NFL hot seat: Week 4

A quarter of the NFL season has passed, and many players and coaches have been massively underwhelming. Below, our staff lists the top candidates in the hot seat.

Jon’s Pick: Nick Sirianni (HC), Philadelphia Eagles

After Sirianni’s disastrous introductory press conference with the Eagles in 2021, many had questions if he was fit to lead an NFL team.

Sirianni quickly silenced the doubters, leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance two years later. However, the Eagles have been a mess since then, and the critics are back and louder than ever.

Last season, the Eagles looked like they may be heading back to the big game for a second year in a row after a blistering 10-1 start, but what came next can only be described as a complete and utter collapse.

The Eagles lost six of their last seven games, the last a 32-9 beatdown by the Buccaneers in the NFC Wildcard round. They are also off to a rocky start this season, sitting at 2-2.

While their record isn’t that bad, it’s how they lost the games that matters. In Week 2, Sirianni mismanaged the game towards the end of the fourth quarter, throwing the ball incomplete as opposed to running it to keep the clock moving. This gave the Falcons enough time to score a touchdown and win the game 22-21.

Their latest loss came against the Bucs, another blowout by the score of 33-16. At one point in the game, the Bucs were outgaining the Eagles 255 yards to zero.

Sirianni’s performance has been unacceptable, and he seems to be coaching for his job next week.

Owen’s Pick: Mike McDaniel (HC), Miami Dolphins

Without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered his third career concussion on September 12, McDaniel has the Dolphins tied for last in the AFC East with the New England Patriots, whom they will play on Sunday.

Miami’s talented skill players give the team a reason to still be competitive, but McDaniel hasn’t gotten them the ball, as Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have combined for just 18 touches and 144 total yards over their last two games.

For reference, fullback Alec Ingold caught three passes against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3, the same number Hill had in that game.

Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle and Tyler Huntley, the quarterbacks who have replaced Tagovailoa, have led the offense to just one touchdown in its last 10 quarters of play.

Seeing what other coaches like Kevin O’Connell, Matt LaFleur and Shane Steichen have done with lesser quarterbacks to keep their teams’ season afloat and thrive in some of them, McDaniel’s ship is sinking quickly.

On defense, the losses of Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis on the defensive line in free agency loomed large against the Tennessee Titans on Monday, as they allowed 142 rushing yards.

If Tagovailoa doesn’t return this season, McDaniel will likely lose his locker room mainly due to his inability to create an efficient offense without his highly-paid quarterback.

Bronwyn’s Pick: Zac Taylor (HC), Cincinnati Bengals

Taylor has been the head coach of the Bengals since 2019. There were high hopes for the team with the introduction of quarterback Joe Burrow the following year after Taylor took charge.

Those hopes then became realities as Taylor led the team to a Super Bowl appearance back in 2022 for the first time in over thirty years. However, since then all the team has had is nightmares.

Zac Taylor can chalk up last season to playing without the Bengals headline quarterback. So lots can be forgiven for missing the postseason with Browning as his starting quarterback.

However, this does not excuse the team's poor start to the 2024 season. The team is off to a 1-3 start on the year with notable losses including falling to the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots placing them at the bottom of the AFC North.

Things won’t be getting easier anytime soon either, as the team welcomes the Ravens into Cincinnati this weekend for an evening game.

Having as much talent as the roster holds, and just constantly not being able to get the job done in a game or season will not pan out well long-term for Taylor as he will really need to flip this season around and get the team back into playoff contention if he wants to escape this NFL hot seat.

Ethan’s Pick: Trevor Lawrence (QB), Jacksonville Jaguars

After the 24-20 loss against the Texans this past Sunday, Lawrence’s Jaguars are now 0-4, owning the worst record in the NFL and being the only remaining winless team.

Lawrence had high hopes coming into the season, signing a five-year, $275 million contract extension. This is tied for the second-largest contract in the league. However, he has not performed up to this level of play since the signing.

Lawrence currently has the longest active losing streak by an NFL quarterback, losing his last nine games. His last win was on Dec. 4 back in 2023 against the Texans. Despite having an 8-3 record after this victory, the Jaguars would only pick up one more win on the season, during a game that Lawrence did not play in, and finish the year 9-8, missing out on the playoffs.

This year, Lawrence has a career-worst 53.3% completion percentage. He is only ranked higher than Anthony Richardson of the Colts in this category.

This is a lower completion percentage than he had in his rookie year when the Jaguars finished 3-14 under head coach Urban Meyer.

Lawrence is also currently ranked in the bottom ten in the NFL in total passing yards, yards per game, and quarterback rating.

If Lawrence doesn’t end up improving his play by the latter end of this season, the Jaguars may even bench him and look for backup QB Mac Jones to bring a spark to the team.

Jonathan Hartley is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jdh6293@psu.edu.

Owen Klein is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ojk5092@psu.edu.

Bronwyn Liber is a second-year student majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact her, email brl5354@psu.edu

Ethan Brinser is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ejb6463@psu.edu