Lack of patience with head coaches dooms losing NFL teams

The NFL's past three Coach of the Year recipients could very likely all be job hunting this offseason, revealing an unfortunate and harsh reality: Head coaches are under more pressure to win than ever.

With the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants each 2-8 ahead of Week 12 play, there is speculation about the job security for Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski and New York HC Brian Daboll.

In 2023, Stefanski helped lead a depleted Browns team that had lost QB Deshaun Watson, RB Nick Chubb and seven other players to season-ending injuries to an 11-6 record and a playoff berth. He was rewarded for his efforts with Coach of the Year honors, his second since 2020.

With the team once again battling injuries to key starters, including Watson again, Cleveland has struggled to find its footing this season.

Stefanski, who has taken heat from fans amid the team's skid, spoke on how he's handled the criticism and where his focus resides ahead of Cleveland's "Thursday Night Football" matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi wrote.

"I think probably because I grew up listening to [Philadelphia radio], I'm smart enough to not worry about outside noise," Stefanski said. "I get that's part of this gig. That's life in the big city. My sole focus is getting this team ready to get a win on Thursday night. That's it."

As for Daboll and the New York Giants, a lack of talent, underscored by a subpar group of quarterbacks, has led to the team's drastic downfall since he won Coach of the Year in 2022.

The Giants are 8-19 since winning a playoff game in 2022, a record that in no way reflects Daboll's ability to coach. New York has competed this season — four of its eight losses are by five points or less — despite DT Dexter Lawrence being the only player arguably top 10 at his position.

Despite this, in a recent "Breakfast Ball," Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz said Daboll will be "coaching for his job over the last seven weeks."