National Sports

Packers’ LaFleur termed to be on a ‘warm’ seat

The heat is on several NFL coaches -- and it has nothing to do with the soon-to-be steamy dog days of training camp.

The regular season is still more than six weeks away, but some coaches already face questions about their job security.

For a few, such as the New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn, Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor, slow starts could make their seats pretty toasty early in make-or-break seasons. For some others, such as Green Bay’s Matt LaFleur and Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni, there’s not immediate pressure, but that could change if their squads don’t live up to lofty expectations and team owners ponder franchise-altering decisions.

Todd Bowles, Buccaneers

Through four seasons with Tampa Bay, Bowles is 35-33 in the regular season and has won three NFC South titles. But last season’s collapse, when the Buccaneers went 2-7 down the stretch to finish 8-9 and miss the playoffs, had some thinking Bowles’ days with the team were done.

Instead, the Bucs opted to stick with him. He’ll likely need double-digit wins, a rebound performance from quarterback Baker Mayfield under new coordinator Zac Robinson and some postseason success to stay around. The Bucs’ defense -- which Bowles calls himself -- also must improve.

Dave Canales, Panthers

Carolina made the playoffs for the first time since 2017, but did so at 8-9. The Panthers started 1-3 before three straight wins, then alternated losses and wins before dropping its last two and backing into the playoffs, where the Panthers lost in the wild-card round.

Canales is 13-21 in two seasons in Carolina, which hired him in large part to develop Bryce Young into a quarterback worthy of his No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 draft. But Young has been up and down. Canales handed off play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik and his job could depend on Young showing consistent progress.

Aaron Glenn, Jets

The former Pro Bowl cornerback returned to New York as a head coach to lead the Jets back to respectability. Instead, Glenn became the first in team history to lose his first seven games in his debut season with the team, which went 3-14.

Glenn overhauled his coaching staff and hired Frank Reich to run the offense and Brian Duker was brought in as the defensive coordinator, but Glenn will now make the play calls for a subpar defense that became the first to not get an interception for an entire season as the Jets missed the playoffs for the 15th straight season. New York traded for Geno Smith as a bridge to the team’s future QB.

Matt LaFleur, Packers

Wait, how’s he on this list? LaFleur has made the playoffs six times in seven seasons, is 76-40-1 in the regular season and got a multiyear contract extension in January.

But he has only one playoff win since 2021 and his 3-6 record in the postseason has some Packers fans getting restless. A four-game losing streak to end the regular season and a first-round playoff exit at Chicago -- during which Green Bay blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter -- didn’t help.

With the Packers expected to again be playoff contenders with quarterback Jordan Love leading the way, LaFleur’s job status likely won’t be an issue until January. Things could go from lukewarm to sizzling, though, if Green Bay doesn’t win at least one postseason game.

Nick Sirianni, Eagles

Similar to LaFleur, Sirianni’s job would seem to be in no immediate danger. He has a Super Bowl victory, two NFC championship wins, three NFC East titles and a 59-26 regular-season record in five years.

There was major disappointment last season, though, after the Eagles lost at home to San Francisco in the wild-card round. A bounce-back performance, including a solid postseason run, is expected, even without A.J. Brown as Jalen Hurts’ go-to receiver in new coordinator Sean Mannion’s offense.

Sirianni was on the hot seat entering the 2024 season after the Eagles started 10-2, faded down the stretch and got blown out by Tampa Bay in the wild-card round. He followed that by leading Philadelphia to a Super Bowl victory.

Shane Steichen, Colts

Steichen was mentioned as a potential AP Coach of the Year as the Colts got off to an 8-2 start. Then, QB Daniel Jones was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon and Indianapolis lost its last seven -- even after bringing Philip Rivers out of retirement -- to miss the playoffs.

Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon was encouraged by the team’s strong first half, though, and decided to keep the coach in place. Steichen is 25-26 in his three seasons with the Colts.

Zac Taylor, Bengals

The Bengals have been notoriously slow starters under Taylor, but opened last season 2-0 and appeared to put that narrative to rest. A turf toe injury sidelined QB Joe Burrow for nine games and Cincinnati crawled to a 6-11 finish and a third straight time missing the playoffs.

A healthy Burrow is paramount to the success of the Bengals, whose Super Bowl trip in the 2021 season is becoming distant. A revamped defense, including acquiring defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, should help.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl