After two weeks of the 2020 NFL season, we’re already hearing talk of head coaches being on the hot seat with their respective teams. Although there’s certainly plenty of time for these coaches to turn things around, every upcoming loss will only make the seat even hotter until they’re fired.
NFL betting sites have released odds on which coaches they believe could get fired first. Let’s huddle up to examine these odds and kick the game winning field goal with our predictions.
NFL Prop Betting Odds
The following football betting odds are courtesy of Bovada:
- Adam Gase – Jets (+150)
- Dan Quinn – Falcons (+200)
- Matt Patricia – Lions (+600)
- Doug Marrone – Jaguars (+700)
- Mike Zimmer – Vikings (+700)
- Anthony Lynn – Chargers (+900)
- Bill O’Brien – Texans (+900)
- Vic Fangio – Broncos (+1400)
- Kevin Stefanski – Browns (+2500)
- Matt Nagy – Bears (+2500)
- Frank Reich – Colts (+3300)
Adam Gase – Jets (+150)
After Week 1 of the NFL season, Adam Gase was listed as the odds on favorite to be fired first. Things didn’t get better for the Jets head coach as he’s still the betting favorite as his odds went from +325 to +150.
“I haven’t seen one damn bit of progress from the Jets since Adam Gase has been with this organization. … You basically turned LeVeon Bell into a scrub!”@damienwoody had time today 😳 pic.twitter.com/a3fFQjqFfU
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 17, 2020
The Jets have looked horrible in the first two weeks of the season. They were blown out by both the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers and appear to have very little to offer on offense.
With that said, I wonder how the front office thought it was OK not to bring in a #1 receiver after Robbie Anderson left for Carolina.
It’s as if the Jets thought RB Le’Veon Bell would be their savior on offense. He’s out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.
Bell’s injury is just one of a few that have limited this offense over the first two weeks. Yet, you can’t ignore that the team has only scored 6 points in the first half of their first two games.
Furthermore, they have very little in the secondary after trading Adams and no real shutdown corner. In fact, there’s not a lot of playmakers on this team whatsoever. You can blame GM Joe Douglas for this roster. In fact, Douglas should get fired before Gase or at least at the same time.
Douglas’ handling of free agency and the 2020 NFL Draft has been atrocious. He’s just as much of an issue for the Jets going forward as Adam Gase is.
Dan Quinn – Falcons (+200)
Dan Quinn’s odds of being the first head coach fired dramatically shifted from +600 after Week 1 to +200 after Week 2. Yet, of all the coaches on this list, Quinn is the one hearing the most buzz about being fired heading into Week 3 of the season.
Atlanta came out on the wrong end of a shootout against the Seahawks in Week 1, which isn’t anything to be angry about. Seattle appears to be a legitimate contender to win the NFC West.
Nonetheless, it’s the loss to the Cowboys in Week 2 that have fans in an uproar and critics calling for Quinn’s firing.
Atlanta was up 39-24 against Dallas with eight minutes left to play. They ended up losing 40 to 39 and it looks like the team could be heading for a 0-16 record with that defense.
I’m not sure why people are surprised that the Falcons lost to Dallas and Seattle. I stated in my NFC South preview that Atlanta was going to have a horrible defense and finish around 6-10. I even predicted that they would start the season 1-3 or 0-4. Well, they’re right on cue for that prediction.
Atlanta has given up 78 points and over 950 total yards. Fortunately, they will play the Bears in Week 3, which could be a win. That will give Quinn a reprieve for a week. However, I expect them to get blown out by the Packers in Week 4 and the talk of Quinn getting fired will heat up again.
Let’s not forget that the Falcons have started 0-2 the last two seasons to go on and finish 7-9 both years. Unfortunately, even if they do that again this season, Quinn will get fired. Only a Playoff appearance will keep Quinn in Atlanta.
Matt Patricia – Lions (+600)
Matt Patricia was brought in to help turn this franchise around. Unfortunately, he just keeps on losing like his predecessors. The Lions are one of the worst franchises in the NFL and they just can’t seem to make the Playoffs no matter how much talent is on the roster.
So far, the Lions were blown out by the Packers in Week 2 and gave up 21 points in the 4th quarter against the Bears to lose in Week 1.
I see the Lions finishing at the bottom of the NFC North division and once again miss the postseason. Matt Patricia is going to get axed, the only question is whether it will be during the regular season or right after Week 17 has concluded.
Doug Marrone – Jaguars (+700)
Prior to the opening weekend, I predicted that Doug Marrone would end up being fired at the end of the 2020 regular season. After watching how the Jaguars played in the first two weeks of the season, there’s no way he should be this high on the list.
DOUBT GARDNER MINSHEW AT YOUR OWN RISK
pic.twitter.com/O4DxRfuxCq— PFF (@PFF) September 20, 2020
Jacksonville is a turnover away from being 2-0 on the year. They upset the Colts in Week 1 and lost 33-30 to the Titans in Week 2.
They’ve played well above all expectations and should win their Week 3 matchup against the Dolphins. With each win, Marrone should fall further down this list and talks of his firing should be squelched.
Mike Zimmer – Vikings (+700)
The Vikings have been an embarrassment over the first two weeks as their offense can’t seem to play consistent and their defense looks like the worst in the league. During my NFC North division betting preview, I mentioned how I though the Vikings suffered too many losses to be a good team this year.
Well, after two weeks, Minnesota has made me look like a genius. However, I don’t see this team continuing their trend of terrible football for too much longer.
Keep in mind, they played the Packers and Colts in the first two weeks. Both of those teams are widely considered to be Playoff teams this year. Minnesota will have some easier games in the next few weeks with the Texans and Falcons coming up.
Zimmer has done a lot for this franchise and I don’t see him getting fired. Even if the team finishes with a losing record, I believe he will survive and be given one more season to turn things around.
Yet, oddsmakers feel differently. Zimmer’s odds saw the biggest movement of all the listed coaches from +3300 to +700.
With that in mind, I still believe that there’s no way the Vikings make Zimmer the first head coach fired.
Anthony Lynn – Chargers (+900)
In the offseason, the Chargers made it clear that they were retooling their roster as they let both starting RB Melvin Gordon and franchise QB Philip Rivers leave via free agency.
The Chargers then drafted Justin Herbert with their 1st round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft signaling that the team was looking to build for the future. Although they turned to backup QB Tyrod Taylor to be the starting QB, most pundits believed that this team would finish with a losing record.
If Tyrod Taylor starts Week 3 we riot. #BoltUp https://t.co/bkbDfOo77t
— Bolt Beat (@BB_Chargers) September 21, 2020
After two weeks, the Chargers are 1-1 and could’ve been 2-0 but they lost to the defending Super Bowl Champs the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in OT.
There’s no way Anthony Lynn ends up being fired first despite his odds shifting from +2500 after Week 1 to +900 after Week 2.
In fact, I don’t see the coach getting fired at all. This team plays hard for him and he’s well respected by all of the other NFL franchises. Lynn is extremely overvalued for this prop bet. I expect him to be around for at least the 2021 season especially with Herbert on the horizon.
Bill O’Brien – Texans (+900)
For the first quarter of their Week 1 game, Bill O’Brien looked smart in trading QR De’Andre Hopkins to the Cardinals for RB David Johnson. Yet, over the next seven quarters, O’Brien has looked like he’s in for an ugly 2020 season.
As I stated in my AFC South betting preview, Houston would finish with a losing record and possibly start off the season at 1-5. So far, they’re 0-2 with games against the Steelers, Vikings, Jaguars and Titans coming up over the next four weeks.
I believe O’Brien offers decent betting value for this prop bet as he’s been maligned by the media and fans over the last few years. Houston has considered to fall well below expectations despite the talent on this roster.
If the Texans go 1-5 to start the season, O’Brien could get canned. This franchise deserves better than his inconsistent decision making. He’s a strong offensive coordinator and a good college head coach.
But, he’s been a letdown in the NFL and I don’t see O’Brien surviving 2020 as the Houston Texans head football coach or GM. On a side note, I still can’t understand how the top brass doubled down on O’Brien by making him the general manager also.
Vic Fangio – Broncos (+1400)
The Broncos were one of a handful of teams that suffered significant injuries in Week 2. They lost franchise QB Drew Lock for up to a month with a shoulder injury and lost their #1 receiver Sutton to a torn ACL.
These injuries are on top of losing star linebacker Von Miller prior to the start of the season as he will miss the entire year.
No matter how bad things get in 2020, I expect Fangio to keep his job based on the fact that the team has suffered significant losses and will have to turn to rookies to fill in the void.
Kevin Stefanski – Browns (+2500)
Kevin Stefanski just took over the Cleveland Browns head coaching job this season and the offense looks much better than the previous years. The issue isn’t with Stefanski, but with QB Baker Mayfield instead.
Mayfield has been erratic at times and when he’s not on point, the Browns lose. They have plenty of talent to support the franchise QB, but his inconsistency will hold this team back in 2020.
With that said, I still don’t see Stefanski being fired this season even if the Browns finish with a losing record. If anything, Mayfield’s time as the franchise QB would be coming to an end and not Stefanski’s coaching tenure.
Matt Nagy – Bears (+2500)
The Chicago Bears have been utterly disappointing with Trubisky as QB. The team fell well below all expectations last year and missed the playoffs. This year, they brought in Nick Foles to compete for the starting QB spot, but Trubisky still won the job.
Despite two inconsistent performances in the 2020 season, Chicago is 2-0 on the season as they beat the Lions and the Giants.
They have another winnable game in Week 3 against the Falcons, but then their scheduled gets a little tougher afterwards.
Peyton Manning Calls Matt Nagy One Of The Top NFL Play Callers #Bears https://t.co/Emk2VJrQhM pic.twitter.com/cUWJp4jnVh
— Erik Lambert (@ErikLambert1) September 19, 2020
Nevertheless, if Nagy is to be fired, it won’t be until the end of the season and that will only happen if Chicago fails to make the Playoffs.
Frank Reich – Colts (+3300)
This is just silly. Frank Reich has helped turned the franchise around and is beloved by the players and fans. The Colts are 1-1 on the season, but the loss to Jacksonville in Week 1 wasn’t due to Reich.
Instead, it was QB Philip Rivers throwing two picks that let the Jags back into the game and allowed them to win.
Reich is safe and I still believe that this team will make the Playoffs this year.
Which NFL Head Coach Gets Fired First?
After looking over the coaches on this list, it’s a lot tougher than what individual team fan bases or National critics are shouting.
As bad as Adam Gase and the Jets have been, the expectations were quite low as they clearly had the worse roster in the AFC East. I just don’t see Gase being fired first.
Dan Quinn could easily get fired first as I don’t see Atlanta winning many games in the first month or two. However, I think he will outlast other coaches on this list.
One has to guess that none of these coaches will get fired until after Week 4. That’s a whole month of losing and disappointment before owners decide to throw in the towel.
With that said, I expect Atlanta and the Jets to win a game before then. Atlanta plays the Bears this week and the Jets play the wounded Broncos with a backup QB in Week 4.
I think this prop bet comes down to Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions and Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans. Patricia and the Lions could beat the Cardinals in Week 3 or they could end up 0-4 as they play the Saints in Week 4.
Yet, it’s Houston that should be worried the most. They could start off 0-6 or 1-5 depending on if they beat the Jaguars in Week 5. If the Texans lose to Jacksonville and end up 0-6, you can kiss Bill O’Brien the coach and the GM goodbye.
I’m taking O’Brien to get fired first. He should be fired just for the Hopkins trade alone. The franchise needs to save star QB Deshaun Watson from O’Brien’s inept coaching and decision making.
Which NFL Head Coach Gets Fired First?O’Brien (+900)
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …