Mike McDaniel from the Miami Dolphins and Brian Daboll from the New York Giants are the top two betting favorites to become the first head coach to lose their job this season. Both coaches were on shaky ground entering the season, and they did not help their own cause after losing the first two games of the season.
Kevin Stefanski from the Cleveland Browns and Dave Canales from the Carolina Panthers are also on the short list to become the first head coach to lose their job after their respective teams also started 0-2.
Many coaches know that a 0-2 start can be a kiss of death. Since 2020, 88 percent of teams that lose their first two games of the season will miss the playoffs. In the last five seasons, only five teams out of 42 squads that started 0-2 managed to secure a postseason berth. It happened to three teams last year, including the Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens, and Los Angeles Rams.
The Dolphins, Giants, Browns, and Panthers do have some hope after falling into a 0-2 hole. It’s no surprise that their head coaches are on the hot seat heading into Week 3. The big question looms: which coach will get fired first?
Mike McDaniel (Dolphins) -200
When the Dolphins hired McDaniel, they knew he lacked head coaching experience, but he was highly regarded as one of the top offensive coordinators in the NFL.
After the stunning success of Sean McVay with the L.A. Rams, team owners embraced youth and analytics. The NFL is a copy-cat league, so other teams began a trend of promoting top assistants with sharp minds and innovative playbooks. McDaniel was only 38 when the Dolphins hired him. The Ivy League graduate thrived as an assistant coach under Kyle Shanahan.
Although McDaniel guided the Dolphins to consecutive playoff berths in his first two years in Miami, they never made it out of the AFC Wild Card round. The Dolphins regressed last season with an 8-9 record and missed the playoffs. Rumors out of South Beach suggested that veterans had grown tired of McDaniel’s schtick, and he lost the locker room in the last month of the season.
The Dolphins have their share of injuries, personnel issues, and drama with Tyreek Hill. Yet, the rabid fanbase is frustrated with McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier. One fan hired a plane to fly a banner over the stadium and parking lot in Week 2 that said, “Fire Grier, fire McDaniel!”
After an ugly loss in the season opener, the Dolphins slipped to 0-2 after losing a shootout in Week 2 against the New England Patriots. The Dolphins are projected as underdogs in six out of their next nine games. Their first win of the season could come in Week 4 against the New York Jets or in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers. They also head to play the Browns in Week 7.
McDaniel is currently the consensus favorite to become the first head coach fired at -200 odds according to BetOnline. The Dolphins have a bye in Week 12, but the betting market suggests McDaniel will lose his job before then. If the Dolphins fail to beat either the Jets or Panthers, then McDaniel could get fired before Week 6.
Brian Daboll (Giants) +400
In 2022, the Giants began the arduous process of rebuilding the team. However, during Brian Daboll’s rookie season as a head coach, he led the Giants to a 9-7-1 record and a spot in the NFC Wild Card. They went 1-1 in the postseason before they were eliminated in the NFC Divisional Round. It’s been all downhill since for Daboll and the Giants.
The Giants missed the playoffs in the last two seasons with a 6-11 record in 2023 and a disgraceful 3-14 clip in 2024. Fans wanted Daboll fired last season, but the front office and owner gave him a vote of confidence, and he returned for the 2025 season.
After losing a back-and-forth thriller in overtime to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, the Giants began the season at 0-2 for a second year in a row.
Owners prefer to wait until the bye week to remove their head coach so the interim coach will have extra time to get acclimated to the team. However, Daboll might not last that long because the Giants don’t have a bye until Week 14.
The lackluster Giants entered this season as an underdog in 16 games according to preseason look-ahead betting lines. They are a favorite only once when they visit the Saints in New Orleans in Week 5.
With games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers in the next two weeks, the Giants are expected to be winless at 0-4. Their matchup against the Saints might be their only chance to win a game in the first half of the season. In Week 6, they embark on a four-week stretch where they play the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles twice, along with a road game against the Denver Broncos and a home game against the San Francisco 49ers.
If the Giants start 0-5 and lose to the Saints in Week 5, there’s a strong possibility that Daboll gets axed in early October. Daboll is the second favorite on the prop betting board to become the first head coach fired at -400 odds.
Kevin Stefanski (Browns) +500
Since the Browns hired Kevin Stefanski in 2020, they posted two winning seasons and won one playoff game. Stefanski missed the playoffs three times in his five-year tenure, including last season. Despite a disappointing 3-14 record, the Browns retained Stefanski.
The oddsmakers lacked faith in the Browns this season with Joe Flacco at quarterback. The Browns began the season with one of the lowest projected win totals in the league with 4.5 Over/Under victories. They were not installed as a betting favorite in a single game this season, according to look-ahead point spreads.
The Browns square off against three NFC North teams (Packers, Lions, and Vikings) in the next three weeks, all of whom made the playoffs last season. Then they meet their nemesis, the Steelers, in Week 6 and could start the season at 0-6. If they don’t beat the Dolphins in Week 7 or Patriots in Week 8, they could head into the bye in Week 9 with a 0-8 record.
At +500 odds, Stefanski is the third favorite on the board to become the first head coach to lose his job.
Dave Canales (Panthers) +900
Owner David Tepper has a bad reputation for firing head coaches, and he’s not shy about letting them go in the middle of a season. Since Tepper purchased the Panthers in 2018, he fired Ron Rivera in 2019, Matt Rhule in 2022, and Frank Reich in 2023. Reich was let go after 11 games into his first season in Carolina. Tepper also fired Rhule five games into his third season with the Panthers.
Canales went 5-12 in his rookie season as head coach of the Panthers in 2024, but they finished the season on a high note with a 7-2 record against the spread.
However, the Panthers are still problematic and have not shown any improvement in 2025, especially with the development of quarterback Bryce Young. In their two losses, the Panthers averaged only 16 points per game. They’re plagued by slow starts and have yet to score a touchdown in the first half of a game this season.
Canales was hired as a so-called quarterback whisperer, but if he can’t correct Young and start winning games, he probably won’t last the rest of the season.
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