NFL coaches under pressure this season
The 2025 NFL season is at hand as teams will be reporting to training camp shortly and coaches will be preparing them for six months of hard-hitting action. While training camp is not the brutal and cruel show it used to be decades ago, players are at the whim of the coaches when it comes to preparation and demanding activities.
How painful a training camp is may depend on the amount of pressure the coach is under. Those who are feeling the pressure to deliver a winning season or a respectable finish after disappointment in the previous season may turn the heat up on their players.
Betonlinepromocodes.com look at the coaches feeling the most pressure this summer.
- John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
Season: 18th with Ravens, 18th as head coach
Career record: 172-104; Playoffs: 13-11; Super Bowl: 1-0
The Ravens have been at or near the top of the AFC North for years, but John Harbaugh has struggled in the postseason. Let’s face it, any time a team with Lamar Jackson at quarterback loses at any point in the postseason, it’s disappointing. Questioning Harbaugh’s strategy and ability to lead his team to the top is fair. The Ravens have been upset too many times and blown too many leads. The pressure is squarely on Harbaugh in 2025.
- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
Season: 5th with Lions, 5th as head coach
Career record: 44-35-1; Playoffs: 2-2
The Lions are considered the team with the most talent in the NFC and they are coming off two impressive seasons, but they have never won the NFC Championship and therefore have never been to the Super Bowl. Campbell has issued a lot of brave talk ever since he was hired by the Lions and he has delivered in all aspects except for his team getting to and winning the Super Bowl. Two years ago, the Lions were an upstart team and they fell short against the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Last year, the Lions dominated all season despite a slew of defensive injuries. The clock struck midnight in the divisional playoff game against the Washington Commanders. That broke the hearts of Lions followers and intense heat is on Campbell and his players this year.
- Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers
Season: 2nd with Chargers, 6th as NFL head coach
Career record: 55-25-1; Playoffs: 5-4; Super Bowl: 0-1
Jim Harbaugh brought quite a bit of respectability back to the Chargers last season as they were 11-6 and made a playoff appearance before they fell flat against the Houston Texans. The Chargers hired the former University of Michigan leader to take the team on a drive towards the championship. Feeling good about escaping the doldrums of a 5-12 season was just the first part of the journey. Harbaugh has to provide a team that will challenge the Kansas City Chiefs for AFC superiority. He has a brilliant quarterback in Justin Herbert to lead the way, and the time has come for Harbaugh to show why he is one of the best head coaches in the sport at both the college and NFL level.
- Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers
Season: 9th with 49ers, 9th as head coach
Career record: 70-62; Playoffs: 8-4; Super Bowl: 0-2
Shanahan must turn things around immediately after last season’s brutal 6-11 finish. This is a team that expects to make a deep playoff run and challenge the Philadelphia Eagles and Lions for the NFC title. Shanahan has one of the best weapons in the NFL available in RB Christian McCaffrey, and all reports indicate that he will be healthy as he starts the season. Whether they have enough firepower at the receiver spot is open to question. Still, the Niners are expected to be a motivated team this season, and they need to get off to a dominating start. They could be 4-0 when they take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5, and their ability to reel off convincing wins early in the season will tell much of the Niners’ story in 2025.
- Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings
Season: 4th with Vikings, 4th as head coach
Career record: 34-17, Playoffs: 0-2
O’Connell is viewed as one of the elite quarterback coaches in the NFL after going to the playoffs with both Kirk Cousins and Sam Bradford as his signal callers. Now he turns to untested but supremely talented J.J. McCarthy to do the same thing and continue that success into the playoffs. O’Connell has demonstrated that he can build a winning locker room in addition to getting the most out of his quarterback. Past success at the QB1 position does not indicate that future success will follow. The heat is on the Vikings to demonstrate that they are an elite team that can get the best of the Lions in the NFC North.
