Multiple Coaches In NFL Playoffs Need To Win To Overcome Uncertainty About Their Job Status
The idea that a wild week of coach firings (and a hiring) is the end of the ride on the NFL coaching carousel is not necessarily correct.
Because there will be at least two teams in the playoffs that will evaluate their coaches after the postseason, with no guarantee that coach would return barring some postseason success.
And that could directly affect some of the big-name coaches currently on the market.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 16: Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy walks onto the field before the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 16, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Cowboys Mike McCarthy Has Been Good In Regular Season
Here are the scenarios:
The Dallas Cowboys are the No. 2 seed in the NFC and on Sunday host the Green Bay Packers in a wild card game. NFL sources have told OutKick that despite his great success in the regular season, coach Mike McCarthy needs some playoff success to solidify his status as the team's coach for 2024.
Put simply, McCarthy needs to win at least one playoff game and maybe more, to guarantee his job status. A loss against the Packers on Sunday will bring up the possibility owner Jerry Jones decides a change is necessary.
Jones said toward the end of the season, as the Cowboys were polishing off a 12-5 record for the third consecutive season, that McCarthy was his guy. The Cowboys won the NFC East, their second division title under McCarthy.
But Jones also said before the season his expectations are to win and advance deep into the playoffs. The Cowboys have failed to do that under McCarthy, losing in the wild card round in 2021 and in the divisional round in 2022 -- both losses to the San Francisco 49ers.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 16: Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones speaks on the ESPN set before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 16, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Jerry Jones Demanding Postseason Success
Luckily for the Cowboys, this year they would not meet the 49ers until the NFC Championship game, which would mean Dallas won two playoff games to get there.
McCarthy this week called his team's upcoming game against the Packers "an excellent opportunity" and added the team is "going to go get it."
But failing that, it's possible Jones sees the list of available veteran coaches on the market and deems one of them an upgrade.
The available vets:
Bill Belichick.
Pete Carroll.
Mike Vrabel.
Jim Harbaugh.
If the Cowboys lay an egg in either of the next two weeks, it would not surprise that Jones at least considers Belichick, Carroll or Vrabel. Whether one or more of those is a fit would have to be worked out.
Jim Harbaugh certainly has interesting taste when it comes to music. He had Michigan sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Watch the video. (Credit: Getty Images)
Jim Harbaugh Cooling On Chargers?
Harbaugh is more likely a fit with the Chargers, although NFL sources have told OutKick in recent days that apparent arranged marriage needs some work. The sides are meeting next week, with the Chargers eager to hear Harbaugh's plan for the franchise.
But multiple the sources have told OutKick that Harbaugh has not been as enthusiastic about going to the team he once played for as they earlier expected. The sources didn't know if Harbaugh was adopting a negotiating stance so he could be wooed (paid more) or if he is legitimately not as interested as expected.
Harbaugh is a candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders job as well, per sources. But interim coach Antonio Pierce is the choice of the locker room and almost a favorite to land that job.
The Cowboys aren't the only playoff team with an uncertain coaching situation. Think Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
TAMPA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 25: Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles and head coach Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers talk after their game at Raymond James Stadium on September 25, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. The Eagles defeated the Buccaneers by a score of 25-11. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
Todd Bowles And Nick Sirianni Need A Win
Both coaches, Nick Sirianni and Todd Bowles, need a win to help solidify their status for 2024.
And that may sound weird considering Bowles just won his second consecutive division title and Sirianni has posted a winning record in his three Eagles season and won the NFC title last season.
But Bowles was actually coaching for his job starting in December. His club was struggling with a 4-7 record and the situation seemed bleak for Bowles returning to the job a third season in 2024.
Then the Bucs won five of their final six games to win the NFC South for the second consecutive season and get into the playoffs.
So does that save Bowles? Probably.
But not definitively, per a league source.
The Bucs and Bowles were swept from the playoffs in the wild card round last season and a repeat this season would suggest that's the ceiling for a Bowles team. And that's something Bowles would have to overcome at his end-of-season evaluation meeting with ownership.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 31: Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni looks on during the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles on December 31, 2023 at Lincoln Financial Field. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Late-Season Issues Have Hurt Nick Sirianni
The Eagles, meanwhile, are a totally different matter in that Sirianni has been outstanding for most of his time with the club. But it's a what-have-you-done-lately league and lately the Eagles seem troubled.
There's been sideline manifestations with a staffer engaging an opposing team player and Eagles players arguing with each other. There's been a curious inability to overcome the departure of top assistants, leading to the demotion of defensive coordinator Sean Desai from his play-calling duties.
And there was the five losses the final six weeks of the season which dropped the Eagles from their perch having the best record in the league to a No. 5 seed in the NFC.
Sirianni has taken the high road on the suggestion he's in any trouble.
"I know I felt in that locker room that we've got a lot of belief in that locker room," he said this week. "We know everybody, there are a lot of teams that would want to be in our position of making the playoffs. We're in the playoffs, and we're moving onto Tampa Bay, and everything."