3 Most Disappointing NFL Coaches So Far in 2021

Leadership expert Warren Bennis once said, “Leadership is the capacity to translate a vision into reality.”

For NFL coaches, each enters a season with a vision for their squad. For some teams, it is the Super Bowl, and for others, it is establishing a winning culture for a successful future. After each game, that vision inches closer to reality or slips further away. NFL coaching rumors and NFL betting odds fuel the hot seat for coaches that fail to turn a team’s vision into reality. As a result, NFL coaches get fired every year for disappointing seasons.

Here are the three coaches that have had the most disappointing seasons thus far.

Brian Flores

The Dolphins finished 10-6 last season and looked like they would be a playoff squad this season. Instead, they’ve lost as many games as last year in nine fewer games and sit at the basement of the AFC.

They don’t even have the consolation of holding their draft pick.

Flores is a defensive-minded coach, and the defense has gone from top-10 to bottom five despite retaining most of their players on that side of the ball.

There are also rumblings that he has lost the locker room and ownership is concerned with the team’s direction.

The loss in London to the then winless Jacksonville Jaguars is the biggest stain, a game where he got outcoached late by a first-year coach with a worse roster.

Vic Fangio

Fangio’s first season at the helm ended 7-9, and in his second year, the team regressed to 5-11. They’re 3-4 right now, and while that doesn’t seem terrible, it’s the way the team has lost that has people disappointed in the team’s direction under him.

They won their first three against the Giants, Jaguars, and Jets. They’ve lost the four since then and have been outplayed by more than the final scores indicate.

The offense has struggled to score, and fans are loudly calling for offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to lose his job along with Fangio because of it.

The defense, which is Fangio’s calling card, has also been questionable. A play that resulted in Von Miller, a man with over 100 career sacks, covering Chase Claypool, and the Browns third-string running back gashing them on Thursday Night Football have been lowlights.

A winnable game in Week 8 against the Washington Football Team may ease the pressure a bit, but for now, he has failed to meet expectations.

Urban Meyer

Unlike the coaches listed above, Meyer began this season without expecting his team to be a postseason contender. Yet, somehow, he’s still managed to disappoint.

Off the field, there was the Columbus bar fiasco. This situation prompted a message from team owner Shad Khan and rumblings of losing the locker room.

Based on reported practice habits and his statement that the goal for games is 250 yards rushing and passing, he appears to think that he’s still coaching a college team.

A couple of uncontroversial weeks, coupled with getting his first win, have taken some heat off, but he still seems unfit for an NFL coaching job.

Other Disappointing NFL Coaches

Some people I didn’t name could’ve also got an in-depth look at their tenure. Honorable mentions for disappointing NFL coaches include Joe Judge, Matt Nagy, Ron Rivera, and Kyle Shanahan.

Do you think that any of these coaches can turn their season around? Then, sign up for BetMGM’s sports betting site so that you can place bets on all of this season’s NFL action.