As the preseason reaches its conclusion, all 32 teams from around the NFL will be finalizing their 53-man rosters for the 2024 campaign. Some teams are looking to replicate and/or exceed last season’s success, while others yearn to move on from failure. Moreover, head coaches bear the lion’s share of the blame for a team’s failures almost immediately, whether it’s justifiable or not. Last week, the AFC showed a spotlight on the coaches fighting harder to maintain their roles than others.
Here are some head coaches in the NFC who need to make 2024 a grand one.
NFC Coaches on the Hot Seat Entering 2024
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints
This is not Allen’s first time as head coach. From 2012-2014, Allen was the head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders. He garnered a forgetful 8-28 record in Oakland and was fired shortly after the start of the 2014 season. Now manning the helm in the Big Easy since 2022, Allen has shown improvement going from 7-10 in 2022 to going 9-8 in 2023. However, with an offense that boasts a Pro-Bowl Quarterback (Derek Carr), a multi-purpose running back (Alvin Kamara), and a promising playmaker (Chris Olave), the excuses for no playoff appearances will not fly at this point.
Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys
It’s not easy to work for “America’s Team” without feeling significant amounts of pressure. Head coach, Mike McCarthy knows this better than anybody. Don’t get it twisted; he turns the Cowboys into a force to be reckoned year in and year out come the regular season. But he has gone 1-3 in playoff contention with Dallas and can’t get his squad past the Divisional round. McCarthy will have to make several adjustments to replicate the Super Bowl-winning success he had with Green Bay or else Jerry Jones will be shopping for his replacement.
Brian Daboll, New York Giants
The G-men cannot seem to catch a break these days, neither can head coach Brian Daboll. Not only did the front office choose to keep Daniel Jones over Saquon Barkley, but they will be facing the latter twice a year as a Philadelphia Eagle. Daboll started hot in his tenure in East Rutherford, leading the Giants to a Wild Card spot and upsetting the Minnesota Vikings on the road. But last year was one that he and Giants fans would like to forget. Needless to say, Daboll will have to find a way to make Big Blue shed their “laughing stock” status, despite being stuck with several glaring problems.
Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears
Things are looking up for Chicago this time of year. They drafted their quarterback of the future in this past draft and revamped their entire offense, including their staff. Not to mention, the Bears could very well be on their way to concluding this rebuild process for good. That being said, Matt Eberflus, Chicago’s head coach, is not out of the woods yet. He will have to steer this new offensive staff into creating winning formulas after years of frustration. Eberflus’ 10-24 coaching record still looms over him, despite a four-win increase from one season to the next. If he cannot make a playoff push for the Windy City, he could find himself out of the job before long.
