Matt LaFleur joins Todd Bowles and Shane Steichen on the early-season hot seat for NFL coaches

Move over, Todd Bowles and Shane Steichen. Make room for Matt LaFleur on the NFL’s hot seat.

The Green Bay Packers are off to a 1-2 start following a lackluster performance in a 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night in their home opener at Lambeau Field.

“It’s three games in. We’re nowhere where we need to be but there’s a lot of ball left in front of us,” LaFleur said. “It was a butt-whipping.”

Since losing Micah Parsons to a torn ACL last December, the Packers are 1-7. The only victory came last week against the New York Jets, who helped give the game away.

LaFleur’s offense has struggled without running back Josh Jacobs, who is on the commissioner’s exempt list and isn't allowed to play. Jordan Love has been inconsistent behind a poor offensive line.

On defense, the Packers made Michael Penix Jr. look like prime Michael Vick in his first game back from a torn ACL. Penix was 18 of 25 for 256 yards with one touchdown and one interception and a 101.4 passer rating. They couldn’t stop Bijan Robinson, but that’s typical. Most teams can’t. Robinson had 194 yards rushing and two TDs.

LaFleur began his coaching career with three straight 13-win seasons. But his tenure has been marked by playoff failures. LaFleur’s first two seasons ended with home losses in the NFC championship game and then a home loss in the divisional round. Over the next four seasons, the Packers had double-digit wins once and went 1-3 in the playoffs.

Now, the Packers have opened the season with two losses in three games and have a tough road ahead in the NFC North.

Winning seasons and playoff appearances are expected in Green Bay. Nothing less than another Lombardi Trophy is considered a success. That means LaFleur, despite his regular-season success, hasn’t delivered.

In Tampa Bay, Bowles has been heavily criticized since the Buccaneers went 2-7 to end last season after a 6-2 start. There was surprise that management didn’t make a coaching change but Bowles signed a three-year contract extension before the 2025 season. The Bucs have opened with consecutive losses, including a 23-19 loss to the Browns last Sunday that increased the heat on Bowles.

He is 35-35 in four-plus seasons, His three division titles in a weak NFC South have resulted in a 1-3 record in the playoffs.

“I think if you lose the first two games of the year, that doesn’t determine the other 15 games,” Bowles said. “Right now, we’re 0-2 — we’re not 0-9 or 0-11. That doesn’t bother me as much from that standpoint. We’ve just got to get better and win a ballgame.”

The Buccaneers host the Minnesota Vikings (2-0) on Sunday.

“I think (there is) always pressure until you get your first win out (of) the way,” Bowles said. “You try to get it out the way at the beginning of the season so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. It’s not a different kind of pressure, so to speak. It’s probably a different kind of urgency — not that you’re not playing urgent already — but you just want to get that first win on the board.”

Steichen entered the season with a directive from Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, who made it clear the coach had to turn things around after Indianapolis lost seven straight games to end up 8-9 in 2025. The Colts got walloped in Week 1 by the Ravens but nearly upset the Chiefs on the road last Sunday night. Steichen was too conservative in overtime against Kansas City.

“We’re battling like crazy,” Steichen said. “That’s the message and we gotta continue to grow and learn, and we got a lot of football left. Like I said last week, we’re right there. We gotta find a way to win at the end. That was one of those games. It’s a freaking hard league and you gotta find a way to win these tight games.”

The Colts are home underdogs against Houston (0-2) on Sunday in a division matchup between two teams that came in with high expectations.

Jets coach Aaron Glenn also could end up on the hot seat at some point this season. Jim Harbaugh and DeMeco Ryans are both 0-2 but should be safe because of their success in recent seasons. Dan Quinn and the Commanders are 0-2 but expectations are low after losing Jayden Daniels.

Last season, the Titans fired Brian Callahan after a 1-5 start. The Jets fired Robert Saleh at 2-3 in 2024.

History says there’s a solid chance a coach loses his job next month.

A few wins can cool the seat.

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