Week 8 is the point in the season where patience starts to run thin, and the pressure in NFL buildings gets very real. The Colts already made one major move by parting with General Manager Chris Ballard, and while in-season GM changes are less common than coaching changes, the decision fit the moment.
That kind of shake-up usually means more could follow, and the head coaches sitting in the crosshairs are starting to stand out. With only 17 games on the schedule, teams do not have the luxury of waiting forever. The hot seat gets hotter fast.
At this point, the conversation starts with Tampa Bay. Todd Bowles checks in at No. 6 in these hot seat rankings after the Buccaneers slipped to 2-5. That record alone does not help, but the bigger issue is that the Bucs have been losing for a while now, and there is not much reason for optimism even in the NFC South.
Bowles has never really looked like a true head coach at this level, though his defensive reputation remains strong. He still profiles as the kind of coordinator another team could want down the line, maybe even in 2027 and beyond.
But right now, Tampa Bay is 4-12 over its last 16 regular-season games since the middle of the 2025 season, and the direction is moving the wrong way. Bowles and the Bucs simply do not scare anyone much of anywhere.
Just ahead of him is Shane Steichen at No. 5, and his situation feels complicated rather than hopeless. Indianapolis has already been active in the trade market, with more moves possible, and Steichen could wind up caught in the middle of all the chaos. The Colts reached 7-1 at one point in 2025, but they have fallen apart since then.
Steichen still looks like a sharp offensive coach, and he would likely draw multiple coordinator opportunities in 2027. Even so, that may not be enough to save him if the Colts keep heading in this direction. In a season like this, he could end up one of the casualties of the mess unfolding in Indianapolis.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Pulled Off A Rare Panthers Play Fans Had Never Seen
Special teams rarely become the headline in a divisional game, but Tampa Bay got an unusual lift against Carolina when the kick unit turned pressure into points. A blocked extra point flipped a routine try into a momentum play and helped stretch the Buccaneers advantage in a game that quickly got out of hand on the way to a 43-13 win.
The sequence stood out even more because it was a first in franchise history, with the Bucs cashing in on a blocked extra-point return in a way fans had never seen before. For a team that has leaned on defense and field position in plenty of big moments, it was another reminder that sometimes the smallest play on the scoreboard can have the biggest impact. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Decision Fans Never Wanted
At 2-5, the Buccaneers have reached the kind of crossroads no contender wants to face in October. The passing game has been uneven, some of the rosters core players are getting older, and yet the NFC South is still open enough that a quick turnaround would keep Tampa Bay in the mix, even if the team is still chasing the division leader.
That is what makes the trade deadline conversation so uncomfortable around One Buccaneer Place. The Colts have already shown how far a team can go in rethinking its direction with midseason moves, and the Bucs are now weighing whether they should resist that kind of sell-off or at least consider it if the next stretch goes badly. For a team built to expect more than a rebuilding discussion, even having that debate is its own warning sign. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Brings A Personal Grudge Into A Huge Bucs Game
Baker Mayfield heads into a pivotal Week 8 divisional game carrying more than the usual quarterback pressure. The Buccaneers are set for a matchup with Atlanta, and the storyline comes with an old Cleveland edge, with Mayfield facing the coach who once guided him early in his career. For a Tampa Bay team that needs every conference win it can get, the setting gives the game a little extra bite.
Mayfield has never been shy about how he feels about the way things ended with the Browns, and that history still hangs over his reunion with Kevin Stefanski. The personal layer does not change the standings, but it does sharpen the attention around a game that already matters plenty in the division. For Mayfield, this one is about more than just playing well, and the next chapter in that old relationship is still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]