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Every NFL season, all 32 teams are under some pressure to perform. Some have perennial Super Bowl aspirations, like the Kansas City Chiefs. Others are simply looking to make simple strides, like teams with fresh coaching hires and quarterback acquisitions. And some are in the unfortunate -- though sometimes self-inflicted -- position of entering a season needing legitimate improvement and/or big-time victories to avoid total organizational change.
Teams that just upended their leadership structures are essentially immune to an immediate overhaul. Think the New England Patriots, who just welcomed Mike Vrabel as the new coach for a young quarterback in Drake Maye; or the Tennessee Titans, who are set to pick No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after installing former Chiefs executive Mike Borgonzi as the team's new general manager. These are teams that just hit the reset button; that typically buys the new regime at least a year or two (or three, depending on ownership) to make noticeable progress.
These franchises may no longer have the benefit of a long leash, and could be in danger of a total reset -- at coach, general manager and/or quarterback -- depending on how the 2025 season unfolds:
Arizona Cardinals
Under coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort, the Cardinals went from a scrappy 4-13 to an even scrappier 8-9 between 2023-2024. That's an upward trajectory. The 2025 season will mark Year 7 of quarterback Kyler Murray's career, however, and the former No. 1 overall pick has yet to blossom as a truly playoff-caliber signal-caller amid multiple reworkings of his supporting cast. After a spendy offseason in which they basically remade their entire defensive front, it's time for the Cardinals to actually make noise late in the year. Otherwise, they might prefer fresh leadership if it's time to part ways with Murray, whose contract soon becomes feasibly expendable; the quarterback can be traded or marked a post-June 1 cut in 2026 to save millions.
Indianapolis Colts
Like Gannon in Arizona, Shane Steichen is coming off just his second season as a head coach. Unfortunately he's gone backward, if only slightly, since coming out from under Nick Sirianni's wing with the Philadelphia Eagles. After a 9-8 debut, his Colts dropped to 8-9 amid a flurry of messy quarterback swaps in 2024. Even worse: His offense hinges on a near-miraculous leap from either incumbent youngster Anthony Richardson or former New York Giants castoff Daniel Jones under center. General manager Chris Ballard, meanwhile, is even riper for reevaluation; he's survived two coaching changes while cycling through countless quarterbacks post-Andrew Luck. The Colts have won precisely one playoff game in the eight years of Ballard's direction. They're overdue.
Miami Dolphins
It was just last summer the Dolphins issued a $212.4 million contract to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, essentially tying the former first-rounder to Miami through at least 2026. That doesn't mean the men tasked with guiding his arm to meaningful victories are so entrenched. General manager Chris Grier might beg to differ, given he's entering Year 10 on the job despite overseeing an 0-3 playoff record and two different coaching shakeups. Still, at some point, you'd figure owner Stephen Ross will prefer big-stage production over just a splashy lineup. Coach Mike McDaniel helped elevate Tagovailoa from so-so to occasionally special out of the gate, but zero playoff wins going into Year 4 isn't great, nor is his apparent struggle to toughen or adapt his team when it matters most.
New York Giants
If anyone's on the verge of a blowup, it's these guys. And isn't that almost always the case in East Rutherford, New Jersey? Owner John Mara showed a surprising level of restraint when he retained coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen not only after an ugly 2023 but a wholly dysfunctional 2024; he'd previously axed three straight coaches after no more than two seasons apiece. But with Daniel Jones finally cast out as the failed quarterback of the future, two veteran replacements added in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, plus a No. 3 overall pick awaiting in the draft, this feels like the current front office's last shot to prove the spirit of a surprise 2022 playoff bid is still alive. The issue: They still need a better foundation for whomever's throwing the ball.
