Six Coaching Situations to Watch Over the Final Three Weeks of the NFL Season

It’s been quiet the last month on the NFL coaching front, but Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr dropped an insightful piece on the brewing situation between coach Zac Taylor and the Bengals.

There’s no denying that Taylor is a brilliant offensive mind who has brought out the best in Joe Burrow, but his team won’t be in the postseason for a third consecutive season after being mathematically eliminated from contention following last week’s ugly 24–0 dud against the Ravens.

That has to be rock bottom, for a Burrow-led team to be shutout against a divisional rival. And it doesn’t help Taylor’s cause that he’s been unable to fix one of the worst defenses in the league the last two seasons. To make matters worse, Taylor has been unable to protect Burrow behind a dreadful offensive line, and now the franchise QB is sharing honest thoughts about the game possibly not being as fun as it used to be. Yep, it’s code red for Taylor in Cincinnati after those remarks.

Investing in a CEO-type coach with a defensive background could be a good idea for Cincinnati because Burrow is capable of running the show offensively. And fresh ideas could bring new excitement for the quarterback in 2026.

As Orr pointed out in his story, the Bengals could have an abundance of coaching options if the team does decide to part ways with Taylor. There would be a long line of coaching candidates who would jump through hoops at a chance to work with Burrow.

This is a fascinating development in Cincinnati, but let’s take a look at the other coaching dilemmas across the league to kick off this week’s NFL Fact or Fiction.

At least one more head coach will be fired before the season is over

At this point last year, Robert Saleh, Dennis Allen and Matt Eberflus had already been fired as head coach of their respective teams. In 2023, there were three in-season firings before eight head-coaching gigs eventually opened, one more than last year.

Through Week 15, only the Titans and Giants have head-coaching vacancies after firing Brian Callahan and Brian Daboll, respectively. That doesn’t necessarily mean the other coaches on the hot seat will make it beyond the rest of the season, possibly learning their ’26 fate after Week 18. But I’m surprised there hasn’t been another firing since Daboll was given his walking papers on Nov. 15.

The Raiders (2–12) had several reasons to fire coach Pete Carroll the day after the 31–0 loss to the Eagles, the second time his team was shut out this season. And so did the Cardinals (3–11) after coach Jonathan Gannon’s defense allowed a struggling Texans offense to drop 40 points and hand Arizona its sixth consecutive loss.

Maybe those two teams don’t want to ruin a good thing when it comes to tanking games and playing for a better draft pick. Still, I’m willing to bet only one of those two coaches will make it through the entire season, but I’d be shocked if both return next season.

It’s not a good sign that Carroll decided to remind reporters of his coaching résumé after being asked whether his team quit against the Eagles. And Gannon’s seat has been scorching since the Week 5 meltdown against the Titans, when his team blew a 21–3 home advantage and the third-year coach shoved running back Emari Demercado multiple times.

It’s also getting ugly in Cleveland for coach Kevin Stefanski, whose team has a combined 25 losses the last two seasons, including last week’s embarrassing 31–3 defeat vs. the Bears. Stefanski has more job security than Carroll and Gannon due to his two Coach of the Year awards in Cleveland, but it seems both sides are in need of a serious change.

As for the Falcons (5–9), they are probably hesitant to let go of Raheem Morris after only two seasons, and it helped his cause when he produced a come-from-behind victory over the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Perhaps Morris gained points with team ownership for how well Kirk Cousins played vs. Tampa Bay, but he and his staff didn’t get many positive results from second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. before he sustained a season-ending knee injury last month.

There had been plenty of talk about Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel possibly saving his job before Monday night’s dud in Pittsburgh that snapped Miami’s four-game winning streak. But Tua Tagovailoa struggled even during the victories and had another dreadful performance in prime time. It probably wouldn’t be wise for the Dolphins (6–8) to run it back with the same cast. Miami should pick between McDaniel and Tagovailoa or move on from both because this partnership hasn’t been fruitful for quite some time.

Oftentimes, teams wait until the final weeks to make a coaching change because it’s less chaotic for an interim coach to lead a team for two games as opposed to eight or nine. And many times, GMs and owners want a glimpse of what a different coach can do with the roster for a game or two to help provide a picture of who’s worth keeping around.

Again, I’m expecting at least one more in-season firing before the end of the regular season.

Manzano’s view: Fact

Chiefs shouldn’t rush back Patrick Mahomes for start of 2026 season

Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes recently underwent successful surgery to repair his ACL and LCL, a significant knee injury he sustained in last week’s loss against the Chargers.

With Mahomes immediately starting his rehab, there is an obvious indication that he’s determined to be back for the start of the 2026 season. But maybe it would be best for the Chiefs to not rush him back to be the Week 1 starter.

Mahomes has played in seven AFC title games and five Super Bowls since taking over as Kansas City’s starting quarterback eight years ago. When you think about it, Mahomes has essentially played nine consecutive seasons, if we’re adding all the playoff games, with short offseasons, playing football until February or late January and starting offseason workouts some time in April.

Kansas City needs to give Mahomes more time off, even if it means missing him for a month or two to start next season. Every knee injury of this magnitude has a different recovery timeline, but it wasn’t that long ago that Kyler Murray injured his knee in the final month of the season and missed the first two months of the following season.

There’s no need to rush back the three-time Super Bowl champion.

Manzano’s view: Fact

It’s time to fork the Lions as playoff contenders

The Lions (8–6) have several issues after losing to the Rams last week, but they still have a strong shot of making the postseason.

If Detroit can handle business and beat Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Chicago, there are multiple paths for this team and its high-scoring offense to make the playoffs. The Bears (10–4) are cruising at the moment, but have to face the Packers, 49ers and Lions to end the season. Green Bay (9-4-1) has to move forward without star edge rusher Micah Parsons, who injured his knee last week, as the Packers face the Bears, Ravens and Vikings to end the year.

As for the 49ers (10–4), they face the Colts, Bears and Seahawks for their final three games. If the Lions can win out, they might get some help elsewhere to make the playoffs.

Manzano’s view: Fiction

Buccaneers need Week 16 victory more than the Panthers

I probably shouldn’t attempt to predict how the Panthers will fare in their final three regular-season games because they’ve been so inconsistent this season. But I’ve noticed a few trends for this team, including how they’ve traded wins and losses since using three consecutive victories to climb out of a 1–3 start.

Carolina has gone loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss since Week 8. So that means Dave Canales’s team is due for a win in Sunday’s matchup against the Buccaneers with first place on the line in the NFC South.

I’m going to predict the Panthers (7–7) beat the Buccaneers (7–7) despite being swept by the Saints this season, including last week’s 20–17 loss in New Orleans. This team loves being .500 just as much as it does playing down to the competitor’s level.

But even if Tampa Bay loses Sunday, Todd Bowles’s team, which is in the midst of a free fall, can still regroup to win the division by beating the Dolphins and Panthers at home in the final two weeks. Carolina hosts the 11-win Seahawks next week, which will be a loss if the pattern continues.

And, yes, the pattern would mean a Panthers victory in Week 18, but this team isn’t ready for the bright lights of the postseason. I can’t forget the dud it delivered against the 49ers in prime time last month.

The Buccaneers will win the division at 9–8 and take the NFC South title on a tiebreaker based on a better common games record. Book it. Also, I don’t know why I care about this mediocre division so much.

Manzano’s view: Fiction