There are several NFL head coaches who are believed to be on the hot seat as the 2026 season approaches its midway point.

Almost every NFL season sees at least one head coach lose their job before they get the chance to finish out the campaign, as franchises decide it is best to go another direction at the helm and turn their focus to next year.

So far in 2026, a number of head coaches have been rumored to be on the verge of losing their job, only to turn it around the following week and ease the pressure while temporarily hushing any questions surrounding their position.

With all 32 head coaches who began the season with their respective teams still employed, we asked AI model Google Gemini to predict which name will be the first to be shown the door, and which week of games it will come after.

According to Google Gemini, Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn will be the first head coach fired this NFL season. The AI model predicts it will happen after Washington’s Week 9 game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Quinn, 56, is already among the leading candidates to be relieved of his duties first, particularly after his embarrassing display of clock management – a key responsibility of NFL head coaches – in the Commanders’ Week 5 tie against the New York Giants that ended 27-27 after overtime.

In that game, Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels allowed the overtime clock to expire despite his team being within field goal range, where a made kick would have won them the game.

Instead, the sloppy late-game display intensified pressure on both Daniels and Quinn, the latter of whom is considered far more likely to lose his job than his young quarterback.

Reports indicated that after Washington’s 23-17 defeat to the then-undefeated San Francisco 49ers the following week, in which the Commanders nearly erased a 20-point deficit to win the game, Quinn’s job was saved by his team’s prideful comeback effort.

Now, Washington enters Week 8 sitting at a 1-4-1 record with a key divisional matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on deck on Sunday Night Football.

A strong performance at home against a struggling Eagles squad, who sit at 2-5 and without star quarterback Jalen Hurts, could bolster confidence in Quinn.

Questions about Quinn’s position come just two seasons after he helped lead the Commanders to the NFC Championship game in his first year on the job. Washington had not gone that far in the playoffs since 1992.

Since the end of the 2024 season, Washington is 6-16-1 under Quinn, and the early indications are he might not get the chance to turn things around if things continue as they are.

Other candidates to potentially lose their job first include Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen, New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.