Kansas City Chiefs: 2020 opposing head coach hot seat rankings

Level Three: Absaroka County, Wyoming

Absaroka County, Wyoming, is the setting for the Walt Longmire novels by author Craig Johnson. It’s a fictional county plugged into the Cowboy State where the weather can range from bitterly cold in the mountains to dry and hot on the plains.

So, perfect for these five coaches, whose seats seem a little warm, but nothing about which to get too frantic.

Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills

McDermott’s had an interesting two years in Buffalo, but seems to have the Bills on the right track. His first season, with Tyrod Taylor under center, the Bills went 9-7 and made the playoffs. But the next season, after jettisoning Taylor and leaning on rookie Josh Allen (from Wyoming!), the Bills dropped to 6-10.

And then last season bounced back, going 10-6 before again losing in the Wild Card round. With the Bills in one of the tougher divisions in the NFL, Allen will need to continue improving for McDermott to last long in Buffalo.

Vic Fangio, Denver Broncos

Strange days in Denver.

There’s an ongoing fight about ownership of the franchise. John Elway seems to have impunity. The national talking heads are drooling over the Broncos’ potential. And Vic Fangio enters Year 2 having gone 7-9 and missing the playoffs in 2019.

As long as Elways is around and the Broncos don’t totally tank in 2020, Fangio will be back in 2021.

Bill O’Brien, Houston Texans

I have no idea.

When the world ends, cockroaches will survive and Bill O’Brien will (probably) still be the head coach/GM of the Houston Texans. That is, unless the organization hires an actual GM before then.

But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers

The Panthers just hired away Matt Rhule from Baylor this past offseason and this tier seems like a pretty good spot for a rookie head coach, right?

This isn’t exactly a situation where the Panthers are rebuilding: Rhule is expected to have a competitive team from the start of the season. That’s why the Panthers let go of the still-recuperating Cam Newton and paid big bucks to Teddy Bridewater.

Rhule will be back in 2021, but there’s already some heat on that seat.

Brian Flores, Miami Dolphins

Flores did a heck of a job with the Dolphins last season, getting the team to rally for a 5-11 finish after starting 0-7 and then 3-11. The biggest win, of course, launched the Chiefs into a bye the first weekend of the playoffs as Miami toppled the Patriots 27-24 in rather dramatic fashion.

Now, Flores and the rest of the Dolphins are looking to build on that finish, and the Fins could compete in what’s looking like a brutal yet wide-open AFC East. While it seems like he’s building a winner down in Miami, the Dolphins must continue to show progress for Flores to stick around for the long haul.