playBill BarnwellOct 15, 2026, 06:20 AM ETCloseBill Barnwell is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. He analyzes football on and off the field like no one else on the planet, writing about in-season X’s and O’s, offseason transactions and so much more. He is the host of the Bill Barnwell Show podcast, with episodes released weekly. Barnwell joined ESPN in 2011 as a staff writer at Grantland.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsWeek 6 is about the point where seats start getting hot around the NFL.
Five games isn’t a huge sample for coaches and players, but it’s enough time to see with some confidence that preseason expectations or hopes aren’t going to be met. It’s enough time for fans to be frustrated and make their feelings known in stadiums and on social media.Subscribe: ‘The Bill Barnwell Show’There’s no joy in seeing anyone around the league lose their job or miss out on an opportunity, but it’s also a reality that everybody who works for a team faces on an annual basis. Today, I’m going to run through some of the players and coaches on the proverbial hot seat after the first five weeks of the 2026 NFL season and break down what’s going wrong and what might happen next.In no particular order, I’ll hit on three head coaches, two coordinators and 10 players with questions about their futures with their current teams. And I’ll begin with a coordinator for a winless team that entered the season with postseason aspirations.Jump to a player or coach: McDaniel | Montgomery | Bland | Smack Bowles | Quinn | Sainristil | Sirianni Sheppard | Hairston | Jeudy | Brissett Smith | Thomas | NixMike McDaniel, OC, Los Angeles ChargersIt seems natural to talk about what must be the most disappointing unit in football this season.
And it’s fair to note that, yet again, injuries have waylaid the Chargers on the offensive side of the ball. In last week’s 23-17 loss to the Broncos, the Chargers were down their top two wide receivers (Quentin Johnston and Ladd McConkey, the latter of whom was active but did not play a single snap) and their three best offensive linemen (Joe Alt, Tyler Biadasz and Rashawn Slater). Justin Herbert’s lone touchdown pass went to Hayden Rucci, a tight end who was signed off Jacksonville’s practice squad in mid-September.Even so, McDaniel’s old employers in San Francisco have had plenty of injuries on offense and things are still humming along just fine for the 49ers. Frankly, even before the injuries really slowed this offense down, things didn’t look the way they were supposed to in Los Angeles.
The Chargers haven’t been able to run the ball all season, ranking 28th in EPA per play on designed rushes.McDaniel has been insistent on running into heavy boxes with limited success; the Chargers have faced a numbers disadvantage in the run game 36.2% of the time per NFL Next Gen Stats, which is the fifth-worst rate in the league. It’s fine to run into loaded boxes if you trust your linemen to pull it off, but the Chargers are averaging 2.5 yards per carry and minus-0.32 EPA per play on those attempts while picking up first downs at the fifth-lowest rate in the NFL.What has to be more concerning for coach Jim Harbaugh, though, is the regression of Herbert. Through five weeks, Herbert is last among qualifying passers in Total QBR (26.6). By several notable metrics, Herbert has completely collapsed as a passer:Herbert’s sack rate is up, and he leads the league in interceptions with seven.
And while a couple of those have been the customary snaps where a Chargers receiver is suddenly allergic to the football at the point of arrival and coughs it up to a defender, Herbert deserves plenty of blame for the problems the Chargers have had as games wear on. He has a 5.0 QBR in the fourth quarter, throwing four picks and taking a league-high five strip sacks. His fourth-down interception against the Broncos last week was one of the worst throws you’ll ever see Herbert make, a lowlight he seems adamant about challenging every week once the Chargers get behind late in games.There’s usually not much benefit to making an in-season change at offensive coordinator, given that the positional coaches were likely brought in by that coordinator and would just be running the same scheme if they were promoted to the playcalling role. The most experienced assistant on McDaniel’s staff is passing game specialist Adam Gase, which won’t inspire much hope among Chargers fans.They do have Harbaugh, though, and there’s a clear line that the offensive coordinator in Los Angeles can’t cross.
It’s one thing to field a disappointing run game or fail to live up to expectations, but the offense can’t break Herbert. If McDaniel can’t turn things around, and Herbert continues to struggle badly, the Chargers might make a move sooner rather than later.David Montgomery, RB, Houston TexansThe latest in a series of offseason additions to try to fix a moribund Texans running game, Montgomery hasn’t been able to transfer his successful three-year stretch in Detroit to Houston. Though the 2019 third-round pick scored three touchdowns in the Week 1 loss to the Bills, Montgomery has averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and posted a league-worst 23.1% success rate. You can help compensate for those issues with explosive runs, but Montgomery has just one gain of 10-plus yards across 52 carries this season.Montgomery left last week’s win over the Titans in the first half with a groin injury, potentially opening up the door to a larger role for Woody Marks.
The second-year pro had what qualifies as a great game on the ground for a Texans back, turning 15 carries into 62 yards while adding four catches for 23 yards as a receiver. The Texans have been hesitant to turn the lead role over to Marks, but Montgomery’s struggles and the groin injury might leave them no choice.play1:14Should fantasy managers start Woody Marks in Week 6?DaRon Bland, CB, Dallas CowboysBland was a first-team All-Pro after he picked off nine passes in 2023, but the interceptions have dried up since then. He has just one INT across 24 games since the start of 2024. And when Bland isn’t creating significant value with his takeaways, teams find it too easy to pick on him in coverage.
He has allowed passer ratings north of 100 in coverage in each of the past three seasons, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, including a career-worst 126.2 mark this season.Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have had reasons to give Bland a long leash. Despite missing most of the 2024 season with a foot injury, the Cowboys gave their young corner a four-year, $90 million extension before the 2025 season. Bland missed more time last year before pronouncing himself to be all the way back this season … but he has looked overmatched in coverage. Tez Johnson’s 64-yard catch against the Cowboys in primetime last week came on a play where Bland was badly juked and fell to the ground like he was the child in one of those “dad crosses over baby” videos.The Cowboys didn’t really have solutions to replace Bland on the outside at cornerback, but that has changed.
Cobie Durant should be set to return from his hamstring injury in the coming weeks, while Joey Porter Jr. will be back in the lineup after missing the loss to the Buccaneers with an illness. When healthy, they should be the starters on the outside for Dallas. Bland could end up in the slot, but the Cowboys have been playing Reddy Steward there, and rookie safety Caleb Downs could move there once Jalen Thompson returns from his hamstring injury.Dallas restructured Bland’s deal just before the season, which reduced his cap hit and made his contract more tradable. But it also creates more dead money if (or more realistically when) the Cowboys decide to move on from the 27-year-old cornerback.
Bland is owed $13 million next year, and at the moment, it’s only guaranteed for injury. The Cowboys don’t want to be on the hook for that money, so it would hardly be a surprise if they took Bland out of the lineup altogether
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