Week 7 of NFL action had more than a few coaches looking around wondering what happened.
While Sean McDermott and Dan Campbell are licking their wounds after surprise losses, others have to face reality that their seasons are going down the drain. And their seat is getting hot because of it.
Let's look at the NFL head coaches who are feeling the hot seat...
3. Matt LaFleur
Welcome to the hot seat Matt LaFleur!
The Packers had high hopes for the post-Aaron Rodgers world in Green Bay. And those hopes are quickly slipping into despair with a 2-4 record and a third-straight loss. Worse still, that loss came at the hands of one of the worst teams in the league.
The Broncos beat the Packers 19-17 on Sunday in the second-straight loss that Green Bay fans can't solely pin the blame on defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
Don't get me wrong, Barry isn't exactly a strength for the Packers, but they're losing games now because their offense doesn't have the juice. And the responsibility for the offense lies with LaFleur.
LaFleur won 13 games in each of his first three seasons as a head coach, so he's certainly not in danger of losing his job right now. But coming off an 8-9 campaign and now sitting 2-4 with Jordan Love at the helm, accusations about Aaron Rodgers carrying him look more valid.
His offense could not be starting slower with six total points in their last four first halves. He's not getting enough out of Love. He's not utilizing a talent like Aaron Jones, who had 11 touches while supposedly being 100 percent healthy.
2. Josh McDaniels
The Raiders are 3-4 right now, but let's be honest. They are dangerously close to being winless this season. When Josh McDaniels' squad loses 30-12 to the Bears, it's pretty damn clear that narrow wins over the hapless Broncos, bumbling Patriots and struggling Packers might have been flukes.
Neither the Bears or the Raiders had their starting quarterbacks available. Yet Las Vegas led Tyson Bagent — Tyson Bagent — smack them around for 30 points.
The Raiders couldn't run the ball with Josh Jacobs, who averaged 3.2 yards on 11 carries. Brian Hoyer threw two interceptions. Aiden O'Connell threw one. Davante Adams dropped a touchdown.
There's just nothing to like about this Raiders team. McDaniels doesn't have them playing good football, even when they win and especially when they lose.
McDaniels is only in Year 2, but he got ousted from the Broncos in 2010 in Year 2 with a 3-9 record. He's at 3-4 now with games against the Lions, Giants, Jets, Dolphins and Chiefs coming up. A winning record does not seem likely.
1. Ron Rivera
Ron Rivera's Commanders are 3-4 after seven weeks, which certainly isn't terrible given they were projected to win 6.5 games by oddsmakers this offseason.
But Rivera has also suffered two of the more embarrassing losses of the season by falling to the Bears and Giants.
The loss to Chicago was unbelievable and almost had Bears fans believing in offensive coordinator Luke Getsy until he reminded them that he's no good the next week.
The Commanders took the heat off a bit with a 24-16 win over the Falcons last week. Then they turned around and lost 14-7 to the lowly Giants.
NY is quarterbacked by Tyrod Taylor. They'd lost four games in a row coming into Sunday. And they needed just 14 points to drop Washington.
Rivera is 25-31-1 as the head coach of the Commanders. He's in his fourth year in charge and it doesn't feel like the team has gotten any better.
But before we go, let's look at a coach who has cooled his seat.
Bill Belichick cooled his hot seat
It was strange to hear murmurings about Bill Belichick's place in New England after the Patriots fell to 1-5 on the season last week. It's not that Belichick was in serious danger of being fired. But the mere implication that the head coach could or should be forced into retirement or ousted in any way was pretty wild.
This may have been the closest Belichick has been in his Patriots tenure to actually feeling the heat.
The bleeding isn't entirely stopped, but the Patriots' 29-25 win over the Bills definitely should cool the chatter around Belichick.
He's still an all-time head coach. He just logged his 300th regular-season victory. And before that win, someone leaked to insiders that Belichick "quietly" signed an extension before the season. His safety couldn't be more clear.
If anything, this season has created a strong argument for Belichick to release some control as far as roster management is concerned. But the fact is he's still one of the best coaches in the business and still capable of winning any game in front of him.
