NFL Head Coaches Who Look In Over Their Heads Early In 2022

While a handful of NFL teams have excelled early in 2022, optimism has faded quickly for several franchises around the league.

It's not necessarily a surprise that the coaches of struggling teams are landing criticism.

There will inevitably be a perception that "in over their heads" is similar to calling these coaches completely ill-equipped to engineer a turnaround this year. Two weeks into the season, that is most decidedly not the case.

Simultaneously, though, it's fair to scrutinize these coaches, analyze the early concerns and wonder if the expectations for their teams are realistic. They are ordered loosely from least to most concerning, though it's certainly a subjective perception.

One of the main challenges in analysis—as with coaching, for that matter—is balancing the process with the results.

During the opener, Brandon McManus narrowly missed a low-percentage, 64-yard field goal that would've given the Denver Broncos a win over the Seattle Seahawks. If he makes it, first-year boss Nathaniel Hackett isn't questioned as much for not attempting a 4th-and-5 with a minute left in regulation, all three timeouts and Russell Wilson at quarterback.

Bad process and bad result, or questionable process and bad result? Either way, it's not good. And in Week 2, Hackett again cost the Broncos points because of a late-game kicking decision.

Faced with 4th-and-2, he sent out McManus for a 54-yard field goal, which the veteran buried. However, a delay-of-game penalty negated the play, and Hackett elected to punt after the five-yard loss instead of giving his kicker another game-tying chance. How could Hackett not trust McManus in the Mile High air from 59 after running him out from 64 in Seattle?

Terrible process, awful result.

Hackett should not be considered a hot-seat candidate. He's a first-year coach with two career games of experience. But, clearly, his in-game management is a topic to monitor.

Entering the season, the Atlanta Falcons had a mountain of dead-cap space, a roster experiencing the first stage of a rebuild and a quarterback trying to reignite his career. It wasn't a surprise that the consensus opinion said Atlanta would have a rough year.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith isn't helping the narrative, though.

The frustrating part is both Smith and the Falcons seem to have made progress. But in two weeks, he's already ripped the media for "burying" the team during the offseason and brushed off questions about Kyle Pitts' low target share because "it's not fantasy football."

Look, he's not entirely wrong! Besides, it's fair to ask if Marcus Mariota has been bailing out of Pitts' direction too quickly.

However, the emotional reactions will get tiresome if Atlanta keeps losing. No matter how much improvement shows, the victories aren't there—and the predictions aren't wrong. Until that changes, the Falcons should be looking to avoid the headlines as much as possible.

Passion is great; Smith's timing needs work.

Frank Reich has guided the Indianapolis Colts for five seasons. Following a ghastly 24-0 shutout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he's now a perfectly imperfect 0-5 on the road against the division foe.

And it feels like the Colts don't have answers.

Veteran quarterback Matt Ryan has committed five turnovers in two games. The receiving corps that concerningly lacked depth behind star wideout Michael Pittman Jr. looked miserable without him and rookie Alec Pierce in Week 2. The offensive line, to be blunt, is bad. The run defense is fine, but the Colts have generated the NFL's sixth-lowest pressure rate on passing plays.

The redeeming note is, in theory, Indianapolis has one of the league's more favorable schedules this season. Will the Colts actually take advantage of that, though?

For better or worse, Pete Carroll is defiant.

The longtime Seahawks coach has consistently said his team can accomplish great things in 2022. Even beyond his suggestion that "it's possible" the Seahawks can have a perfect season, Carroll said there's no reason to change his expectation of a 10-win year based on his past two decades of coaching.

Good news: Carroll and Co. provided a schadenfreude-filled triumph over Wilson and the Broncos in Week 1.

Bad news: The underlying numbers are so, so bad right now.

The offense has only logged a mind-numbing 96 snaps at a below-average 4.9 yards per play. Denver and the San Francisco 49ers have outgained the Seahawks 806-469, as well.

Sure, the Seahawks can steal a win once in a while. But the combination of a slow, inefficient offense and shaky defense is certainly not a sustainable plan—even if Carroll's stubbornness persists.

Let's review the season so far, along with takeaways from third-year Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule.

In the opener, the Cleveland Browns clipped the Panthers 26-24. Rhule later pointed out the offense averaged 7.7 yards per play during the last 35 minutes of the game, which would've ranked third in the NFL for the week. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, the first 25 minutes of the game also mattered.

After falling to the New York Giants 19-16, Rhule wanted everyone to know "we're so close" to winning games.

But that is, uh, kind of the issue. Carolina has dropped nine straight games dating back to November 2021. Rhule is just 10-25 in his tenure. New quarterback Baker Mayfield isn't thriving individually, yet he's stuck throwing short passes in a so-far unimaginative offense behind an unstable blocking unit.

Over the next five weeks, the Panthers play the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This could get really ugly—and fast.