NFL coaching hot seat rankings: Is this it for Brian Daboll? What did a win do for Mike McDaniel?

The NFL's 2025 season has just about reached its halfway point, and the dynamic is changing for all 32 teams. As the trade deadline approaches, the league discovers who the buyers and sellers -- and therefore contenders and pretenders -- are. Some sellers are in the midst of rebuilds or about to make coaching changes.

Their seasons are lost with plans in motion for 2026, but who will be leading them after this year? One has already been fired, as the Tennessee Titans already moved on from Brian Callahan. So, who will be the next one to go?

This past week, teams dealing with questionable coaching futures had gut-checking wins. The New York Jets rallied to give Aaron Glenn his first win and the Miami Dolphins had a stunning blowout of the Atlanta Falcons a week after Mike McDaniel appeared to have lost the team.

McDaniel and Glenn are on the hot seat, but are their futures a little brighter after wins? Which coaches are on the proverbial hot seat through eight weeks in 2025? Can they salvage their futures with a strong second half?

1. Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins)

• 2025 record: 2-6
• Career record: 30-29 (.508 win percentage)
• Previous ranking: 1

The Dolphins won a game that they desperately needed Sunday, even with the odds against them. That came despite what was a disastrous week for Miami with Tua Tagovailoa's's comments of not being able to see the offensive and defensive linemen in front of him, which came one week after Tagovailoa called out his players publicly about being late to players-only meetings -- a story in and of itself.

McDaniel downplayed both comments, defending his franchise quarterback. The Dolphins were coming off a 25-point loss to the Browns, of all teams, and they managed to play their best game of the season against the Falcons. Miami blew Atlanta out in a win that the Dolphins needed to prove that their coach didn't lose the locker room.

So, is McDaniel off the hot seat? Not even close with home games against the Ravens and Bills coming up. The Dolphins remain in Miami and play Washington before their bye week. If Miami goes 0-3 in this stretch, that could be the end for McDaniel.

2. Brian Daboll (New York Giants)

• 2025 record: 2-6
• Career record: 20-38-1 (.347 win percentage)
• Previous ranking: 5

Can Jaxson Dart even save Daboll's job at this rate? The Giants have struggled since their shocking win over the Eagles in Week 6, blowing an 18-point lead at the Broncos with six minutes left -- then getting blown out by the Eagles just 17 days after they defeated Philadelphia.

Season-ending injuries to Malik Nabers and Cam Skattebo have demoralized the Giants' offense, even with Dart playing well. Daboll would be safe, but it's inexcusable to a have a fourth-quarter collapse like the one that the Giants had in Denver followed by the way that Daboll acted with his team getting jobbed by the "tush push" fumble and offensive pass interference call that wasn't. Both actions clearly affected the Giants in the blowout loss, and they showed that Daboll is fighting for his job every week.

Daboll won't be gone until after the season, but the Giants need a culture change. Time to move on. 

3. Aaron Glenn (New York Jets)

• 2025 record: 1-7
• Career record: 1-7 (.125 win percentage)
• Previous ranking: 2

If there was a coach and team that needed a win in Week 8, it was Glenn and the Jets. On a weekend where Nick Mangold tragically died, the Jets played behind the spirt of a franchise icon with a comeback victory at the Bengals for their season-first win.

The Jets benched Justin Fields earlier in the week, only to be thrust into action when Tyrod Taylor was ruled out. Field threw two touchdowns while Breece Hall adding two rushing scores and the game-winning pass with 1:54 left to cap the 14-point fourth-quarter comeback. This was an emotional victory for the Jets on the road, and a game that few outside of the locker room expected them to win.

The Jets do play hard for Glenn and are trying to change the culture under him, which may take more than a horrible 2025 season to fix. Is Glenn the right guy for this job or will his midweek and on-field decisions eventually doom him in Year 1?

Even for a 1-7 team, facing the Browns after the bye week is a must-win game for Glenn.

4. Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals)

• 2025 record: 3-5
• Career record: 49-57-1 (.463 win percentage)
• Previous ranking: N/A

As emotional as that win was for the Jets, it was embarrassing for the Bengals, who were in position to return to the AFC North race. All the Bengals had to do was beat the winless Jets, a team that they held a 14-point led over in the fourth quarter, to get within a game in the loss column of the Steelers in the division, but Cincinnati couldn't.

This loss is on Taylor, who has gotten the spark that he needed from Joe Flacco, and couldn't put the game away as the Bengals ran nine plays for a total of 14 yards the rest of the way. Taylor said that he wants to see accountability from the leaders on the team, yet the biggest one is the coach, who is 5-33-1 in his career without Burrow (.141 win percentage). The Bengals just can't win when Burrow is out.

Defense be damned, Taylor is the constant. Cincinnati had to beat New York in an AFC North that's there for the taking. The Bengals couldn't do it. This week against the Bears is a must-win game with the Steelers coming after the bye week.

5. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns)

• 2025 record: 2-6
• Career record: 42-50 (.457 win percentage)
• Previous ranking: 3

Things aren't getting any better for Stefanski in Cleveland after the Browns got blown out by the Patriots despite Myles Garrett finishing with five sacks. If the Browns further their rebuild by trading Garrett, would Stefanski win another game the rest of the season?

Dillon Gabriel has struggled, but Stefanski said that he's not contemplating a quarterback change to Shedeur Sanders. The Browns have young talent but lack a quarterback who's good enough to win NFL games. Again, the failures of the front office will be at Stefanski's expense.

There are winnable games on the Browns' schedule with the Jets (after the bye week), Raiders (Week 12) and Titans (Week 14) looming. Stefanski is a good coach, and the Browns have a good defense, so they can certainly win those games (and probably will be expected to).

Let's see if the Browns' locker room doesn't check out over these next five weeks, which may be the telltale sign if Stefanski survives past this season.