Throughout the course of an NFL season, there are coaches who are feeling the pressure to win. Franchises have championship droughts that impact decision-making, while other organizations starve for a taste of the postseason. Winning is the main thing in the NFL, and it's not easy.
The NFC was competitive last season, with the San Francisco 49ers reigning supreme in a season that saw the rise of the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles failed to live up to expectations in January, making the conference even tougher to predict in 2024. Once again, it's hard to win a championship -- especially in a wide-open conference.
These are the five coaches in the NFC who are under the most pressure to win in 2024. This list isn't necessarily about a coach being on the hot seat, but the expectations that come with their particular job. Of course, some of these coaches' job statuses are in jeopardy if they don't win in 2024 (but not all of them).
5. Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers)
Let's make this clear. Kyle Shanahan is nowhere close to losing his job, not with the impressive resume he created over his seven seasons in San Francisco. The best chance for Shanahan to win the Super Bowl with this 49ers team may be this season.
Brock Purdy is going to be getting paid among the best quarterbacks in the NFL after this season. The 49ers won't have Purdy on a seventh-round rookie deal anymore, which has created an insane amount of roster flexibility for the 49ers to boast one of the best rosters in the league.
Deebo Samuel has been paid, but Brandon Aiyuk wants to be paid. Samuel is in the prime of his career and Aiyuk is heading into his prime years. Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle are also in the prime of their careers. The 49ers still have one of the best defenses in the NFL, despite Dre Greenlaw being placed on the PUP list. Trent Williams is also holding out, hurting the offensive line.
The 49ers have been to four conference championship games over the last five years, but haven't gotten the Super Bowl title yet (0-2 in the Super Bowl). With Purdy not getting an extension yet, the 49ers' championship window is still there.
There is pressure in San Francisco to win in 2024. Shanahan can get the 49ers to a Super Bowl title, but winning championships are very hard.
4. Matt Eberflus (Chicago Bears)
The first two seasons in Chicago haven't been great for Eberflus, as the Bears have just a 10-24 record (.294 win percentage) in his tenure. Justin Fields struggled in Luke Getsy's offense and that side of the ball never had continuity.
Things have changed in Chicago for the better. Thanks to general manager Ryan Poles, Chicago was rewarded the No.1 overall pick for the second straight year due to a trade heist with the Carolina Panthers that netted them their first-round pick and D.J. Moore as the highlights of a blockbuster deal in the 2023 offseason. That allowed the Bears to select Caleb Williams as their franchise quarterback and draft Rome Odunze with their own top-10 pick.
Chicago also traded for Keenan Allen, giving the Bears a wide receiver trio of Allen, Moore, and Odunze. Add in D'Andre Swift at running back to pair with Khalil Herbert and the Bears have quite a cast of skill-position players around Williams. They also have a new play-caller in Shane Waldron to help Williams' development.
There's pressure for the Bears to be competitive in 2024, especially with the improvements Eberflus made to the defense since they acquired Montez Sweat last season. The Bears are on the upswing as a franchise, so anything less than a 7-10 season (their record last year) would be an immense disappointment.
Chicago has to show progress in 2024 with the young core in place. If not, Eberflus' job status will be in question.
3. Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints)
Allen is still the Saints coach after another disappointing season, one in which the NFC South was primed for the taking. The Saints did finish 9-8, but failed to make the playoffs as the NFC South title went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints went 1-5 against playoff teams last season and had one of the easiest strength of schedules in the league.
Even though Allen finished with his first winning season, 9-8 was a massive disappointment. Allen sports a 16-18 record in his two seasons with the Saints and 24-46 overall (.373 win percentage). Still an excellent defensive coach, the Saints were a top-10 defense in points allowed last season despite not having one of the most talented units.
Allen is a great coordinator, but his head-coaching career isn't one to brag about. He has never made the postseason and has just one winning record in his five years. The Saints are invested in Derek Carr at quarterback and have a new offensive coordinator in Klint Kubiak to get the offense back on the right track. Carr threw for 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions in the final five games last season, while Kubiak guided an offense that led the NFL in yards per attempt (9.3), 20+ yard completions (75) and passer rating (110.2).
This may be Allen's last chance in New Orleans. If the Saints don't reach the playoffs, he's likely not getting a fourth season.
2. Nick Sirianni (Philadelphia Eagles)
There was a case to be made for Nick Sirianni to be fired last season, even after all the success he's had in his three seasons coaching the Eagles. The Eagles had one of the biggest collapses in the organization's 91 seasons, becoming the first team to start 10-1 and lose six of their final seven games since the 1986 New York Jets. They were the first team in NFL history to start 10-1 and lose a playoff game, culminated with a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
Philadelphia had a two-game lead in the NFC East and led the conference by two games. The Eagles also had the best record in the NFL by two games. Philadelphia lost the NFC East by a game to the Dallas Cowboys and the conference by a game to the San Francisco 49ers, being outscored 214-132 (-82 point differential) during the skid.
The Eagles fired both coordinators last season and shedded Sirianni's offense. Kellen Moore -- and his system -- are in for the offense while Vic Fangio was hired as defensive coordinator. Sirianni is still the coach, but has a CEO-type role instead of constantly being in the quarterback room and being hands-on with the offense.
Are the Eagles over last season's collapse? This team added Saquon Barkley at running back and Jahan Dotson at wide receiver this offseason, while signing wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to long-term extensions. This is talented group for franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts to work with.
The Eagles can't afford a slow start to 2024, or the city will be questioning Sirianni's future. Getting to the playoffs won't be good enough either, as Sirianni has to win at least a playoff game to feel safe about coaching the Eagles in 2025. There's immense pressure for Sirainni to win -- and to win big.
1. Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys)
Being coach of the Cowboys is one of the hardest jobs in sports. The franchise is starved for a Super Bowl title (haven't won one since the 1995 season) and haven't been past the divisional round of the playoffs since that season. McCarthy has done a lot of winning, but has failed miserably in the postseason.
The Cowboys do have 36 wins over the last three seasons, which are the most regular-season victories for any team in a three-year span without a conference championship appearance. McCarthy is one of eight active coaches with a Super Bowl title and has just four losing seasons in his 16-year career. McCarthy also has 11 10-win seasons, including a 12-5 record last year -- the first time the Cowboys finished with three straight 12+ win seasons since 1993-1995.
The playoff record is futile, as the Cowboys are just 1-3 in the postseason under McCarthy. Somehow McCarthy kept his job after the Cowboys became the first No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 7 seed in the expanded playoff era, getting blown out by the Green Bay Packers at home. Dallas has reached the divisional round just once in the McCarthy era (four seasons).
Dallas didn't do much this offseason to improve the roster, not signing Dak Prescott to an extension and the highlight move bringing back Ezekiel Elliott. CeeDee Lamb is signed, so the Cowboys have the core of their offense back. McCarthy gets the most out of Prescott, but can Dallas win in January -- especially with an overall roster that's worse than last year?
McCarthy will be judged in January. Losing the first playoff game -- or making the divisional round -- won't cut it this time.
