NFL coaching hot seat rankings: When will Dolphins' Mike McDaniel lose his job?

Two weeks into the NFL season brings a lot of optimism, and a lot of panic. For every team that starts 2-0, there are teams that start 0-2 and appear to have their season go off the rails. Some are more obvious than others. 

The teams that already appear to have their season going by the wayside have one thing in common, their head coach was fighting for job security before the season even began. For these franchises that already have their coaching staff heading out the door, it's hard to have success with all the pressure unraveling. Once the season goes south, the chatter of employment gets louder and louder. 

For the coaches on the hot seat, it doesn't get any easier. With all the coaching turnover in the NFL every season, it's fair to ponder which coaches won't be able to finish the 2025 campaign -- or last past this year. So which coaches are on the proverbial hot seat through two weeks in 2025, and is there anything they can do to save their job?

The sinking ships will be under the spotlight, but there are other teams where the ship could hit the iceberg at any point. These are the coaches that are under the microscope in the initial hot seat rankings for 2025. 

1. Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins)

• Career record: 28-25 (fourth season)
• Win percentage: .528

The Dolphins' season already appears to be over after two games, as Miami is off to an 0-2 start after a blowout loss to the Colts and a close defeat at the hands of the Patriots. The players on the Dolphins had a players-only meeting after Week 1!

McDaniel's act just seems to be wearing thin in Miami heading into his fourth season. He's 8-11 over his last two seasons and has yet to win a playoff game in his four seasons in Miami. Injuries to Tua Tagovailoa have hurt his progression as a quarterback, and the Dolphins' star players appear to be fed up with how things are going above them.

The road doesn't get any easier for the Dolphins with the Bills in Week 3, which is the definition of a must-win game. Doesn't seem McDaniel will survive the season, but when will he be let go?

2. Brian Daboll (New York Giants)

• Career record: 18-34-1 (fourth season)
• Win percentage: .349

Every year Daboll sits on the hot seat, a sign of how poor the Giants franchise is and how hard it is for New York to win games. The Ginats played hard in an overtime loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, but are sitting at 0-2 for the second straight season. 

The talent just isn't there on the offensive side of the ball in New York, and the offensive line is a mess without Andrew Thomas. The Giants front office drafted Jaxson Dart in the first round, but Russell Wilson bought himself another week with his strong game against the Cowboys. The schedule is brutal, so winning games will continue to be a challenge. 

The Giants are in a midst of a rebuild, and Daboll may be able to survive it because general manager Joe Schoen is still around. Hard to defend a coach that is 9-27 over the last three seasons, even if the Giants will eventually turn to Dart at some point. 

3. Brian Callahan (Tennessee Titans)

• Career record: 3-16 (second season)
• Win percentage: .158

Is it fair for Callahan to be on the hot seat after only coaching 18 games? Coaches have been fired sooner than that over the years, especially if the franchise doesn't seem to be making any progress. The Titans have played hard over their first two games, losing to the Broncos and Rams, and the talent deficiency is clearly evident. 

Cameron Ward is a rookie quarterback learning on the fly, and Callahan is going to get ample time with the No. 1 overall pick. The question that persists: Is Callahan a good enough coach?

The Titans don't know how to win, and that falls on coaching. Callahan has been under the microscope for his play calling and inability to challenge a catch that seemed obvious in Week 1, and the Titans offense was too far out of sync throughout Week 2. 

The Titans aren't good, but Callahan may not be a good coach either. Tennessee needs to start winning games. 

4. Dave Canales (Carolina Panthers)

• Career record: 5-14 (second season)
• Win percentage: .263

The Panthers aren't exactly the most stable franchise, but Canales was brought in to develop their investment two years ago -- former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. Through six quarters, the hot seat was certainly on fire with Canales -- as Young was struggling with his progressions and completing passes. 

The fourth quarter in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals was promising, but Young is 29th out of 34 qualified quarterbacks in passer rating (74.4). Young is 29th amongst 34 qualified quarterbacks in completion percentage (58.9%) and has a 3.3% interception rate. The Panthers are 25th in offense in points per possession as well.

The Panthers have seemingly regressed after their strong finish from last seaosn, so there's still time to turn this around. If Young doesn't get better and this team continues to lose games in a poor NFC South, how long will a volatile ownership stomach losing and pull the plug on Canales as a result? 

5. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns)

• Career record: 40-46 (sixth season)
• Win percentage: .465

Stefanski is a good coach, and would easily be hired by another franchise if the Browns were to move on. Unfortunately, he's the head coach in a massive rebuild thanks to the front office's failures of the $230 million guaranteed contract they gave to DeShaun Watson. 

The only reason Stefanski makes this list is because the Browns are in the midst of a rebuild and the quarterback situation is one no head coach would want. Stefanski has a 40-year-old Joe Flacco and two rookies in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders backing him up at quarterback, making it hard to win for any head coach (even one that gets the most out of quarterbacks). 

The Browns' starting quarterback isn't on the roster yet. This is going to be a rough season for Stefanski, but will he survive the year and get to coach the next quarterback? A 3-16 record over the last two seasons is hard to sell, even after two playoff appearances -- and a playoff victory -- with the Browns of all franchises. 

Stefanski could be the surprise firing this season, even though he probably shouldn't be.