Every year, some coaches enter the season essentially coaching for their jobs. It’s no different heading into the 2026 NFL season. These six coaches have to make sure their teams are ready to compete and show signs of life in 2026, or ownership will decide it’s time to move on.

Money is everything in the NFL, and winning directly impacts that. This is a multi-billion-dollar business; franchises can’t be wasting seasons, and the leader isn’t showing the qualities to make wins happen. Change will happen. Here are six coaches who need to have a good 2026 to remain on the sidelines.

Aaron Glenn, New York Jets

Every list you’ll see will likely lead off with New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn coaching for his job. The former defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions stepped into the Jets facility, hoping to be the change in leadership the franchise needed. His specialty is defensive backs, and he didn’t make a good first impression with New York. The Jets made the wrong kind of history with Glenn at the helm in 2025, setting an NFL record for not recording a single interception in an entire season.

For a coach whose specialty is defense, the Jets didn’t look good in that aspect either. After trading Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys mid-season, the rushing defense looked abysmal. The team ranked second-to-last in points allowed per game and fourth-to-last in rushing yards allowed per game.

No one expected Glenn to turn this franchise around in one season, but signs of life need to start showing if he is to keep his job into the 2027 season. With the Jets expected to have a top pick in the 2027 NFL draft to select their franchise quaterback, it’ll be interesting to see how they handle Glenn. Do they fire him and hire a young offensive mind to develop a quaterback? Or does Glenn show he can lead this team competently, and they end up keeping him for the long run?

It’s an intriguing suit, but Glenn is doing everything he can to keep his job. The team drafted David Bailey, Kenyon Sadiq, and Omar Cooper Jr in the first round, plus adding Minkah Fitzpatrick and Demario Davis in free agency.

Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

The Zac Taylor era in Cincinnati didn’t start off too hot. In his first two seasons with the team, he led them to six total wins, and the Cincinnati Bengals looked like one of the worst teams in the league. Then, over the next two seasons, the team won 22 regular-season games and made two straight AFC Championship Game appearances, with one Super Bowl appearance. Since then, the team has looked lackluster and has a knack for starting off slow at the beginning of seasons.

Injuries have played a major part with franchise quaterback Joe Burrow repeatedly missing time, but even when Burrow had one of his best seasons in 2024, the team still went 9-8 and missed the playoffs.

The defense hasn’t been good either, but going into 2026, it looks good. The addition of Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook should elevate this defense to not allow over 375 yards per game. If the team has a healthy season and starts off slow once again, missing the playoffs. Expect Taylor to be the one to go.

Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

No matter what Nick Sirianni does, it seems he’ll always be on the hot seat. He’s gone 59-26 with the Philadelphia Eagles, including two Super Bowl appearances, even winning one. Still, it’s not good enough, and the energy around the franchise this offseason has felt apprehensive. That feeling started in the 2025 season when the offense just clearly wasn’t up to par, but Sirianni was reluctant to make changes. The team fell in the wild-card round, and the offense finished with the 13th-best EPA/Play in the league.

The Eagles still have one of the more talented rosters in the sport, and for the majority of Sirianni’s tenure with the team. Still, the team struggles to reach its full potential, with stars like AJ Brown forcing their way out because they couldn’t handle being on the team any longer. Sirianni fired Kevin Patullo and will opt for first-time coordinator Sean Mannion to fix the offensive woes.

If the offense isn’t up to par, and signs of struggle are still showing. Sirianni could be on his way out before the 2026 season ends. This is one of the most talented rosters in the entire league, and general manager Howie Roseman has done a great job keeping it up to standard. It’s now Sirianni’s job to produce a deep playoff run.

Matt Lefleur, Green Bay Packers

After the Green Bay Packers lost for the second straight year in the wild-card round, there were rumors of Matt LaFleur potentially being let go by the Packers. The team held a 21-3 lead at halftime against their division rival, the Chicago Bears, but lost 31-27. Packers fans weren’t happy, and certainly not with ownership. But LaFleur is still one of the better coaches in the NFL. It’s hard to go in a different direction, so Green Bay decided to roll with him for the 2026 season.

The offense has been efficient with LaFleur at the helm and, in 2025, ranked fourth-best in EPA/play. The pairing of him and Jordan Love has been a match made in heaven. The issue has been closing games, and that was clear enough in the playoffs. The Packers didn’t have Micah Parsons, who tore his ACL late last season, which hurts, but the team still lost five straight games to close out the season.

The Packers are once again contenders in the NFC, as the roster has remained largely the same. The offense will likely be efficient once again, and when Parsons comes back from his ACL injury, the defense will get a much-needed boost. If LaFleur can’t muster up a deep playoff run this season and loses in the wild-card round, he could be on the way out next offseason.

Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Todd Bowles has put together a solid tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, having a 35-33 record and leading the Buccaneers to three NFC South titles in four seasons. Still, the 2025 campaign was a major setback. Tampa Bay dropped five of its final seven games and fell short of the playoffs.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield took a step back, earning a 64.8 PFF passing grade while battling injuries throughout the season. The running game failed to provide much, or any support, as the Buccaneers finished 26th in rushing yards per play. Defensively, Tampa Bay struggled to slow down opposing passing attacks, ranking 27th in the NFL in passing yards allowed.

Throughout it all, ownership decided to keep Bowles around for the 2026 season. Franchise legend Mike Evans didn’t like that decision and decided to go elsewhere in free agency, and Lavonte David opted to retire. Bowles now enters 2026 with young talents like Emeka Egbuka and Rueben Bain Jr., along with veterans like Alex Anzalone and Mayfield. With expectations still high, another disappointing season could be the final straw for Bowles, leading to the end of his tenure with Tampa Bay. The team will need a winning record to keep him off the hot seat, and failing to reclaim the NFC South title could make his long-term outlook even murkier.

Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings

This one may be a surprise, but if the Minnesota Vikings have another disappointing season on the offensive end, Kevin O’Connell could be on the way out next offseason. O’Connell is one of the better offensive coaches in the league, and his system has proven capable of elevating quarterbacks. That’s why drafting JJ McCarthy in the first-round of the 2024 NFL draft seemed like a good decision at the time, the hope was O’Connell could make McCarthy into a quialty starter.

Throughout 2025, that looked like a dream. McCarthy struggled, with a 60.1 passing grade on PFF and 15 turnover-worthy plays in 291 dropbacks. The Vikings had a solid roster, with a defense that carried the team to nine wins and a playoff push. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has done everything to keep his unit afloat and be a top-five unit in the league. It’s time for the offense, which O’Connell is in charge of, to get this team over the hump and into the playoffs.

The Vikings went out and signed Kyler Murray in free agency to try to spark the offense. If Murray or McCarthy can’t get this offense to a stable level and the Vikings miss the playoffs again due to quarterback play, expect O’Connell’s seat to get hotter next offseason.