Matt Eberflus, Mike McCarthy and the most fireable NFL coaches of 2024

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus talks pinch broadside judge Chad Hill (125) against nan Jacksonville Jaguars successful nan 2nd half during an NFL International Series crippled astatine Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Eberflus had coached his measurement disconnected nan basking spot acknowledgment to a three-game winning streak that saw his Bears amended to 4-2 down a rising Caleb Williams. Then he stared down a bottom-10 defense aft his Week 7 bye and recovered a measurement to undo each that goodwill. It began pinch a low-wattage passing crippled that grounded to capitalize connected nan weaknesses successful nan Washington Commanders’ secondary. It ended with, well.

Oooof. Eberflus adjusted to get Williams backmost connected way precocious successful nan game, but still recovered ways to sabotage himself successful nan process. Okaying a extremity statement handoff to a backup violative lineman trailing 12-7? Sure! Failing to return a timeout earlier Washington’s game-winning Hail Mary? Yep! Using a backmost spy erstwhile Jayden Daniels was a afloat 52 yards from nan extremity area pinch 2 seconds to play? That too!

Eberflus looks for illustration a due NFL caput coach successful abstract. When he comes into attraction his flaws are unavoidable. He’s now 14-27 pinch nan Bears. He’s sewage a apical 5 defense, an electrical young backmost and a skilled halfway of seasoned playmakers. But he’s made illness consciousness inevitable for a franchise that’s known small other for nan past 3 decades. There’s a logic Lions’ violative coordinator Ben Johnson’s liking successful nan job was floated aft Sunday’s heartbreaking defeat.

After Week 8’s loss, Matt Eberflus looks *a lot* for illustration a Chicago Bears caput coach. This is not a compliment.

Oct 20, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants caput coach Brian Daboll, left, talks pinch adjunct coach Jerome Henderson during nan 2nd half against nan Philadelphia Eagles astatine MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Daboll is moving pinch what he has, but nan 2022 NFL coach of nan twelvemonth has been incapable to move that into wins. He’s conscionable 8-17 since his astonishing playoff breakthrough and, if his 2024 gait holds true, will wrap up 2024 pinch a profession triumph percent astir 40 percent. That’s amended than ousted predecessors for illustration Joe Judge and Pat Shurmur, but down Ben McAdoo (who admittedly had issues beyond conscionable losing games for illustration benching Eli Manning for Geno Smith. Which, hey, looks a batch amended today!).

Since 2023, Daboll’s discourtesy ranks 29th successful expected points added (EPA) per play, sandwiched betwixt nan Cleveland Browns and New York Jets. His defense clocks successful astatine a much optimistic 22nd, which is still beautiful grim. This could beryllium capable to extremity his tenure earlier getting a real, honest-to-goodness changeable astatine engineering an discourtesy led by a backmost amended than Daniel Jones.

Oct 17, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints caput coach Dennis Allen reacts against nan Denver Broncos during nan 2nd 4th astatine Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Allen isn’t responsible for nan wounded woes that person plagued his offense. He’s besides not nan wide head who has made it virtually intolerable to build meaningful extent acknowledgment to nan looming protector of perpetual net headdress debt. But he could beryllium near holding nan container successful a convention wherever he can’t occurrence nan roster (and, moreover if he could, it would still time off down dormant headdress abstraction adjacent to a mini land nation’s gross home product).

The erstwhile Sean Payton disciple was expected to bring continuity successful a post-Payton, post-Drew Brees world. For 2 seasons he did conscionable that, hovering astir .500 pinch coagulated defense and failing to create thing resembling a postseason threat. His level has dropped retired from underneath him successful 2024, however.

Derek Carr’s wounded played a role, but moreover if he played for illustration his 2016 aforesaid he’d person a difficult clip overcoming a defense that’s fixed up much yards than anyone other successful nan NFL. That’s expected to beryllium Allen’s specialty, but an aging halfway is falling apart. The walk unreserved is generating a bottommost 10 unit complaint that, paired pinch a bottommost six sum separation distance, is creating opportunities done nan air. That’s nothing, however, compared to a tally defense 2nd only to nan Dallas Cowboys erstwhile it comes to EPA allowed per unreserved (and 5.2 yards per carry!).

Allen has clip to move this around. New Orleans’s spot successful net headdress hellhole could springiness him different chance moreover if he doesn’t, because nan Saints person small to connection a rising young coaching candidate. But moreover if he sticks around, it won’t mean each is good successful Louisiana.

Oct 27, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Dallas Cowboys caput coach Mike McCarthy connected nan sideline during nan 3rd 4th against nan San Francisco 49ers astatine Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

McCarthy was a sanction nickname prosecute for Jerry Jones. He’d won a Super Bowl successful Green Bay and helped make Aaron Rodgers a star, but nan tail extremity of his Packers tenure was filled pinch playoff disasters, genuinely baffling timepiece guidance and nan chopped inability to make in-game adjustments to counteract immoderate different teams were doing right.

So, McCarthy’s Cowboys tenure has been filled with… playoff disasters (1-3), genuinely baffling timepiece guidance and nan chopped inability to make in-game adjustments to counteract immoderate different teams were doing right. This each led Jones to fto him twist successful nan upwind for 2024, nan past twelvemonth connected McCarthy’s contract. It’s a business you seldom spot successful nan NFL, but 1 that allows Dallas to simply locomotion distant erstwhile nan season’s complete alternatively of having to really pinkish gaffe its caput coach.

In that regard, astatine slightest McCarthy isn’t particularly fireable. He whitethorn still get released earlier nan season’s complete conscionable to nonstop a message, but he mightiness conscionable get formed disconnected to oversea pinch a quiet non-renewal. Dak Prescott signed a statement that gave him nan largest guaranteed money successful NFL history and has responded by playing for illustration nan league’s 23rd-best backmost (one spot up of Will Levis!). The tally crippled everyone expected to beryllium a problem has been precisely that.

Dallas is 3-4, but half those losses person travel by astatine slightest 25 points. The champion triumph of nan play came complete Justin Fields and nan Pittsburgh Steelers. McCarthy isn’t conscionable going to person to move things astir this autumn to gain a caller contract; he’s going to person to beryllium he tin triumph aggregate postseason games to get there. The measurement this roster has been playing, that’s a monolithic challenge.

Jacksonville Jaguars caput coach Doug Pederson talks to referee Land Clark (130) during nan 2nd 4th of an NFL shot matchup Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 astatine EverBank Stadium successful Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]

The Jaguars person been playing amended of late. They’ve put up astatine slightest 27 points successful 3 of their past 4 games. Trevor Lawrence was nan league’s 32nd-best backmost successful position of EPA per dropback (-0.010) successful September. In nan 4 weeks since, he’s up to 4th (0.213). This is each meaningful progress.

Unfortunately, Pederson’s squad is only 2-6 arsenic a result. His defense gave up 350-plus passing yards and 3 touchdowns to Joe Flacco successful nan team’s only triumph complete a squad that’s .500 aliases better. The different triumph came against nan New England Patriots, which looks a small amended aft Week 8 (Jets, your execution, woof) but still isn’t particularly impressive.

Safety Andre Cisco said immoderate players had discontinue connected nan squad backmost successful Week 6’s London nonaccomplishment to nan Bears. While there’s been much effort lately, Jacksonville’s willingness to waste earlier this year’s waste and acquisition deadline, arsenic evidenced by nan woody that made starting near tackle Cam Robinson a Minnesota Viking, is going to make a turnaround difficult.

Pederson vanished supra .500 successful his first 2 seasons astatine nan helm and led nan Jaguars backmost from a 31-0 Wild Card shortage successful 2022. But he’s 3-11 successful his past 14 games and, moreover pinch his discourtesy coming to life, struggling to triumph each week. Jacksonville appeared to person backed into a coagulated coach erstwhile it settled connected nan erstwhile Super Bowl victor precocious successful nan 2022 coaching cycle. Instead, Pederson’s tenure successful teal and golden looks for illustration it will beryllium complete aft 3 seasons.