Cincinnati Bengals

NFL Week 8: 5 Head Coaches on Hot Seat

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:06 p.m. ET

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Oct 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher during the game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Detroit won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s a look at the latest list of head coaches on the hot seat heading into NFL Week 8.

Between the San Diego Chargers overcoming a 17-point deficit to the Los Angeles Rams losing their third game in a row, the hot seat for head coaches heading into NFL Week 8 can only be described as a roller coaster ride.

Not too long ago, Mike McCoy seemed to be on his way out after the Chargers lost four of their first five games by single digits. Since then, McCoy’s squad has pulled off back-to-back wins against two of the league’s top teams in the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons.

As long as San Diego can continue this recent surge, McCoy’s could continue seeing his seat cool down.

Jeff Fisher on the other hand continues to climb this list after the Los Angeles Rams displayed an embarrassing performance in London to drop to 3-4 heading into their bye week. And if Fisher wasn’t feeling the pressure before, he certainly is now, as the head coach’s fate will reportedly be decided over the next four games.

So what other coaches are feeling the heat along with McCoy and Fisher? Well, take a look at the rest of the head coaches on the hot seat heading into Week 8, starting with Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints.

Oct 23, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton watches play on the sidelines during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Honorable Mention: Sean Payton

Just when the New Orleans Saints seemed to be turning their season around, Sean Payton‘s squad misses out on a perfect opportunity for a big statement on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Prior to Sunday’s game, the Saints had put together a nice winning streak with victories over the San Diego Chargers and Carolina Panthers, but this team just made too many costly mistakes against the Chiefs to ruin their chances of improving that streak to three games. After starting the season 0-3, New Orleans realizes the importance of every game moving forward when looking at how the NFC South is shaping at.

Even at 2-4, the Saints are still in decent enough shape to compete for the NFC South title thanks to the Atlanta Falcons dropping their last two. As long as New Orleans is still in the division hunt, Payton most likely isn’t going to lose his job any time soon, but that doesn’t mean the head coach isn’t going to be feeling any less pressure.

On a positive note, at least the defense played better for the most part against the Chiefs when considering New Orleans as a team had surrendered 117 points over their last three games prior to Sunday. The Chiefs may not have the best offensive in the world, but the Saints have to feel better knowing their defense played well for the most part.

Oct 23, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy congratulates running back Melvin Gordon (28) after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter at the Georgia Dome. The Chargers defeated the Falcons 33-30 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

5. Mike McCoy (Last Week No. 3)

A little over two weeks ago, Mike McCoy seemed to have the best chance of active head coaches when it comes to being the first to lose his job during the 2016 season, but thanks to back-to-back victories over teams with winning records, that hot seat has cooled down.

One week after defeating the defending Super Bowl champions, the Chargers appeared to be in trouble when they found themselves down 17 late in the second quarter before arguably pulling off the greatest comeback of Week 7 after defeating the Atlanta Falcons 33-30 in overtime. Between Melvin Gordon (three total touchdowns) and Joey Bosa (two sacks) coming up big against Atlanta, San Diego is proving they’re talented enough to compete with some of the best teams in the league.

Unfortunately, this team would be in much better shape if they managed to win one or two of those four losses by single digits. Regardless, McCoy should just be thrilled over his team finding ways to win each of their last two games as the argument can be made they may have saved his job.

Now, the challenge for McCoy becomes keeping his team motivated for another key matchup against the Broncos on Sunday for the second time in three weeks.

Oct 23, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis looks on against the Cleveland Browns in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

4. Marvin Lewis (Last Week No. 1)

Was a favorable game against the winless Cleveland Browns exactly what the doctor ordered to get the Cincinnati Bengals back on the winning track? It may have only been one game, but Marvin Lewis desperately needed a game like this when considering how rough it’s been for the Bengals this season.

Prior to Sunday, Cincinnati had lost four of their last five games, with all of those losses coming against teams with winning records. For a team that’s reached the postseason in six of the last seven seasons, the Bengals have looked anything but a playoff team so far in 2016. However, Sunday’s game against the Browns is the perfect example of how dangerous this team can truly be when they get rolling on offense.

With dangerous weapons like A.J. Green and Jeremy Hill, there’s no reason why an offense with the talent level of Cincinnati should have been struggling to put up points. Hopefully, the Bengals can continue playing at this high level and catch up to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North standings.

If they can do that, maybe there will be hope after all for Lewis leading this team to the playoffs for the sixth-straight season.

Oct 9, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Chicago Bears head coach John Fox reacts during their game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

3. John Fox (Newcomer)

Between numerous injuries along with a difficult remaining schedule, things aren’t going to get easier for John Fox any time soon as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

How bad have the last two seasons been for Fox with the Bears? For starters, it’s never a good thing to see a team win just two games at home dating back to last season, but that’s been the case for Chicago as their lone win of 2016 came against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field in Week 4. If a professional team can’t even find ways to be successful while playing in front of their own fans, how on earth are they going to have any chance of finishing a season with a winning record?

The unfortunate part about Fox’s situation is he had a good thing going in the four years he spent as head coach for the Denver Broncos before John Elway thought it would be best to part ways, which is ironic since they went on to win the Super Bowl. To go from a team with the talent level of the Broncos to a messy squad like the Bears has to be frustrating for a coach like Fox, and it doesn’t look like the situation is going to get better any time soon.

Oct 2, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher looks on against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

2. Jeff Fisher (Last Week No. 5)

There were plenty of talks at the beginning of the season about Jeff Fisher receiving a contract extension from the Los Angeles Rams, which was surprising to many since the head coach is in the middle of his fifth year with the team and has yet to finish with a winning record.

A few weeks ago, the Rams were considered a team on the rise in the NFC thanks to a 3-1 start, which included impressive wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. Since then, Los Angeles has watched their offense hit rock bottom as Case Keenum, the quarterback Fisher preferred to use over Jared Goff, is coming off a disastrous performance against the New York Giants.

In that game against the Giants, Keenum threw four interceptions and even found himself in position to tie the game up late in the fourth quarter. Of course, that was only to ruin the opportunity with a costly pick in the end zone. More than ever, fans are pushing for the firing of Fisher as Los Angeles continues to embarrass themselves for having one of the league’s worst offenses.

The fact that Fisher is now third all time for most losses as a head coach shows just how terrible he may be at his job, so it’s easy to see why fans are fed up with him.

Oct 23, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley looks on during the second half against the Oakland Raiders at EverBank Field. Oakland Raiders won 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports

1. Gus Bradley (Last Week No. 4)

Despite Gus Bradley and the Jacksonville Jaguars slightly turning things around with a two game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders, it was obvious this team still had plenty of areas in need of improvement, especially on offense. For the fourth time this season, the Jaguars were held to scoring 17 points or less after falling to the Raiders 33-16.

Unfortunately, Bradley has become quite familiar with this list over the last couple of weeks as Jacksonville currently sits at the bottom of the AFC South with a 2-4 record. After Blake Bortle‘s breakout season in 2015 in which he threw for 4,428 yards to go along with 35 touchdowns, the Jaguars seemed ready to take the next step as a team by becoming contenders in the AFC.

Instead, this looks like the same old Jacksonville team that hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2007. The fact that Bradley is in the middle of his fourth season with the Jaguars and has never recorded more than five wins in a season is one of the main reasons why he’s been criticized so much as a head coach.

Until Jacksonville finds ways to win meaningful games, Bradley is only going to continue feeling heavy pressure.

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