As hard as it may be to believe, 10 weeks of the NFL have come and gone, and with it, much drama. Dan Campbell has done an exceptional job with the Detroit Lions, as they own an NFC best 8-1 record. Andy Reid and the Chiefs are amid yet another dominant 9-0 campaign. However, for some other teams, the 2024-2025 NFL campaign has not gone as well. The Mike McCarthy experiment in Dallas has been a failure, even before Dak Prescott’s injury, as the Cowboys will finish with a losing record. Of course, the seat underneath Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson is sizzling, as the Jaguars are in the lead for the No. 1 pick of next year’s draft, despite shelling out much money to resign Trevor Lawerence in hopes of a playoff push. In this week’s roundtable, our group of writers will give their take on which NFL coach they believe is on the hot seat.
Jake Loomis
Campus Correspondent
Jerod Mayo
The New England Patriots need an offensive mind at the helm as they look to put up more points on the board. The defense has been solid under head coach Jerod Mayo, but it has not been as good as it should be. A guy praised for his defensive mind has had his team’s defense lose at times. Culturally, Mayo also does not seem like the right fit for the Patriots, as he has called his banged-up defense soft. They need a good football mind that will rip their players when needed. The team should fire Mayo and go with either Brian Daboll or Mike Vrabel, who are proven head coaches. The only question would be is would Robert Kraft be able to fire him and admit he was a mis-hire?
Patrick Minnerly
Campus Correspondent
Brian Daboll
The Giants reached a new low this week in Germany, losing 20-17 to the Carolina Panthers in OT. This latest setback drops them to 2-8, ruining their season. At this point, the Daniel Jones experiment must end, and Brian Daboll should leave with him. Their first season together in 2022 resulted in a run to the NFC divisional round. However, since then, the team has gone steadily downhill as Jones has regressed and Daboll has failed to win games. Since 2022, New York has gone 8-19, amassing just six wins in 2023. This year, six wins would seem like a miracle. The Giants didn’t have huge expectations coming into 2024, but they have set a new bar for incompetence. And the last head coach to lose to the Panthers this season, Dennis Allen of the Saints, was fired shortly after that defeat. Similarly, the Raiders lost to the Panthers in Week 3 and later got rid of their offensive coordinator. Other teams have shown the way – Daboll should be shown the door.
Thaddeus Sawyer
Campus Correspondent
He/Him
Brian Daboll
Co-owner John Mara put himself between a rock and a hard place a few weeks ago when he gave Brian Daboll a vote of confidence, saying he did not anticipate making changes at either head coach or general manager after the season. However, since then, the Giants have lost three straight and most recently lost to the Panthers. The Panthers, mind you, have been the worst team in the NFL since 2018 and are 39 games under .500 over that period. Daniel Jones is clearly not the answer, and the Giants will have a high draft pick. If Mara allows Daboll to stay, it is essentially guaranteeing him three more years to give him the adequate time to develop a rookie quarterback. Mara now has to decide whether he will go back on an earlier statement, something he has done in similar situations with Ben McAdoo and Joe Judge. Mara has to decide whether he believes this is the right regime to hand pick the next Giants quarterback.
Tyler Pruneau
Campus Correspondent
He/Him
Todd Bowles
After former Head Coach Bruce Arians shifted to a senior football consultant in 2022, Todd Bowles swooped in and took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ever since the coaching change, the team failed to stay the same. Managing a negative 21-23 record throughout two and a half years, Bowles enters the third season of his five-year contract owning a 4-6 record. Losing crucial games against the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers hurts their case on why the team is the real deal. In the overtime thriller against the Chiefs, the team played at a high level the entire game. Ending with the Chiefs driving the ball, the defensive-minded Head Coach called the plays but failed to fend off the undefeated team. The Baker Mayfield-led offense is not the reason for losing, and the real problem is Bowles.