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NFL hot seat: 5 coaches who’ll start 2020 in danger of being fired

By Peter Panacy

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons signals from the sidelines during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 15: Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons signals from the sidelines during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Dan Quinn, Falcons
Head coach Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

The NFL hot seat could heat up even further in 2020, considering a number of head coaches are going to be under serious scrutiny this upcoming season. Here are five already in danger.

It was silly to suggest San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was on the NFL hot seat heading into 2019. Despite posting a 10-22 record his first two years in San Francisco, Shanahan’s campaign last year en route to a Super Bowl appearance solidified his role amid the team’s return from laughingstock status.

Additionally, the fact those two down years in Santa Clara weren’t accompanied by rumors and reports of internal dysfunction or locker-room turmoil backed up the assessment Shanahan’s tenure with the 49ers was just fine.

Any NFL hot seat is typically influenced by more than just wins and losses. While those are ultimately the bottom line, there is usually much more going on behind the scenes.

Case in point, the Cleveland Browns’ Freddie Kitchens’ lone season at the helm was paralleled by multiple players begging the Arizona Cardinals to “come get me” this offseason.

Kitchens was gone at the end of the year. The Dallas Cowboys moved on from longtime head coach Jason Garrett, then the New York Giants parted ways with their former head coach, Pat Shurmur.

Who’ll be next in 2020?

Here are five head coaches who find themselves on the NFL hot seat this year.

No. 5: Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is no stranger to the NFL hot seat. It’s been a hard few years since Shanahan left Atlanta post its Super Bowl loss after the 2016 season for the 49ers opening. Yes, the Falcons went 10-6 the following season after Shanahan left.

But after back-to-back 7-9 campaigns, team owner Arthur Blank could be running out of patience.

Quinn shook up his coaching staff in 2019, although the Falcons still finished with no better than a middle-of-the-pack offense and defense.

Yet many of the Falcons players themselves still played hard for Quinn down the stretch last year amid an otherwise lost season. They even pulled off a surprising road win over the 49ers in Week 15, suggesting Quinn could be safe entering 2020.

He was. Apparently those efforts were enough to keep Quinn around for at least another year.

That said, Quinn will need a notable rebound this season to retain his hold on the job. Otherwise, he could wind up being one of the first head coaches to go in 2020 if things in Atlanta get off to a bad start.