According to Conor Orr, there is an expectation that there will be between seven to 10 head coaching vacancies this year.
Orr bases this on conversations with insiders in the coaching industry, and adds it depends on how the remaining couple months of the season play out.
Two teams — the Jets and the Saints — have already fired their head coaches during the season and will be conducting searches at the end of the year, even if they ultimately decide to promote the interim coaches.
Several other coaches are on the hot seat. Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy entered the season in the final year of his contract and needing a playoff run. Instead, Dallas is 3-6 and just lost QB Dak Prescott for the rest of the season.
Things are going poorly in Chicago as well, as Bears HC Matt Eberflus‘ team has lost three straight and he just fired OC Shane Waldron. Raiders HC Antonio Pierce also made a midseason change at play-caller to try and stem the bleeding but Las Vegas is 2-7.
The Jaguars are massively underperforming preseason expectations, sitting at 2-8 after entering the year with hopes of contending in the playoffs. That’s put a lot of scrutiny on HC Doug Pederson and it’s fair to say he’s on the hot seat. The Browns are also underperforming expectations this year, but HC Kevin Stefanski is the reigning Coach of the Year which could buy him more time.
There are several other teams with coaches who could find themselves on the hot seat depending on how the rest of the year plays out, including Giants HC Brian Daboll, Eagles HC Nick Sirianni and Panthers HC Dave Canales.
As far as the pool of potential candidates, former Patriots HC Bill Belichick is the big headliner after being shut out of a job last cycle. Other notable names who figure to draw a lot of interest include Lions OC Ben Johnson, former Titans HC Mike Vrabel and Vikings DC Brian Flores.
We’ll have more on the NFL coaching cycle as the news is available.
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