The Action Network has unveiled a new report ranking the NFL's coaches in the hot seat from their fans. To determine the NFL head coaches that are in the hot seat, Action Network used social listening tool Linkfluence to measure positive and negative social media sentiment for each. We recorded the negative rate at regular intervals:
- 12 months ago
- 9 months ago
- 6 months ago
- 3 months ago
- This month
Data was then analyzed to provide a visual analysis of fan opinion about each NFL head coach. The full breakdown can be found onsite here. Below is a list of the top five most disliked coaches in the NFL.
| Rank | Coach | *12- month score | 9- month score | 6- month score | 3- month score | 1- month score |
| 1 | Brandon Staley
| 11.8 | 17 | 14.1 | 24.2 | 25.2 |
| 2 | Kevin Stefanski
| 5.67 | 10.5 | 8.1 | 22.4 | 24.9 |
| 3 | Zac Taylor
| 7.81 | 13.8 | 13.6 | 20.8 | 24 |
| 4 | Matt Rhule
| 14.8 | 8.87 | 16.8 | 21.1 | 23.8 |
| 5 | John Harbaugh
| 8.65 | 13.1 | 12.5 | 18.8 | 22.2 |
Where's Hackett
Surprisingly Nathaniel Hackett in Denver is not in the top-5. I think there are two explanations for this. 1) It is his first season with the Broncos. 2) Russell Wilson's play has taken a bunch of the heat for the team's performance. Matt Rhule has obviously been fired already, but his fan base complained about him so much that they can't stop. If you want to see the full list, click it here.
Which NFL coaches are safe from the hot seat?
On the opposite end of the table, Nick Sirianni ranks first for receiving the least criticism than any other NFL coach. Across the year, the Philadelphia Eagles coach has seen a drop in negativity, with Sirianni now at 7.13%. Following close behind is Doug Pederson who has consistently placed near the bottom of the negative sentiment table over the last 12 months and rounds off the 12-month analysis period with a negative sentiment score of 9.1% Over in NFC North, Minnesota Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell and Chicago Bears’ Matt Eberflus faced just 1-in-10 negative posts this month helping them rank 5th and 3rd respectively. Below is a list of the top five most liked coaches in the NFL:
| Rank | Coach | *12-month score | 9-month score | 6-month score | 3-month score | 1- month score |
| 1 | Nick Sirianni | 7.13 | 8.24 | 8.26 | 9.26 | 7.13 |
| 2 | Doug Pederson | 3.62 | 5.92 | 4.35 | 10 | 9.1 |
| 3 | Matt Eberflus
| 2.64 | 4.38 | 3.61 | 7.65 | 9.53 |
| 4 | Mike Tomlin | 6.2 | 8.95 | 8.45 | 14.3 | 10.2 |
| 5 | Kevin O’Connell | 2.68 | 4.79 | 4.14 | 7.53 | 10.7 |
1. Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers
2. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns
3. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
4. Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers formerly
5. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
