With the first month of the 2021 NFL season already in the books, we are getting a feel for what teams are going to be contenders.
The Rams. The Buccaneers. The Packers. The Bills. The Ravens.
And then we know what teams are likely headed for the top of the draft order.
The Jets. The Giants. The Jaguars. The Bears.
But even after three weeks of games, some coaches are feeling the hot seat burn a little bit, as the pressure is mounting and some could be feeling it in the next few weeks.
So whose job might not be safe in the next few weeks?
Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings
The 65-year-old is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Vikings and has only been to the playoffs three times with them.
Thus far, they are off to a 1-2 start and haven’t looked that impressive.
It might be time for a new regime to take over in Minnesota, although given how much he is respected in Minnesota and all over the NFL, they’d likely let him finish the season out unless the team went 1-10.
Hot seat temperature: Slight simmer
Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars
He might be one of the best college coaches ever, but so far, he looks like a mediocre head coach.
There have been rumors of Meyer’s staff revolting against him because of decision making. The Jaguars are what they are, a young and bad football team that have been in a constant turnaround and rebuild since 2017.
Tom Coughlin couldn’t get this franchise turned around and neither is Meyer, who seems destined to want to go back to the college game.
While it’s unlikely that Shad Khan would fire Meyer after one season, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Meyer step down from “health issues” like he’s done in the past.
Or pull the old Nick Saban trick and go to USC.
Hot seat temperature: Simmering
Joe Judge, New York Giants
It’s crazy to think that a coach that had the Giants turned around last year to end the season would find himself on the hot seat already, yet, he is.
Another 0-3 start would do that, although unlike last year, this 0-3 start is worrisome because the giants don’t look like a team that will win a football game anytime soon.
Even worse, the fans are beginning to turn on Judge, like they did with Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur; both of which were fired after two years or less at the helm.
Judge needs to figure it out soon. Or just like many of the disciples of the Bill Belichick coaching tree, he may be looking for work elsewhere soon.
Hot seat temperature: Medium heat rising
Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears
After a successful first season in Chicago, Nagy has had back-to-back 8-8 seasons and is already off to a 1-2 start. The team dealt their first-round pick to the Giants to get Justin Fields, and he didn’t have the best debut after Andy Dalton’s knee injury.
The team is a mess, the offense is a mess and Nagy looks like a dead man walking on the sidelines each week. With each pending loss, Nagy might want to brush up the resume, because he could be the first NFL coaching casualty of the season.
Hot seat temperature: Burning hot
