The NFL's Four Worst Coaching Performances Through Week 5

0:00Welcome to the Ringer NFL Show. I'm Sheil Kapadia. Earlier this week, we talked about the best coaching jobs of the season through five weeks. Well, today, we go the other way. We are identifying the worst coaching performances through five weeks. Who are the guys doing less with more? The coaches who are making baffling decisions week after week after week. The coaches who are failing to show that they are capable of giving their teams any kind of edge. and more importantly, what does the future hold for those coaches and those teams? Might some of them turn it around? Are others potentially on the hot seat?

0:36So to answer those questions and more, I will be joined by Pat Daugherty of NBC Sports. Every off season, Pat writes a great column ranking all of the head coaches in the NFL. So he is the perfect person to go over this exercise with me. All right, we'll break it all down right after the break. This is the Ringer NFL show presented by FanDuel. And if you're betting on the NFL, FanDuel is the place to do it. They've got everything. Same game parlays, quick bets for when you want to jump in live, and your way so you can set your own lines. The app's fast, it's easy to use, and best of all, when you win, you get paid out instantly.

1:15Download the FanDuel app or go to fanduel.com slash Ringer NFL to get started. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 plus and present in select states and 18 plus in DC, Kentucky, and Wyoming. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tromphia offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start.

2:00Tromphia is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tromphia, proper training is required. Tromphia is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis.

2:32Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about TREMFIA today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TREMFIAradio.com.

3:01All right, here with Pat Daugherty from NBC Sports. We're talking worst coaching performances through five weeks. Pat, I'm going to get us started because I feel like the top spot here really should be unanimous. And that is Brian Callahan. I think we're on the same page there. I mean, he is 4-18 in his last 22 games, but here's what I love about it. And I don't know, are you aware of his record against the spread, Pat? No, I'm actually not. I can take a guess, but I'm not. Take a guess. Take a guess. Yeah, that'll be fun. So he's 4-18, the 2-20 against the spread? He's 4-18 against the spread.

3:37It's the same record. If you would have just bet against Brian Callahan for two years, man, you would be living a good life. So listen, I don't want to be too mean to the guy, but let's be honest. He looks completely overmatched at every turn. Some examples here, Pat. Week one, he doesn't challenge the key no-catch call that actually might have changed the result of the game because he didn't know the rule. Week three, one of my favorite moments of the season. You know, you can have your fancy Justin Herbert throws or whatever. This is the stuff I live for. End of the first half, he can't decide whether to go forward or kick a field goal.

4:12Colts call timeout. He still can't decide. So he calls timeout. He still can't decide. He gets the kicking team out there late and they get called for a delay of game, turning a 57-yard field goal to a 62-yard field goal, which gets blocked. And then the Colts score. I mean, that is incredible. You know, even I, when I like to make fun of coaches, I can't even make up scenarios like that. So you got that. And then the last one I'll leave you with here. He gives up play calling duties. week four after he gives up play calling duties, they lose 26-0. And Cam Ward says flatly, our team is ass. Up there for a quote of the year so far in 2025.

4:53And then they get the miracle win last year with the Cardinals. So again, I'm not trying to be too mean-spirited here, Pat, but is there anything in this Brian Callahan experience that suggests he is anything other than way, way overmatched with his current job title? Well, first off, by the way, I wonder what it says about my online persona where people are like, I know who we have to reach out to talk about bad coaching. Oh, yeah. Pat Dardy will know how to bury the bad coaches. And another thing I know, by the way, as a Mizzou fan, a lifelong Mizzou sufferer, I know all about, like, didn't cover the spread stats.

5:27Mizzou used to be the absolute kings of that. We've gotten a lot better. But Brian Callahan, you know, so first off, whatever. He's not working with a full deck of cards in Tennessee. since the Sean McVay era, quote unquote, has begun. We've seen several guys from the McVay, from the Shanahan trees come in and immediately turn around a team. That should never be the expectation, of course, like for the most likely outcome, but it is like a possible outcome, we know. And so I feel like even that was a useful data point on Brian Callahan. And, you know, year two, he gets a number one overall pick.

6:04Again, that's tough too, but things are getting worse. They're not getting better. you know it says a lot that in a year plus on the job the most famous like your signature moment came on a play where your team threw an interception like that really does say a lot like the signature moment of the brian callahan era came on a titans interception dude that was his reaction on that was incredible it was like he won the super bowl or you know cam ward throws an interception the cardinals fumble it fumble it and tyler Lockett recovers it and Callahan has just got arms in the air, you know, and he's putting up the one point I got, which I believe they should have gone for two.

6:41So even he got that wrong. I mean, like you said, he got blocked.

6:48Yeah. It's not going well. You're right. I think there were signs in year one. I mean, him and Will Levis, I like, he looked like that was bad off the bat. He was taking no accountability, which I understand why he was frustrated with Will Levis, of course, but what are the chances that week one of 2026, Brian Callahan is the head coach of the Tennessee Titans? I'd say pretty low for just beyond his performance. The Titans have been a franchise kind of plagued by instability, plagued by power struggles. And there's going to be so many different voices with so many different opinions. I think the idea that they should have a do-over, like bring in a new guy, like fresh slate for Cam Ward for the whole franchise, I think that will happen.

7:32But to your final, on game management too, by the way, always bad, but this new school of coaches, like the expectation should be that they've played Madden growing up, and that they truly understand this minutiae of clock management. Before, that was too low level for someone like Bill Parcells. Dude, I'm here doing the big picture, the big philosophical thing. I don't have to worry about the clock. The new coaches, they should have this stuff down cold. And to not even have that down cold, another just really, really bad sign for Brian Callahan. Or at the very least, they should have listened to podcasts of people like us ripping coaches or screwing up.

8:08They grew up in that culture where it was, hey, this guy is screwing this up badly. He needs to change it. They were part of that culture. They weren't talking about that back with Parcells. Sorry, Brian Callahan, but you were a very easy number one on this list. Number two kind of pains me here, Pat. And it's not in exact order, but I was going through and I'm like, who are the guys we have to get to? And that's Pete Carroll, you know, a man I covered for two years. A guy I think has had a great career, has been a great coach. But this has been a disaster, Pat. The team is one in four, the Las Vegas Raiders.

8:43I knew coming into the season, the defense might stink. I thought the offense had a chance to be solid. I thought they would play with like a competitive fervor, you know, like there would be some nice vibes on the sideline. and it has been anything but that. Geno Smith, disaster. Nine interceptions. Chip Kelly, terrible. Looks like he did when he was last in the NFL here. And then, Pat, you know, what I did here, I went to the Raiders website to look at the coaching staff. Have you done this any time recently? You're control F-ing a certain last name, maybe. You know, I didn't even have to control F, Pat, because it's literally the second row.

9:20Pete Carroll's sons are right there. Brennan Carroll, run game coordinator, offensive line coach. Nate Carroll, assistant QBs coach, game management. The offensive line is a disaster, Pat. The QB is playing the worst football he has in a long time. And so I add all that up. And I just don't know. Do you have hope? I believe from reading your annual column, I feel like in the past you have been sort of with me that, hey, Pete Carroll's a really good coach here. Do you have any hope that he can turn this around? have you been as disappointed as I have with the Pete Carroll experience? Pete Carroll, I mean, one of the greatest football coaches in American history.

9:57And I do feel comfortable saying by the end of his time in Seattle, and although I agreed that it was probably time for the mutual parting of ways, he probably parted ways with Seattle as somehow an underrated head coach. Yeah. And, but he's, I don't know if this is too harsh. He's almost become the NFL analog to Bill Belichick at UNC. and I never expected that for Pete Carroll because Pete, he's full of humility. He seems to embrace new ideas. He's always hired people outside of his coaching treatment. He hired Chip Kelly even now. He's comfortable seeking outside voices. He's comfortable trying new things.

10:35And I don't know what has gone so wrong, but he's in the classic territory where the one thing he could not afford to have happen has happened because hiring Pete Carroll was supposed to be about at least establishing a baseline. like the Raiders aren't going to be a laughingstock they're not going to be a joke anymore and the bottom's not going to fall out and instead they're establishing like yet another new floor in Vegas like just the one thing that you didn't think was going to happen that you really couldn't let happen offense in particular it's almost like who's calling it is it Pete Carroll's offense is it Chip Kelly's offense is it Geno Smith's offense there's this kind of like almost like a sense of a power vacuum and then maybe a guy he didn't want to retire but he seems with it I'm not saying that but just seems like maybe a guy should have retired like just let it be like it wasn't the ending he had hoped for in Seattle but and two like maybe he's a guy where it takes five years to establish your program took three years for him in Seattle you know they're not going to give him three years especially at his age that's not that's not right but it's not going to happen and just it's looking like a far bigger disaster than I ever thought possible yeah the whole point was that hey you're trading for Gino Smith you bring in Pete Carroll Like you said, it's not necessarily about winning a Super Bowl.

11:46It's like, let's be a fun, competitive team right away. And it's been anything but that. Yeah, I remember that clip that went viral. I don't know if it went viral, but it was circulating before the season of him teaching the class. And someone asked him about the difference. And I'm like, all right, he's got it. I'm like, he's coming in. The players are going to love this. And yet somehow, now they've had injuries. I understand Brock Bowers' offensive line. But you look at it, special teams has been a disaster. that's always like the coach I always look at that is there some reason, the one thing I'll really criticize about Pete why ever does he never have a good offensive line I don't quite understand his philosophy seems to really underrate line play and boy is that a massive massive problem it shouldn't, he's always like we're going to run the football explosive plays type thing, it really shouldn't but yeah it's been bad, I'm mostly out, but I'm leaving the door like, because just when you were talking, the Belichick compared, you really hurt my feelings with that one.

12:47That hurt me saying that. I know. And I cannot get there yet with Pete Carroll. So I am leaving the door a little bit open that he has been a problem solver. His whole thing is fight through adversity. You know, you got to go through some of the bad stuff to get to the good stuff. I've heard him speak for hours about this. I don't have a solution how he's going to fix it, but I I want to believe that it's not going to be this bad the rest of the way. And hey, they're five and a half point favorites this weekend. Cause do you know who they're facing back? I have forgotten to be honest already. As you're going to have to tell me the Tennessee Titans and Brian Callahan.

13:24Come on, Pete, it's a get right game. Come on, Pete, get back in there. All right, let's take a break. We come back. We got a couple more names. We got to get to here. The Ringer NFL show is brought to you by FanDuel. The FanDuel Sportsbook app is your home for all your favorite NFL bets, from yards to touchdowns to who will win. With FanDuel, any play can be the play of the game. And when the Eagles and Giants play Thursday night, FanDuel is giving all customers a 50 % PBT. Visit FanDuel.com slash RingerNFL to bet the Eagles versus the Giants with a 50 % PBT. Play your game with FanDuel, an official sports betting partner of the NFL.

14:04Must be 21 plus and present in select states or 18 plus and present in D.C., Kentucky or Wyoming. Opt-in required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut. We are live from Fetty's house. Guests are gathering around the TV, even with a big storm outside. Are we worried about the fee? Nope, they have Xfinity Wi-Fi. Get reliable fiber-powered gig Wi-Fi with Peacock included to stream the beautiful game this summer.

14:47Xfinity, imagine that. Restrictions apply. New gig internet members only. Speeds vary. Use of fiber coaxial cable. Peacock offer for Peacock Premium with ads currently$10.99 a month value. Activation required to access content. Terms apply. Peacock must be activated within first 90 days. Manage existing subscriptions to avoid multiple charges. Third-party subscriptions continue until canceled. All right, we're back on the Ringer NFL show. Next up, I guess if you have the only winless team in the NFL, Pat, you got to be on the list here. And that's Aaron Glenn. The Jets are having the Jetsiest of all Jets seasons.

15:18I mean, you look at some of the advanced stats that I can be like, they're moving the ball. Now, I know there's some garbage time in there, but it's like they're moving the ball. Their O-line's been okay. They can run the ball. Justin Fields is actually, I think, playing the best football of his career. And I don't know that it's that close. Now it's not the highest bar. I understand, but like they're getting what they thought they were paying for in Justin Fields. And yet they're still Oh, and five. They're the only team in the last 10 years to not have a takeaway in the first five weeks of the season.

15:47Like that's usually the ball just bounces to you or, you know, someone slips or something that has not happened for the jets. And really Aaron Glenn's best moment. You know, you talked about Callahan's best moment was the, was the fluky interception for Glenn. Bennett was dancing on the sidelines after the Tampa Bay Bucs, you know, that game, they blocked the kick and everyone's putting the music to it. Other than that though, there's been nothing to celebrate here, Pat, with, with Aaron Glenn. I was hoping for more in his first season there. I mean, even tougher for Glenn. I mean, the Titans at least did win that game where they threw the pick and then got the touch of the Jets did not even win that game.

16:24And by the way, Justin Fields, there was a garbage time golden age about 10 years ago where like Eli Eli Manning, the years the Saints were bad, or Drew Brees, right? In fantasy football, you could just rely on Yarnshime. Kirk Cousins in there a little bit, right? And that just kind of disappeared. The defenses are so sophisticated. They don't sit back the way they used to, but Justin Fields is trying to bring it back. Oh, I like that. And we commend him for that. Glenn is in a similar situation to Pete Carroll in that the one thing that couldn't happen is kind of happening where no one had super high offensive expectations for the New York Jets.

16:56You look at the skill core, it's almost a one-man band. Like it's Garrett Wilson. We don't even know who the number two pass catcher was supposed to be coming into the season. It looks like it might be Mason Taylor now. So some people emerging. But the expectations for the offense were like vanishingly low. And Aaron Glenn was at least supposed to keep a respectable defense, respectable, maybe even make it better. Turn games kind of into rock fights. Turn them into slogs. And you were talking about advanced stats earlier. Just talking about a boomer stat. But for the past three years, I think the Jets, all three years were in the bottom five in terms of yards against.

17:32Say what you will about the Jets. They didn't give up a ton of yards on defense. That's all just gone the exact wrong direction. The defense has fallen apart. Maybe it's just growing pains. The first-time coach, it's only five games. It's a small sample size, even in the NFL. But that's the concerning part for Aaron Glenn because the offense wasn't going to be good. The media, it's always a crucible. I'm not surprised that's kind of been rocky. You know, he's trying to do like the Belichick thing, giving like real short-curred answers. Like maybe wouldn't do that, but not surprised that's rocky.

18:03The defense wasn't supposed to be rocky, and the defense is rocky. That is what is concerning for Aaron Glenn. Especially coming off of last year where the Lions were just the most injured defense in the NFL, and they still kind of held up well. Now, not all the way through, but for a lot of the season, you're like, man, how are they doing this? Who are these guys playing? They lost Dayton Hutchinson. They lost all those guys, and he still held it together. and now you're right. I mean, you watch this defense and it's like, it looks like one of the worst defenses in the NFL. I think they're probably benefiting from some garbage time stuff too.

18:34Other team running the football in the fourth quarter there. The vibes also, I don't like, you know, he got that NFL PA survey thing that comes out every year. Like he got rated like the guy that players wanted to play for the most or something. I'm like, oh, that's cool. You know, that's a good thing to have as a head coach. And now it's just like, they seem miserable and it's only been five weeks, guys. Like you got 13 weeks to get through here. Now they go to London, Pat. They got to take on the Broncos. I feel like it's like become a new cardinal rule of the NFL. It's your lowest moment. You will be sent back to the old country.

19:07You will be sent to England, the old continent. You're going back to Europe somehow. We're done with you. We cannot watch you play football on American soil anymore. No, no. Get over there. Take the flight. Yeah, it's and I know Jets fans and I do feel for Jets fans. I feel like they just don't want... I do. Yeah, I like a Jets fan because Jets fans all day, they just don't want to be embarrassed. It's such a... It's a different bar than I think any other fan base in the NFL where teams are like, we want to win the Super Bowl. We want to get to the playoffs. We'd love to have a winning record.

19:39They're like, don't embarrass us. You know, it's like a family member or something that they're stuck with. And they're just like, please, you know, my friends are coming over. Don't do that weird voice. Like, that's what the Jets are. and now it's a state. They hate these standalone games. I know Jets fans hate this when they're on. They don't want any national TV games. And now it's like Sunday morning against Sean Payton. Like, is it just going to be LOL Jets by everyone all morning? I hope not. Jets fan. Don't embarrass. Come on, football guys. Give them something. Give them one thing like a like a 23 to 16 loss or something.

20:15Let's start small. 23 to 16 loss. I think that covers the spread too. Yeah. lose with dignity, come back to America. Yeah. Two, maybe the charity, maybe just the New York market. Everyone knows it's hard. Maybe this is even harder than he expected. He can reset after London and start building anew. There you go. All right. Last guy that has to be on this list. He's been in the news this week. Jonathan Gannon. Pat, this, I mean, now I don't like to punch people when they're down. I would rather punch the guy, you know, who's up. And that's what I had been doing to the Cardinals in the preseason when I'm like, why does anyone like this team?

20:50Why are they overrated? They've got great PR. And so I went after him then. Now Gannon's in some trouble. And just overall, they're 14 and 25 in three seasons with him. He was called a defensive guru on a recent national broadcast where, if you look at it, they're 32nd in defensive success rate since he became the head coach. His game management cost them last year. He turtles at times. You know, even in that Titans game, I know they did a million dumb things. but 2-12 left, third and eight, you're up by two points. Like the other team only needs a field goal. You don't want to just give them the ball and say, try to kick a field goal and they run the football there.

21:30So that was bad. But the story everyone's talking about this week is about his kind of leadership and his, you know, what he did after Di Mercado had that loss, you know, got rid of the ball before the goal line, loses a touchdown, flips the game. And then there's that video on the sideline, goes viral of Gannon kind of laying into him there. And he gets fined$100 ,000 by the Arizona Cardinals. And a lot of people have been talking about this week. Like the takes have been flying with this, Pat. Like it's everything from Jonathan Gannon should go to jail to America has become soft. I feel like those are the two extremes.

22:07And there are a lot of takes in between here. What did you think of that? He did apologize the next day. He said he apologized to the team. What did you make of that whole situation? and kind of the takes that are flying right now with Jonathan Gannon? Well, I think one reason it's going particularly poorly for him is, this might be too long of an anecdote, but I've been watching the Jerry Jones Netflix infomercial on the Cowboys dynasty. It's really good. I hate to admit it. It's really, really good. And in that documentary, Jimmy Johnson, like multiple times, like poking players' chests, like getting in their face.

22:38But they put up with it with Jimmy because they knew he was a leader. They knew he was a winner, you know, whatever winner means. and it was genuine with Jimmy. I think the problem with Jonathan Gannon, and you were an Eagles guy, you might know more about Jonathan Gannon than I do, but it just felt like I've never even seen Jonathan Gannon display emotion before. And then it just seemed like really forced, like this guy who stands there stoic like a statue, you know, really the only time he's entered the NFL mind space that's even got the Cardinals job was his like real awkward press conference.

23:09And I think that is maybe what really hurt Gannon and probably why he had to apologize, guys pay this fine to the team, like, why they didn't just let it roll off their backs so that it just seems like forced, like a put-on, like a try-hard, whatever you want to call it, where he made a bad moment even worse just by doing something like no one bought, no one agreed with. I could be totally wrong on that, but I feel like that's particularly why this has gone wrong with Jonathan Gannon's like, dude, we don't even, where has this been? It would have been nice to maybe have some fiery leadership last year, and I think that's what has really hurt him here, that it just in addition to being wrong, like say whatever you want.

23:47Like we just know you can't do that now. Probably should have never done that. It just felt like, this is like, where did this even come from? I just don't think people were buying that, particularly the players from Jonathan Gannon. Yeah. I don't want to judge a guy by like one bad moment. And I think he sounded sincere in his apology, but with stuff like this, I always like listening to the players, like former players, even remember the Anthony Richardson thing last year when he came out of the game, I was like, you know, I'm just a kid from the Philly suburbs. It doesn't seem that bad. He was tired.