- MLB. Jasson Dominguez hits walk-off single to lift Yankees over Rangers
- MLB. Dodgers look for reinforcements? The move they are about to make to strengthen their team
During the offseason, seven teams opened the head coaching vacancy, ending their failed projects until last season. Three coaches were dismissed in the middle of the season and the rest at the end of the season
These are moves that are common every season because not all projects can be successful and this means that they have a short working life. Once the vacancies are generated, teams rush to choose their replacements to have a new voice and a new system to win games
The replacement process is exciting because there are only 32 head coaching positions in the most competitive sports league in the world and of those, only about a quarter are replaced each season
Even before the start of the 2025 preseason, there are already some places that are in the spotlight and could be freed up before next season, depending on their performance on the field. In particular, these are five names that are in the spotlight:
5. Brian Callahan
- Record with team: 3-14 (one season)
- Winning percentage: .176
Callahan is under increasing pressure to improve in 2025, as he will have the No. 1 overall pick in Cam Ward. But he has to show results. While he helped develop Joe Burrow with Cincinnati and worked with Matthew Stafford in Detroit, he must pave the way for Ward's success, otherwise he will cause Tennessee to have to hit the reset button
If Ward plays well, even if the team struggles, Callahan can hope to stay with the team
4. Shane Steichen
- Record with the team: 17-17 (two seasons)
- Winning percentage: .500
Steichen will begin work with a team that has competition for the quarterback position: Anthony Richardson whom they selected in the Top-5 of the 2023 Draft. Since then he has struggled to complete es and stay healthy. But in the absence of results, they brought in Daniel Jones, who is also not a guarantee, to generate some competition
Steichen stood out for the work he did with Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. But as head coach, the franchise was a disaster in 2024, to the point that they showed their distrust in Richardson by sending him to the bench in the middle of the season
Currently, the franchise seems to be directionless and that's why it needs to get off to a quick start or it could well be out of the team very early in the season
3. Brian Daboll
- Record with team: 18-32-1 (three seasons)
- Winning percentage: .363
The Giants front office gave their coach (and general manager Joe Schoen) a vote of confidence after a disastrous 2024 season with a 3-14 record (one of the worst seasons in franchise history). What's more, Daboll seems to have lost the locker room, as in the last two seasons his record is just 9-25. However, his first season with the team reached the playoffs and he achieved a victory
However, last year they let go of their best player, Saquon Barkley, who was instrumental in the Eagles championship scheme, and retained Daniel Jones, only to cut him midway through the season due to his poor performance. As a result, they have now had to overhaul their ing roster: Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and their first draft pick, Jaxson Dart. Daboll is supposed to be able to take advantage of this talent and focus on developing Dart as his er of the future
2. Zac Taylor
- Record with team: 46-52-1 (six seasons)
- Winning percentage: .470
Under Taylor's tenure, the Bengals have played in a Super Bowl and two conference championships, but have missed the playoffs in the last two seasons, something unforgivable for a team that has a quarterback with the talent of Joe Burrow and receivers such as Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Taylor has managed to get the team back on track over the past two years, after disastrous starts to finish with winning records. But for this to happen consistently is the responsibility of the coaches with a combined 4-7 record in September over the last three seasons. Something has to change urgently because if the team misses the playoffs again, Taylor probably won't stay
1. Mike Tomlin
- Record with team: 183-107-2 (18 seasons)
- Winning percentage: .630
The Steelers have only had three coaches since 1969: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. All three have won the Super Bowl and are legends of the franchise. Tomlin has never had a losing season in 18 seasons at the helm. He has won more than 10 games in 11 seasons, including the last two, and has made the playoffs in four of the last five years
The problem with his position is that the Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2016, with six consecutive postseason losses and since they won Super Bowl XLV, their playoff record is 3-9 in the postseason. Tomlin remains in place for what he did with Ben Roethlisberger, but they need some additional argument
In addition, the team is in dire need of Aaron Rodgers, because they did not do a good job of filling the starting quarterback position, either in free agency or in the draft, and let go of the two ers who gave the team some stability Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. If they don't bring in Rodgers, the Steelers could have their worst season under Tomlin and this would ultimately cost him his job. Tomlin is also under pressure to at least get past this year's wild-card round.