Pro Football History.com Blog
November 14th, 2025
By Stephen Juza
On Monday, the New York Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll after three and a half unsuccessful seasons. After a stint that started with so much promise, and the first playoff win in more than a decade, it was a slow descent down to the NFL cellar for the Giants. The Giants will ride out the rest of the season after turning to offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as their new interim head coach.
With two coaches already fired midseason, we turn our attention to our internal predictions for which coaches seats’ are the hottest. While you are considering who’s on the hot seat, you can also consider any number of casino games online.
Kellen Moore - New Orleans Saints (81% Chance of Being Fired)
Years ago, Moore was considered one of the hottest offensive coaching prospects around the league. After a record-breaking college football career at Boise State, he spent a single year in the NFL with the Cowboys before transitioning to a career on the sideline. After leaving the Cowboys in 2022, he spent a single season with the Chargers and the Eagles as their offensive coordinators, culminating in the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory last season. After the season, he was named the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
However, his time in the Big Easy has been anything but easy. At 2-8 on the season, he’s closer to the first pick in the first round than the last pick. With one of the worst offensives in the league (30th in points scored), he’s got a lot to focus on during the bye week. The remaining seven games of the year could help save Moore’s job, since only one game is against a team with a winning record and four of them are against teams with three or fewer wins.
Our model predicts he is at an 81% chance of being fired after his single season wearing the headset, but a strong finish will save his job for 2026.
Brian Schottenheimer - Dallas Cowboys (67% Chance)
Our second coach on our hot seat list is another first-year head coach. Brian Schottenheimer was a major surprise when Dallas owner Jerry Jones announced his hiring, so much that Jones’ had to address the risk in his introductory press conference. At the time, Jones had botched the contract negotiation of former head coach Mike McCarthy and was likely seeking a way to ensure continuity with the offense.
Mission accomplished on the offensive continuity. After a down-year in 2024, the Cowboys have rebounded to their fourth Top-5 offense in the last five years. Behind quarterback Dak Prescott, the offense puts up a lot of points. The downside is that the defense also gives up even more points. They are ranked 31st in points allowed for the second consecutive year.
The Cowboys sit at 3-5-1, almost identical to last year, but have some very tough games ahead. Between Week 12 and Week 14, they will play the Eagles (division leader), the Lions (division leader), and the Chiefs. Jones hasn’t fired a coach recently, and that bodes well for Schottenheimer, but a poor finish to the 2025 season could have him on the unemployment line.
Zac Taylor - Cincinnati Bengals (54% Chance)
Our last coach today is Zac Taylor. While the Bengals faithful have grown tired of watching the porous defenses under Taylor, has bottomed-out as the league worst in both points allowed and yards allowed. The 2021 Super Bowl appearance is long in the memory of the fans, and the team’s fortune seems to rest more on quarterback Joe Burrow’s ability to stay healthy compared to anything else.
When Burrow plays since his rookie year, the team is 40-30-1, when he is out, the team is 7-16. Unfortunately, Burrow has missed a lot of time in his career. So much that he has won comeback player of the year twice (2021, 2024). It is still unclear when he will be back from his turf toe injury, if at all, this season. A lot could hinge on whether or not the Bengals are in playoff contention, and if they aren’t it will be more difficult for Taylor to win some games down the stretch to save his job.
While the team is sitting at 3-6, the division is still strangely within their reach. The Steelers have the division lead at only 5-4, and the Bengals have to travel on the road this week to face them. A victory over the Steelers could put them one game out of the division lead, with three more division games to go. A loss likely puts them out of division contention with the division-leading Patriots coming to town the following week.
November 14th, 2025
By Stephen Juza
On Monday, the New York Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll after three and a half unsuccessful seasons. After a stint that started with so much promise, and the first playoff win in more than a decade, it was a slow descent down to the NFL cellar for the Giants. The Giants will ride out the rest of the season after turning to offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as their new interim head coach.
With two coaches already fired midseason, we turn our attention to our internal predictions for which coaches seats’ are the hottest. While you are considering who’s on the hot seat, you can also consider any number of casino games online.
Kellen Moore - New Orleans Saints (81% Chance of Being Fired)
Years ago, Moore was considered one of the hottest offensive coaching prospects around the league. After a record-breaking college football career at Boise State, he spent a single year in the NFL with the Cowboys before transitioning to a career on the sideline. After leaving the Cowboys in 2022, he spent a single season with the Chargers and the Eagles as their offensive coordinators, culminating in the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory last season. After the season, he was named the new head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
However, his time in the Big Easy has been anything but easy. At 2-8 on the season, he’s closer to the first pick in the first round than the last pick. With one of the worst offensives in the league (30th in points scored), he’s got a lot to focus on during the bye week. The remaining seven games of the year could help save Moore’s job, since only one game is against a team with a winning record and four of them are against teams with three or fewer wins.
Our model predicts he is at an 81% chance of being fired after his single season wearing the headset, but a strong finish will save his job for 2026.
Brian Schottenheimer - Dallas Cowboys (67% Chance)
Our second coach on our hot seat list is another first-year head coach. Brian Schottenheimer was a major surprise when Dallas owner Jerry Jones announced his hiring, so much that Jones’ had to address the risk in his introductory press conference. At the time, Jones had botched the contract negotiation of former head coach Mike McCarthy and was likely seeking a way to ensure continuity with the offense.
Mission accomplished on the offensive continuity. After a down-year in 2024, the Cowboys have rebounded to their fourth Top-5 offense in the last five years. Behind quarterback Dak Prescott, the offense puts up a lot of points. The downside is that the defense also gives up even more points. They are ranked 31st in points allowed for the second consecutive year.
The Cowboys sit at 3-5-1, almost identical to last year, but have some very tough games ahead. Between Week 12 and Week 14, they will play the Eagles (division leader), the Lions (division leader), and the Chiefs. Jones hasn’t fired a coach recently, and that bodes well for Schottenheimer, but a poor finish to the 2025 season could have him on the unemployment line.
Zac Taylor - Cincinnati Bengals (54% Chance)
Our last coach today is Zac Taylor. While the Bengals faithful have grown tired of watching the porous defenses under Taylor, has bottomed-out as the league worst in both points allowed and yards allowed. The 2021 Super Bowl appearance is long in the memory of the fans, and the team’s fortune seems to rest more on quarterback Joe Burrow’s ability to stay healthy compared to anything else.
When Burrow plays since his rookie year, the team is 40-30-1, when he is out, the team is 7-16. Unfortunately, Burrow has missed a lot of time in his career. So much that he has won comeback player of the year twice (2021, 2024). It is still unclear when he will be back from his turf toe injury, if at all, this season. A lot could hinge on whether or not the Bengals are in playoff contention, and if they aren’t it will be more difficult for Taylor to win some games down the stretch to save his job.
While the team is sitting at 3-6, the division is still strangely within their reach. The Steelers have the division lead at only 5-4, and the Bengals have to travel on the road this week to face them. A victory over the Steelers could put them one game out of the division lead, with three more division games to go. A loss likely puts them out of division contention with the division-leading Patriots coming to town the following week.
November 13th, 2025
By Stephen Juza
Halfway through Brian Daboll's fourth season as the head coach of the New York Giants, the team fired him and turned the reins over to offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. It’s been a consistent downward trajectory for the team after starting with such promise in 2022 with a 9-7-1 season and their first playoff victory since the 2011 Super Bowl. Since that season, the team hasn’t had a .500 record or better in a season since Week 2 of the 2023 season, a 31-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Today we look at what went wrong in New York during the four seasons, and most specifically during this season. And while you prepare for Week 10, check out https://www.actionnetwork.com/ for all the latest gaming odds.
Quarterback Daniel Jones
By the time that Daboll joined the Giants, there was skepticism if Jones was going to be the franchise quarterback the team had hoped for when they drafted him sixth overall in 2019. Through his first three seasons as a starter, the Giants only won twelve of his thirty seven starts. Things looked so grim that the team declined his fifth year option for the 2023 season.
However, in his first season under Daboll, Jones showed a lot of improvement, posting career highs in passing yards, accuracy, and cut down his interception percentage to a NFL-best 1.1%. This improvement was good enough to come in 11th in the Comeback Player of the Year vote at the end of the season, and hope was high that Daboll had helped fix Jones.
Fresh off the outstanding season, Jones signed a 4-year, $160 million dollar extension with the team. However, in 2023, Jones missed most of the season, only starting six games before tearing his ACL. By the time 2024 had rolled around, Jones would be waived mid-season after ten games.
Giants had hoped that Daboll would be able to get the same type of success out of Jones as he did with Josh Allen when Daboll was the Bill’s offensive coordinator. That never came to fruition, and Jones finally had his major career breakthrough this season with the Indianapolis Colts (8-2).
Running Back Saquon Barkley
The year before the team drafted Jones, the Giants drafted running back Saquon Barkley second-overall. Barkley was explosive right from the beginning of his career, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage. By the end of the 2023 season, Barkley had worked his way up to fourth all-time on the Giants rushing leaderboard with 5,211 yards.
After the season, Barkley became a free agent and had every intention of remaining with the Giants. However, after the front office felt he wouldn’t get his asking price from another team, they decided to let him test free agency (in a discussion captured during Hard Knocks). The result? He signed with their division rival Philadelphia Eagles and posted one of the best seasons for a running back ever, in a season that culminated in the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.
In a difficult season that followed, players noticed the lack of leadership in the locker room amidst a 3-13 season. While the Giants leadership may have underestimated the impact of Barkley on the team psyche, it falls on the head coach to understand the pulse of his team.
This Season
Entering this season, the feeling around the NFL was that Daboll was a dead man walking. The team signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback this year, and that experiment only lasted three games before the team turned to rookie Jaxson Dart. Dart was drafted in the first round of April’s draft, and while he has been an electric playmaker for the team, he has been evaluated for concussions the last four games.
It’s unclear if Dart will be ready to play this upcoming week or if Kafka will be forced to go back to Wilson. With little to play for this season, the team should plan on letting Dart take it slow coming back to the starting line up. As for Kafka, after nine years in the league, he’s getting his first shot at leading a team. With a strong finish to the season, it could be his job to lose.
November 12th, 2025
By Stephen Juza
Halfway through Brian Daboll's fourth season as the head coach of the New York Giants, the team fired him and turned the reins over to offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. It’s been a consistent downward trajectory for the team after starting with such promise in 2022 with a 9-7-1 season and their first playoff victory since the 2011 Super Bowl. Since that season, the team hasn’t had a .500 record or better in a season since Week 2 of the 2023 season, a 31-28 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.
Today we look at what went wrong in New York during the four seasons, and most specifically during this season. And while you prepare for Week 10, check out https://www.actionnetwork.com/ for all the latest gaming odds.
Quarterback Daniel Jones
By the time that Daboll joined the Giants, there was skepticism if Jones was going to be the franchise quarterback the team had hoped for when they drafted him sixth overall in 2019. Through his first three seasons as a starter, the Giants only won twelve of his thirty seven starts. Things looked so grim that the team declined his fifth year option for the 2023 season.
However, in his first season under Daboll, Jones showed a lot of improvement, posting career highs in passing yards, accuracy, and cut down his interception percentage to a NFL-best 1.1%. This improvement was good enough to come in 11th in the Comeback Player of the Year vote at the end of the season, and hope was high that Daboll had helped fix Jones.
Fresh off the outstanding season, Jones signed a 4-year, $160 million dollar extension with the team. However, in 2023, Jones missed most of the season, only starting six games before tearing his ACL. By the time 2024 had rolled around, Jones would be waived mid-season after ten games.
Giants had hoped that Daboll would be able to get the same type of success out of Jones as he did with Josh Allen when Daboll was the Bill’s offensive coordinator. That never came to fruition, and Jones finally had his major career breakthrough this season with the Indianapolis Colts (8-2).
Running Back Saquon Barkley
The year before the team drafted Jones, the Giants drafted running back Saquon Barkley second-overall. Barkley was explosive right from the beginning of his career, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year after leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage. By the end of the 2023 season, Barkley had worked his way up to fourth all-time on the Giants rushing leaderboard with 5,211 yards.
After the season, Barkley became a free agent and had every intention of remaining with the Giants. However, after the front office felt he wouldn’t get his asking price from another team, they decided to let him test free agency (in a discussion captured during Hard Knocks). The result? He signed with their division rival Philadelphia Eagles and posted one of the best seasons for a running back ever, in a season that culminated in the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.
In a difficult season that followed, players noticed the lack of leadership in the locker room amidst a 3-13 season. While the Giants leadership may have underestimated the impact of Barkley on the team psyche, it falls on the head coach to understand the pulse of his team.
This Season
Entering this season, the feeling around the NFL was that Daboll was a dead man walking. The team signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback this year, and that experiment only lasted three games before the team turned to rookie Jaxson Dart. Dart was drafted in the first round of April’s draft, and while he has been an electric playmaker for the team, he has been evaluated for concussions the last four games.
It’s unclear if Dart will be ready to play this upcoming week or if Kafka will be forced to go back to Wilson. With little to play for this season, the team should plan on letting Dart take it slow coming back to the starting line up. As for Kafka, after nine years in the league, he’s getting his first shot at leading a team. With a strong finish to the season, it could be his job to lose.
November 12th, 2025
By Stephen Juza
As we enter the final two months of the regular season, we look at the AFC playoff picture and a few of the surprises that are in store for the final seven games of the season. If the standings hold true, we are looking at a very cold Wild Card round, with three home games played in possibly snowy outdoor conditions based on the NFL data archive.
#1 Indianapolis Colts - Currently leading the three-way tie for the best record in the league, the Colts have come out of nowhere to lead the AFC. Last season, the team went 8-9 and finished second in the AFC South. This year, behind backup-turned-starter quarterback Daniel Jones, the offense is best in the league at both points and yards. This is a feat that not even the Peyton Manning-led Colts achieved, and you have to go all the way back to 1976 when the Colts led both categories in the same season.
#2 Denver Broncos - The current AFC West leaders are a surprise as well in head coach Sean Payton’s third season with the team. The team ended their eight-year playoff drought last year, and Payton has the team hoping for more this year. The Broncos defense has played exceptionally well all season, and is currently ranked third in points allowed for the second consecutive season.
#3 New England Patriots - The current AFC East leaders are yet another surprise to this list. After replacing their head coach for the third consecutive season, the Patriots think they found their new stride with a familiar face. Head coach Mike Vrabel played for the Patriots back in their dynasty, and in his first year has far surpassed expectations.
#4 Pittsburgh Steelers - The final AFC division leader is the Steelers, and while they are leading the division, they have the shortest leash of any division leader. At 5-4, if they fall out of the lead, they likely will not qualify for a wild card spot. Fans have been growing disgruntled with the mediocre performance by the Mike Tomlin-led teams for years, and this year is no different. The team had hoped that acquiring future hall of famer Aaron Rodgers would give the offense a spark in 2025, but the offense has been average all season long.
#5 Los Angeles Chargers - The first wild card spot falls to the Chargers, who are hot on the tail of the Broncos. The AFC West has certainly shaped up to be the most competitive division, behind the stellar talent of head coaches and star playmakers throughout the roster. While the Chargers are likely to make the playoffs, it would likely be on the road against the AFC North winner in a cold or snowy game.
#6 Buffalo Bills - The Bills are checking in as the second wild card spot, but this is viewed as a major disappointment for the team. If these results hold steady, it will be the first time since 2019 the Bills won’t have won the AFC East. Before the season started, we predicted this would be yet another Bills division championship, but the Patriots emergence has surprised many around the league. Having to go on the road against the Patriots in the playoffs may be in the future for the Bills.
#7 Jacksonville Jaguars - The Jaguars currently lead a slew of 5-4 teams competing for the final wild card spot in Liam Coen’s first season as a head coach. The Jaguars have a tough road ahead, with both games against the Colts remaining, a road game in Denver, and playing host to the Chargers this upcoming week. The Jaguars will need a strong finish to the season with the former AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs knocking on the door to the wild card at 5-4 as well.