Five NFC coaches under most pressure in 2023: Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy, Commanders’ Ron Rivera headline list

The NFC isn’t as strong as the AFC heading into the 2023 NFL season, creating an easier path to the playoffs for many teams in the conference. That clearer path to the postseason should have jobs on the line, right? 

Not exactly the case in the NFC, where seven head coaches are either in their first or second seasons with their current teams. Jobs aren’t exactly on the line throughout the conference, but teams have to show improvements and the ability to win in a conference that has a few playoff spots available for the taking. 

As for the coaches under pressure to win? There’s an opportunity for them to take their teams to the next level. For some who don’t, their job status won’t be in jeopardy — yet. Some of them are already facing questions about their job security, making the pressure to win in 2023 that much more paramount. 

This is how the coaches facing the most pressure in 2023 were determined. Some don’t have to win this year, but others will need to if they want to have a head-coaching job in 2024.

Credit Campbell for helping put the Lions in position to win, the sign of a good coach. Detroit is starving to not only reach the playoffs, but have playoff success. 

The Lions have an excellent opportunity to not only win the NFC North, but win a playoff game in a weak NFC. Detroit has the offensive personnel to win a division title for the first time since 1993, an NFC North that no longer has Aaron Rodgers standing in his way. The Lions also significantly revamped their secondary, a unit that allowed the third-most passing yards per game last season along with the ninth-most touchdown passes. 

Going 7-2 in their last nine games is giving Lions fans hope, making a good start a priority in 2023. The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1991 nor a road playoff game since 1957 (the year of their last NFL championship). 

This franchise is starving for a winner. Campbell can give them one this year. 

No need to sugarcoat this one. The Buccaneers reached the playoffs last season, but it was Tom Brady’s worst season as a starting quarterback (in terms of overall record) and the first time a team quarterbacked by him had a losing record in his 23-year Hall of Fame career. 

Bowles wasn’t exactly winning games at a high rate as the Buccaneers won the weakest division in football last year before being humiliated by the Cowboys in the playoffs. This is two years removed from a Super Bowl title and a year from a divisional playoff loss. 

Sure, Brady retired and the Buccaneers are getting older, but there’s still some talent left over from the Super Bowl team. Bowles has the personnel in place to win the division again, and a new offensive system in place with Dave Canales coming over from the Seahawks. 

The quarterback situation is murky with Baker Mayfield, which will increase the pressure on Bowles to have the defense carry this team. Another year with a losing record and the Buccaneers may be forced to move on from Bowles, who has just one winning season in his five seasons as a head coach with a 34-50 record (.405). 

Bowles hasn’t shown he’s a very good head coach, but that narrative can change in 2023. 

Allen is a classic case of an excellent coordinator, but a subpar head coach. The Saints took a step back in Allen’s first year as Sean Payton’s successor, finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2016 and having an offense finish outside the top 20 in scoring for the first time since 2005 (the year before Payton arrived). 

Not having a quarterback hurt New Orleans, but the Saints rectified that problem by landing Derek Carr this offseason. New Orleans has the top quarterback in a division that lost Tom Brady to retirement and had a champion with a losing record. The division is there for the taking in 2023, especially with every team in the division (not named the Saints) going through a transition phase in their franchise.

The Saints should benefit from having one of the easier schedules in the NFL (New Orleans plays the NFC North and AFC South in 2023). There’s an opportunity for the Saints to rack up wins and set themselves up to become a Super Bowl contender in the NFC.

Allen needs to win this year, but his history as a head coach demonstrates that may not happen. In four seasons as a head coach, Allen is 15-38 (.283) with no playoff appearances on his resume. Making the playoffs must happen in 2023 if Allen wants to remain as the Saints head coach.

The NFC East was the best division in football in 2022, with three teams making the divisional round of the playoffs. The team that didn’t win a playoff game and missed the postseason entirely? That would be the Commanders, who have failed to secure a winning record in three seasons under Rivera — yet have a division title in that span. 

Washington isn’t a bad team either. The Commanders have a top eight defense that should be better this season (especially if Chase Young returns to the form that carried the defensive line in his rookie season), along with offensive pass catchers most teams would covet to have (specifically wide receiver). 

Washington appears to have improved its offense line and secondary, two of the weaker spots on the Commanders in 2022. The Commanders also may have pulled off the hire of the offseason in making Eric Bieniemy their offensive coordinator, which should significantly improve their offense immediately. 

Rivera’s biggest problem in Washington has been finding a quarterback, and the Commanders are banking their 2023 season on Sam Howell — who has just one start to his name. Perhaps Howell is the next Patrick Mahomes, but he is a relative unknown who will also be facing a lot of pressure in 2023.

If Howell struggles and doesn’t pan out, where does that leave Rivera? He’s 22-27-1 (.450) as the Commanders head coach and hasn’t had a winning record as a head coach since 2017. The NFC East always has two of the top three teams in the Eagles and Cowboys, so it’s hard to win playing those teams four times a season. 

A last-place finish for the Commanders could end Rivera’s tenure in Washington. The Commanders have to — at least — have a winning record this year. 

1. Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys)

There’s always pressure on the Cowboys to win, especially when a team that has five Super Bowl titles hasn’t reached a conference championship game since the 1995 season. McCarthy has done his share of winning in Dallas; the Cowboys have a 24-10 record over the past two seasons — winning 12-plus games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1994-1995. 

Despite all the winning in the regular seaosn, the Cowboys have come up short in the playoffs in failing to get out of the divisional round. This year’s version of the Cowboys is more talented than a team that arguably should have beaten the 49ers last season, making ending that conference championship game drought a priority. 

McCarthy put even more pressure on himself this offseason by firing Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator and making himself the play-caller, putting himself in charge of revitalizing Dak Prescott, who is coming off his most turnover-prone season of his career. Aaron Rodgers became an MVP candidate again the following year after the Packers fired McCarthy and hired Matt LaFleur, so McCarthy will have to prove a lot of doubters wrong if he wants to fix Prescott’s mistakes from last year.

The Cowboys should win games and make the playoffs, but it’s how far Dallas goes in the postseason that will determine McCarthy’s fate — in addition to Prescott improving from a rough 2022 season. McCarthy is 30-20 (.600) as the Cowboys head coach, but is only 1-2 in the postseason. 

McCarthy hasn’t won multiple postseason games in a season since 2016 and the Cowboys haven’t done the same since 1995. That has to end in 2023 with this talented roster.