Josh McDaniels, Matt Eberflus Favorites as First Fired NFL Head Coach

Posted on: September 28, 2023, 03:37h. 

Last updated on: September 28, 2023, 04:46h.

Pauly McGuire Read More
Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

Josh McDaniels from the Las Vegas Raiders (+200 odds) and Matt Eberflus from the Chicago Bears (+225 odds) are the betting favorites to become the first NFL head coach to get fired this season.

Raiders Josh McDaniels
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels on the sidelines against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 at Allegiant Stadium. (Image: AP)

The Raiders are 1-2 and the Bears are winless at 0-3 heading into the fourth week of the season.

BetOnline offers a prop bet and you can wager on which NFL head coach will get fired. McDaniels and Eberflus are at the top of the board, along with Ron Rivera from the Washington Commanders, and Brandon Staley from the Los Angeles Chargers.

Matt Rhule from the Carolina Panthers was the first head coach fired last season. The Panthers jettisoned Rhule after an ugly 1-4 start in 2022.

Two other head coaches were fired during the 2022 season. Frank Reich, the current head coach of the Panthers, was fired by the Indianapolis Colts in the middle of last season. The Denver Broncos fired head coach Nathaniel Hackett late in the season after the team gave up in a blowout against the Los Angeles Rams during a televised game on Christmas.

Josh McDaniels (Las Vegas Raiders) +200

Perhaps the “Patriot Way” isn’t working in Sin City. McDaniels won multiple Super Bowl rings as the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, and he tried to import his former team’s winning culture to the Raiders.

After a bumpy first season in Las Vegas with a 6-11 record, McDaniels and the Raiders stormed out of the gates with a road victory in Week 1 over division rival, the Denver Broncos. They then dropped two in a row, including a close loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3.

McDaniels took a lot of heat for a bad decision late against the Steelers. The Raiders, down eight points with four minutes to go, should have gone for it on fourth down instead of kicking a field goal. The Raiders inevitably lost and McDaniels’ decisions were instantly lambasted on social media, and critiqued by beat writers in the post-game press conference.

Star wide receiver Davante Adams has been extremely vocal about the team’s losing ways, especially after they cut quarterback Derek Carr and signed Jimmy Garoppolo in the offseason.

McDaniels is the betting favorite to become the first head coach fired at +200 odds, but this wouldn’t be the first time he was dismissed in the middle of a season. McDaniels might be a stellar offensive coordinator, but he’s struggled as a head coach. He went 11-17 as the head coach of the Broncos and was fired midway through the 2010 season. He has a total head coaching record of 18-30.

The Raiders face a tough upcoming schedule and could end up 4-8 before their bye in Week 13. The question remains if McDaniels is still the head coach of the Raiders when they host his former mentor, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots in Week 6.

Matt Eberflus (Chicago Bears) +225

The Chicago Bears might be the worst team in the NFL this season. They were blown out by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 and were lucky that pop singer Taylor Swift made a cameo at the game. Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are allegedly dating, and her appearance has been getting nonstop attention since Sunday. The Bears were lucky that the Swift chatter drowned out their ineptitude.

Last week was a tough one for the Bears. Defensive coordinator Alan Williams stepped down due to personal reasons. There was also a break-in at Soldier Field during which thieves pilfered $100K worth of equipment.

The Bears’ tepid offense is in shambles, and the team isn’t utilizing quarterback Justin Fields properly. Even a frustrated Fields aired out his grievances and cited coaching overload, which is why he played “like a robot” in the first two games of the season.

Eberflus will be an easy scapegoat, but the dysfunctional Bears have deeply rooted issues that go beyond their coaching staff. Eberflus guided the Bears to a 3-14 record last season in his first year as a head coach. The Bears look like they could go 10 games into the season before they notch their first win.

Eberflus is the second favorite on the board at +225 odds to become the first head coach fired this season.

Ron Rivera (Washington Commanders) +300

“Riverboat” Ron Rivera knew he was on the hot seat entering this season. The Commanders hired Eric Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator even though he was interviewing for head coaching positions.

There’s never any shortage of rumors flying around the Beltway. The word on the street in the nation’s capital is that if Rivera can’t post a winning season in 2023, then Commanders will fire him and promote Beineimy.

Rivera led the Commanders to one postseason berth and an NFC East title in 2020 even though they finished with a 7-9 record. He missed the playoffs in the last two seasons and has yet to post a winning record with the Commanders. He was 8-8-1 last season and bubbled the playoffs.

The Commanders surprised the league when they started out 2-0, but they were thrashed by the Buffalo Bills in Week 3.

Even though the Commanders are 2-1, Rivera is the third favorite on the prop betting board at +300 odds to become the first head coach fired this season.

Brandon Staley (Los Angeles Chargers) +750

If the Chargers weren’t a miserly franchise, they would have fired Brandon Staley last year. The Chargers squandered a 27-point lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs and were eliminated in the first round.

Staley is a former defensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams who was highly regarded when the Chargers hired him as their head coach in 2021. Despite the pedigree, the Chargers’ defense is in shambles. They started out 1-2 with two close losses, mostly because of their inability to get stops late in the game. All three of the Chargers games were decided by one score, and they have a point differential of minus one.

Staley seems unlikely to get fired in the middle of the season, but he’s +750 odds and fourth favorite on the board as the first head coach to lose his job. Staley inked a four-year deal in 2021 worth $16 million, but the Chargers would be on the hook for one more season if they fire him now.