
Maybe it was because New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has a lot of friends in London from his time as ambassador to Great Britain, and he didn’t like being embarrassed in front of them. Maybe it was because Aaron Rodgers is really the man in charge of the Jets, and “cadence-gate” was the final straw.
Whatever the reason, and whoever was ultimately responsible, the result was the same. Robert Saleh was the first NFL head coach fired in 2024. Before the season began, he was paying +1000 to win the race, so congratulations to everyone who cashed that ticket. And congratulations to interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who begins his tenure as the leader of the dysfunction in New York against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
Saleh was the first, but he won’t be the last. And on Sunday, several candidates made their cases to lose their jobs.
Doug Pederson (+125)
Saleh was given his walking papers after a long flight home from London, and Doug Pederson just took that same flight home with a huge loss hanging over his head. That’s with an owner who also has deep connections to the U.K. and no doubt had higher expectations than a 35-16 loss in London.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are now 1-5. They look worse than when Pederson took over the team in 2022, and their odds to make the playoffs sit at +700. Pederson did win a Super Bowl as a head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, but three years later, he was fired mid-season. There is an excellent chance that the same fate awaits him this season.
Nick Sirianni (+400)
Had the Eagles lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, head coach Nick Sirianni might have been fired on the spot. Instead, his team stumbled to a 20-16 win and improved their record to 3-2. It’s hard to fire a head coach who has a record over .500. But if the Eagles struggle in their next two games – at the New York Giants and at the Cincinnati Bengals – the conflict between Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts will become untenable, and his boorish behavior to the fans will no longer be tolerated.
The Eagles are still favored to make the playoffs, paying -190. But if that changes, a change at head coach is likely.
Kevin Stefanski (+600)
Kevin Stefanski is only 42-years-old and he is twice an NFL Coach of the Year, including last season, when he took Joe Flacco and the Browns to the playoffs.
If Stefanski finds himself unemployed, he won’t stay that way for long. But because he now has his future in Cleveland tied to quarterback Deshaun Watson, he might be done as a Brown. And perhaps he would welcome the change. The Watson-led Browns have scored exactly once on their last 29 offensive possessions. Watson has also failed to convert on his last 25 third downs.
Watson is the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, but Stefanski has stuck with him and his $230 million contract. Why doesn’t Stefanski make a change? Is he empowered to make a change? Will the change finally come with his job?
Dennis Allen (+600)
Remember when the New Orleans Saints were the best offense in the NFL after two weeks? They beat the Carolina Panthers, 47-10, and then manhandled the Dallas Cowboys the next week, 44-19. New Orleans was back!
Now they are back to being out of the playoffs, having lost four straight games, including losing Sunday’s game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 51-27. The Kansas City Chiefs outgained the Saints in Week 5, 460-220. Against the Bucs in Week 6, they were outgained, 594-303.
Yes, injuries have played a role in the Saints turning tail on the season. But right now, they barely resemble an NFL team, and something has to change.
Mike McCarthy (+800)
The Dallas Cowboys are 0-3 at home and they have been outscored at AT&T Stadium by 66 points. The latest dud was Sunday against the Detroit Lions, 47-9. Worse, it was on owner Jerry Jones’ birthday.
Jones said after the game that he is not considering a coaching change, and his denial actually has merit. For all of his bombast, Jones doesn’t act impulsively with his head coaches. Rumors about a Mike McCarthy firing have swirled for multiple seasons, but he’s now in his fifth year in Dallas. Prior to McCarthy, Jason Garrett lasted 10 seasons.
The equation would change if Bill Belichick actually does have interest in coaching the Cowboys. Jones likes big moves, and bringing in Belichick would be one of the biggest, not unlike when he hired Bill Parcells in 2003. But could those two personalities co-exist on a team that has far bigger problems than just its head coach?

With over 25 years of experience as a distinguished sports writer for renowned platforms such as Fox Sports and ESPN, Kyle Garlett is a sports betting specialist who has been at the forefront of documenting the global surge in sports betting and online gaming. Based in Denver, Colorado, Kyle hosts an NFL betting YouTube show and podcast. Kyle also has two sports books published by HarperCollins.
Kyle graduated the Azusa Pacific University in 1996 with a B.A. Degree in Communication and Journalism.