’s ranking of the 10 worst NFL head coaching performances so far in the 2024-25 season:
10. Brian Callahan – Tennessee Titans
GettyTennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan.
A complicated assessment, given the Titans’ un-enthralling roster and a difficult quarterback situation. Callahan — the younger of the two on the Titans’ coaching staff, where his father, Bill Callahan, coaches the offensive line — has failed to whip the Titans offense into shape in spite of him being hired as an offensive-minded head coach. Second-year quarterback Will Levis has failed to kick on from an up-and-down debut season, while the offensive line ranks among the league’s worst, despite playing host to two first-round picks and a high-priced free agent in center Lloyd Cushenberry. Not a great start, but perhaps with little to work with and low expectations coming into the year, Callahan’s start as a head coach has been more predictable than disappointing.
9. Dave Canales – Carolina Panthers
GettyHead coach Dave Canales of the Carolina Panthers.
Although the Panthers have the worst record in the NFC, with their sole win coming against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, it feels a bit harsh to pin this solely on the shoulders of Canales. Inheriting a dreadful 2-15 team in 2023, Canales was hired earlier this offseason to aid in the development of costly No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and get the offense playing good football again. Canales has achieved neither goal — with the Panthers ranking 29th in total offense (admittedly an improvement of four spots from 2023) — despite making a change at quarterback after a pair of downtrodden performances from Young, replacing him with veteran QB Andy Dalton. Is Carolina’s second awful season entirely Canales’ fault? No. Could he be doing a better job given the not-terrible roster and resources at his disposal? Quite possibly.
8. Todd Bowles – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
GettyTampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator Todd Bowles proved the haters wrong when he guided the team to a third consecutive NFC South title in 2023 and subsequently beat the favored Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card round. And while many believed that the departure of offensive coordinator Dave Canales — to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers — would leave the offense vulnerable, it is actually the defense, Bowles’ forte, that has struggled. The Bucs are 31st in total defense this year, and while some of that can be attributed to a revolving door in the secondary due to numerous injuries, the team is certainly not playing up to the standards Bowles has set for himself and the team in the past.
7. Nick Sirianni – Philadelphia Eagles
GettyHead coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The voices of Nick Sirianni’s accusers who claim that he rode the coattails of two excellent assistants, Jonathan Gannon and Sean Steichen, to the 2023 Super Bowl, are getting louder and louder. Many in the media question what Sirianni actually does on the team, with coordinators on both sides of the ball maintaining charge of play calling despite numerous questionable calls being made this season. Sirianni’s late-season collapse in 2023, where the team finished a previously 10-1 year going 1-5 down the stretch, coupled with some rather unbecoming behavior toward fans, has put his future in major doubt, particularly if the Eagles fail to make a dent in the postseason this year.
6. Zac Taylor – Cincinnati Bengals
GettyCincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.
Some people — perhaps even the author of this piece — believe that Taylor’s flaws may in fact be masked by the sheer ability and cool-mindedness of franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. Despite making it to successive AFC Championship games from 2021-22, including an appearance in the 2022 Super Bowl, Taylor’s teams never give the impression of being excellently coached. In fact, continuous inabilities to perform well early on in the season, year after year, generate an impression that Taylor does not prepare teams well for the start of the season. The defense seems to be doing better, and Burrow is finding his feet, but if the team continues to disappoint, it would not be shocking to see the former Rams QB coach’s name on the hot seat.
5. Dennis Allen – New Orleans Saints
GettyDennis Allen.
The much maligned Dennis Allen feels like he has turned the New Orleans Saints into one of the least interesting teams in the NFL over the past few years. A stingy defense coupled with a misfiring offense, the Saints have been very middle-of-the-pack and borderline unwatchable since Allen took over for Sean Payton in 2022. Now, thankfully, the Saints are more than watchable, with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak — son of Super Bowl winning coach Gary Kubiak — reinvigorating the Saints’ previously stale playcalling. Sadly for them, this has also come at the cost of the Saints defense, which is ranked dead last in total defense, in part due to having given up a whopping 222 rushing yards against the Denver Broncos in Week 7. Without a good defense, it feels difficult to see what else Allen brings to this Saints team.
4. Jerod Mayo – New England Patriots
GettyPatriots head coach Jerod Mayo.
Calling his own defense “soft” did not do the Patriots Super Bowl champion any favors, either internally with the team or for his public perception. Even former boss Bill Belichick took a crack at his former linebackers coach in the aftermath of his comments, noting that this “soft” defense led the league in rushing defense just the year prior with largely the same players. And while the Patriots have the worst man-for-man roster in the National Football League — certainly on offense — it feels like the team plays with little ambition or gusto in contrast to, for example, the hard-hitting, 4-13 Arizona Cardinals team of 2023. Mayo is not to blame for all of New England’s woes in 2024, but it seems not out of the realm of possibility that they may find themselves a new head coach come January 2025.
3. Mike McCarthy – Dallas Cowboys
GettyCowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
A Super Bowl-winning head coach long lamented for his poor situational football IQ, Mike McCarthy was already on the verge of being let go after a disastrous 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round of the 2023 playoffs, despite coming in as 7-point favorites. McCarthy’s inability to structure effective game plans against stronger opposition has long been his fatal flaw in Dallas, with the team being labeled as “flat track bullies” amidst blowouts from the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills in 2023. This season has looked markedly worse, as the ‘Boys stand at 3-3, having already been bested by the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints earlier this season. If the Cowboys do not get their team back on track, this season could well be McCarthy’s last.
2. Antonio Pierce – Las Vegas Raiders
GettyAntonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Retained from his spell as interim head coach after the firing of Josh McDaniels and promoted to full-time this offseason, Antonio Pierce has been oft criticized for poor decision making in coaching critical situations, including a puzzling call made on fourth and goal during Week 7 against the Rams. While evidently an excellent players’ coach, Pierce struggles with making key in-game tinkers and adjustments, not adjusting the game plan to what the opposition shows him. Vegas also ranks 11th in penalties this season, with multiple pre-snap penalties derailing their forward momentum in important moments.
1. Doug Pederson – Jacksonville Jaguars
GettyDoug Pederson.
Pederson will never be the worst head coach of Trevor Lawrence’s career — that nod will always go to disastrous 13-game Jacksonville head coach Urban Meyer. Yet, the value placed upon Pederson’s reign has diminished significantly over the past 11 months, where a late season collapse in 2023 and very poor start in 2024 has raised serious questions about the Super Bowl-winning head coach’s viability moving forward. Especially considering owner Shad Khan’s statement claiming that this was the best Jaguars team in franchise history. Pederson’s defense has sunk to last in EPA (expected points added) per play, per PFF, while offensively the team has not managed to find consistent rhythm, with wins coming only coming against the lowly Patriots in London and a closely fought battle against the Indianapolis Colts.
The list isn’t over yet! See our pick for Number 11 HERE. Sound off to let us know who we missed!
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The 10 Worst NFL Coaching Performances in 2024