Dallas and Jacksonville are off to a combined 1-5 start to a season in which they were viewed as legitimate contenders, so it came as little surprise that Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and Jaguars coach Doug Pederson are the current favorites to be the first fired.
Add to the mix that arguably the greatest coach in NFL history is currently unemployed, and it adds a layer of intrigue to both situations.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith implored Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Monday to hire Bill Belichick. “You do that and the Dallas Cowboys are challenging for the Super Bowl championship next year. … Mark my words,” Smith said the day after Dallas lost at home to Baltimore.
Later that day, the Jaguars fell to 0-3 following an embarrassing 47-10 loss at Buffalo.
By Tuesday, Pederson had taken over as the +400 “favorite” to be the first NFL head coach fired this season, followed by McCarthy at +450.
On Wednesday, BetOnline.ag released updated odds on where Belichick will be coaching in Week 1 of the 2025 season. Not coincidentally, Dallas and Jacksonville also top that list.
BILL BELICHICH COACH WEEK 1 2025*
Dallas Cowboys (+100)
Jacksonville Jaguars (+550)
Philadelphia Eagles (+650)
New York Giants (+800)
Chicago Bears (+1000)
Las Vegas Raiders (+1000)
New York Jets (+1000)
New Orleans Saints (+1400)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+1400)
Cleveland Browns (+1600)
Arizona Cardinals (+2500)
Cincinnati Bengals (+2500)
Los Angeles Rams (+2500)
Minnesota Vikings (+2500)
Buffalo Bills (+3300)
Green Bay Packers (+5000)
Atlanta Falcons (+6600)
Houston Texans (+6600)
Indianapolis Colts (+6600)
Seattle Seahawks (+6600)
Baltimore Ravens (+7500)
Carolina Panthers (+7500)
Detroit Lions (+7500)
Pittsburgh Steelers (+7500)
Denver Broncos (+10000)
Kansas City Chiefs (+10000)
Los Angeles Chargers (+10000)
Miami Dolphins (+10000)
New England Patriots (+10000)
San Francisco 49ers (+10000)
Tennessee Titans (+10000)
Washington Commanders (+10000)
*BetOnline.ag odds provided for entertainment purposes only
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a friend of Belichick, and the notion of the legendary coach taking the reins in Dallas was broached shortly after he parted ways with the New England Patriots after last season. Jones has proven particularly loyal with his coaches, and chose to give McCarthy another year.
However, the heat has ratcheted up once again with Dallas dropping consecutive home games to fall to 1-2.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville has endured an even bigger nightmare to begin the season, getting outscored a combined 85-40 through its first three games. Once considered an emerging threat in the AFC, the Jaguars are almost on par with the 0-3 Cincinnati Bengals as the biggest disappointments thus far.
Pederson accurately stated that no one’s season is over before the end of September, but Belichick could prove a particularly big threat to his job security. Jaguars owner Shad Khan desperately wants to take advantage of the quality core of young talent Jacksonville has assembled, and the struggles of franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence don’t bode well for the offensive-minded Pederson.
“We just got to figure out a way to play good football, and right now, the tape shows that we’re not and we’ve got to fix that,” Pederson said Wednesday.
How long he has to get the ship sailing in the right direction is uncertain. But one undebatable fact is that Jacksonville is now 9-11 in its past 20 games, including 1-9 in its last 10.