5 NFL coaches on hot seat entering Week 5

The first month of the NFL season has a way of separating genuine problems from early-season noise. Four games are not enough to end a season, but they are enough to reveal whether a team is moving toward the standard it established in the offseason.

A considerable number of coaches entered 2026 with pressure already attached to their jobs. Some have watched their teams fall well short of expectations. Others are dealing with a more uncomfortable problem: the record may not look disastrous yet, but the football itself is becoming harder to defend.

Five coaches have the most compelling cases entering Week 5, although the severity of their situations varies considerably.

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Jim Harbaugh has taken Chargers into completely unfamiliar territory

The Los Angeles Chargers entered the season expecting another playoff run under Jim Harbaugh. Instead, the Chargers are 0-4 for the first time since 2017 after Sunday’s 30-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and the manner of the defeat made the record even more alarming.

The Chargers fell behind 20-6 at halftime after Justin Herbert threw two interceptions and completed only five of 15 passes for 36 yards. They rallied to within seven in the fourth quarter, but Herbert’s strip-sack on the final possession ended the comeback. Los Angeles also committed 16 penalties, while Herbert absorbed four sacks and nine hits.

There are legitimate injury excuses, particularly with Derwin James Jr., Ladd McConkey and both starting tackles dealing with injuries. But the Chargers were supposed to be beyond the point where every setback required an explanation. Harbaugh has taken Los Angeles to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons. A third-year team expected to contend cannot suddenly look like one of the league’s worst without the head coach eventually owning a large part of it.

The next problem is the schedule. The Denver Broncos come to SoFi Stadium in Week 5. Another loss would put Harbaugh at 0-5, a position that would make the Chargers’ brand of football almost impossible to defend.

Todd Bowles, Buccaneers keep finding new ways to lose

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not been blown out into oblivion. That might actually make Todd Bowles’ situation more uncomfortable.

Tampa Bay lost 17-14 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday to fall to 0-4, marking the franchise’s first winless start through four games since 2013. It was also the fourth consecutive defeat by seven points or fewer. The Bucs had a chance to tie or take the lead late, but an immediate pressure on rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels helped end the final drive.

Close losses are excusable only until they stop being close calls and start becoming a pattern. The Buccaneers have also lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and each defeat has added another reason to question whether this team can finish games. Bowles himself admitted that the record is what it is and that the team has to correct its mistakes.

Tampa Bay had established a much higher standard over the previous six seasons, including four NFC South titles and a Super Bowl championship. The division is not exactly a juggernaut, either. An 0-4 start in this environment is not merely disappointing. It has already put the season on the edge of irrelevance.

Nick Sirianni’s decision-making becoming increasingly difficult to ignore

The Philadelphia Eagles’ situation is more complicated because Nick Sirianni has already accomplished what most coaches never do. He won a Super Bowl and helped the Eagles become the first team since 2004 to win consecutive NFC East titles.

That résumé should provide significant protection. It does not, however, excuse the way the Eagles have played over the last two weeks.

Philadelphia is 2-2 after Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, its second consecutive defeat. The Eagles led 20-10 entering the fourth quarter and had the ball deep in Los Angeles territory before Sirianni elected to go for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line rather than take three points.

The bigger concern is that there’s an even broader offensive problem. The Eagles  went 0-for-12 on third down, failed to score in the fourth quarter and watched a game they controlled disappear. Injuries have ravaged the offense, which matters. But Sirianni’s decisions are now becoming more questionable week in, week out. 

A coach who delivered a championship just two seasons ago deserves some patience. However, he does not deserve immunity.

MORE:Saquon Barkley update: Latest news after Eagles RB exits game with injury

Zac Taylor running out of time to turn Bengals’ talent into contenders

There is a reasonable argument that Zac Taylor should not be near a firing discussion after four games. There is an equally reasonable argument that the Bengals have reached the point where patience needs to produce something.

Cincinnati fell to 2-2 with a 22-17 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday. Joe Burrow threw for 428 yards and a touchdown but also had two interceptions, while the Bengals produced only 23 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Ja’Marr Chase left with a concussion and Tee Higgins later exited with an adductor injury, leaving Burrow to manufacture a late comeback with a depleted receiving corps.

While the injuries are significant, the larger problem predates Sunday. Cincinnati has now lost consecutive games after opening the season 2-0. That is not the trajectory expected from a roster built around Burrow, Chase, and a defensive unit the franchise invested heavily on during the offseason.

Mike Brown retained Taylor after a 6-11 season and three straight years without a playoff appearance, and he has made it clear that he still believes in the group. But Cincinnati cannot keep treating its enormous offensive talent as proof that success is coming eventually. At some point, the coach has to turn the talent into results.

Mike McCarthy still struggling to establish his Steelers identity

Mike McCarthy inherited a Steelers team with an entirely different level of expectation. Aaron Rodgers’ arrival created an obvious win-now element, and Pittsburgh entered the season expecting to compete for the AFC North rather than simply survive its first year after Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers are 2-2 after losing 27-24 to Cleveland on Thursday night. They opened brilliantly with a 17-play touchdown drive, then watched Cleveland score 21 points over the final 12:15 of the first half. Pittsburgh eventually fought back from a 21-7 deficit to tie the game at 24, only for Andre Szmyt to win it with a 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining.

McCarthy’s biggest concern is the inconsistency. The Steelers can look organized for a quarter, disappear for another, then suddenly find enough offense to make the game interesting again. Rodgers threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns but was also intercepted twice and sacked five times.

Still, Pittsburgh’s organizational culture matters. This is a franchise that has historically given its coaches extraordinary patience, and McCarthy is only four games into his tenure. The seat is nowhere near the level of Harbaugh’s or Bowles’. The concern is whether Pittsburgh can establish an identity before the Rodgers window closes.

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