NFL Preseason 2015: Coaches Under the Most Pressure to Start the Season

Football is nearly back, which means it’s time to plop yourself down on the couch for the next four months. Not everyone will have a comfortable seat for the season, however, as every new year brings about high expectations and hot coaching seats.

This season, seven teams will take the field with new head coaches. With so many new leaders at the helm, you wouldn’t necessarily expect there to be many hot seats left. But surprises happen, and disappointing campaigns often result in pink slips.

Some of the coaches on this list are not even remotely close to being fired, but anything can happen in the NFL. The following 10 coaches—organized from "a moderate amount of pressure" to "fans are buying billboards calling for his firing"—need to impress from the start this season, or they could be searching for new jobs this offseason if things go south over the coming months.

10. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints

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Is it likely? No, not even a little bit. But it’s definitely not completely impossible.

Two years ago, the New Orleans Saints went 11-5 and finished second in the NFC South. Last season, they finished second again, but they did so with an unimpressive 7-9 mark.

Sean Payton's seat may not be hot just yet, but Drew Brees’ window is closing, and that’s really the only reason the New Orleans coach makes this list. If the Saints have an awful season, maybe they decide to blow the whole thing up and start anew.

It would take a lot for that to happen, but New Orleans did have the league's second-worst defense in 2014. It’s not exactly a given that the Saints will be in the playoff picture at year’s end, which could spell the end of Payton's nine-year tenure at the helm of the franchise.

Chance he’s fired: 7 percent

9. Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

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Remember when Sports Illustrated's Greg Farrar helped create this fun little graphic heading into the 2014 season, with Jason Garrett in the “Danger dead ahead” zone? Well, the Cowboys rode DeMarco Murray all the way to a 12-4 record and an NFC East crown.

There’s no way the ‘Boys fire Garrett one year after that, right?

Well, Jerry Jones said in February that the Cowboys are operating under a “five-year time frame” in which they expect Tony Romo to be the starting quarterback, according to David Helman of DallasCowboys.com. Given that timetable, Dallas can't afford to scuffle through a bad season or two.

If the Cowboys struggle without Murray and fall woefully short of the postseason, Jones may have a quick trigger finger knowing that the window is closing.

It’s not likely, but the Cowboys were a surprise last season due mostly to their terrific offensive line and running back play. Should they falter, Jones and Garrett could be going through the Big D.

Chance he’s fired: less than 10 percent

8. Chip Kelly, Philadelphia Eagles

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Ownership certainly has given Chip Kelly the reins to do what he pleases with the roster, shedding fan favorite LeSean McCoy, starting quarterback Nick Foles and many others. Those moves have prompted many to ask, “What is Chip Kelly doing?”

Kelly’s moves will likely be pigeonholed in one of two categories: Either he really is a crazy genius, or he’s just plum crazy.

If the whole thing blows up in Kelly’s face, Eagles fans will surely let him know about it. Then again, it took owner Jeffrey Lurie how long to fire Andy Reid?

Kelly’s job is likely safe no matter how the season turns out, but if this thing goes south, it promises to be an entertaining offseason in the City of Brotherly Love.

Chance he’s fired: 10 percent

7. Jeff Fisher, St. Louis Rams

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Jeff Fisher was one of the hottest head coaching commodities heading into the 2012 offseason. He even handpicked St. Louis over Miami as his destination.

Three years later, Fisher has compiled a less-than-stellar 20-27-1 record, finishing third or fourth in the NFC West every year. Obviously the oft-injured Sam Bradford contributed heavily to those down seasons, but he’s now gone, along with any excuses.

The NFC West is possibly the toughest division in football, which will make progress very tough for Fisher’s Rams. But a new quarterback in Nick Foles and first-round pick Todd Gurley should help St. Louis get the wheels moving a bit better than its 28th-ranked 2014 offensive counterpart.

If not, Fisher might be at the top of someone else’s wish list heading into the 2016 season.

Chance he’s fired: 20 percent

6. Ken Whisenhunt, Tennessee Titans

Richard Lipski/Associated Press

Over the past few seasons, the Tennessee Titans have been very bad at football. They went from seven wins in 2013 to two last year in Ken Whisenhunt’s first season.

The Titans drafted Marcus Mariota with the second overall pick in this spring's draft, so they have some hope of moving out of the AFC's basement. But that hope probably won't equate to winning games this season.

Whisenhut’s job likely depends more on Mariota's development than it does Tennessee’s record at the end of the season. In today’s NFL, though, coaches and quarterbacks typically don’t get more than two to three years to prove themselves.

Chance he’s fired: 25 percent

5. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars

John Raoux/Associated Press

Just how patient is Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan? That’s really the main question.

Bradley has gone 7-25 in his first two seasons with the Jags, including winning just three games last season. The former Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator has worked to change the culture in Jacksonville since he’s taken over, but that success has mostly been limited to the locker room.

Chances are, even if the Jaguars post another subpar season, Khan will retain Bradley so long as the team shows improvement and development. At some point, though, the team has to experience improvement in the win-loss column, too.

If Bradley can only muster 10 wins in three seasons, that likely won’t be enough to save his job.

Chance he’s fired: 45 percent

4. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Outside of the New York metropolitan area, all anyone remembers about the New York Giants' 2014 campaign was rookie lightning bolt Odell Beckham's emergence. Most people forget that outside of OBJ, things were bleak for the G-Men.

New York missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year and has finished the season looking up at Dallas and Philadelphia in the standings in back-to-back seasons.

Coughlin’s chances of being fired following the 2015 season are probably higher than the Giants’ chances of making the playoffs. That said, it seems like any time Coughlin is on the hot seat, New York wins a Super Bowl, so there’s that.

Chance he’s fired: 50 percent

3. Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

The Carolina Panthers won the NFC South in 2014. However, it took a four-game winning streak and just a 7-8-1 record to do so.

Ron Rivera’s Panthers were also able to dispatch a quarterback-less Arizona Cardinals team in the Wild Card Round before Seattle thumped them in the divisional round. If the 2015 campaign ends with a similar disappointment, Riverboat Ron’s luck may run out.

Rivera is 32-31-1 over the past four seasons, with two NFC South crowns and a Coach of the Year award to his name. That award came following a 2013 season in which the Panthers went 12-4 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

But the Panthers were often hapless last season, winning just one game from Week 3 through Week 13.

If Carolina gets off to another slow start in 2015, Rivera will likely be given the chance to salvage the season like he did last year. But the Panthers just gave Cam Newton a five-year, $103.8 million extension, so they’d presumably like to see some playoff production from him sooner than later.

Chance he’s fired: 50 percent

2. Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins

Evan Vucci/Associated Press

It became pretty evident that Jay Gruden and Robert Griffin III were not a match made in heaven during their first year together. Former Washington safety Ryan Clark took note of how things seemed in the locker room last season, telling Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, “[Griffin is] not [Gruden’s] guy,” he said. “They want to go in a different direction.”

Chances are, Washington won’t be very good again this year, making it likely that one, or both, of RGIII and Gruden will be shown the door.

Daniel Snyder and RGIII are not new to quarreling with coaches, as former Washington head coach Mike Shanahan told Thom Loverro and Kevin Sheehan on ESPN 980’s The Sports Fix (via Scott Allen of the Washington Post). During that interview, Shanahan foreshadowed the current Washington situation when he talked about a conversation he had with Snyder.

“‘There’s no way, unless your owner, your GM, your head coach and your quarterback are all on the same page, [that] you win in the National Football League,’” Shanahan said he told Snyder. 

Sounds like business as usual in the nation's capital.

Chance he’s fired: 55 percent

1. Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins

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Nobody enters the season with more pressure on his shoulders than Joe Philbin. This will be his fourth season with the Miami Dolphins, and expectations have never been higher.

Miami has gone 23-25 in his stead, including a mediocre 8-8 last year. But Miami’s best chance to win is this coming season.

Miami upgraded its defensive line and gave Ryan Tannehill a contract extension through 2020. Not to mention the team that has won the AFC East for the last six seasons, the New England Patriots, is without Tom Brady for the first four weeks of this coming campaign.

If Miami can’t take advantage of the Patriots' woes and gets off to a slow start, Philbin may the first coach out of a job.

Chance he’s fired: 65 percent

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All stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.

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