Will the COVID situation keep coaches and general managers off the hot-seat in 2020?

The 2020 NFL season is bound to have unexpected twists and turns more so than any other year due to the unorthodox way teams have had to prepare for the season. The usual scouting process was affected, there were no mini-camps, no OTAs, there’ll be a shortened or nonexistent preseason, and there’s a possibility we’ll see a record setting amount of roster transactions if players are quarantined, so owners could be forced to evaluate their teams in a unique way.

If a franchise’s long term plan is messed up by something beyond the head coach or general managers control, will owners give them a mulligan on 2020?

Here’s the recent question we posted to our writers.

Does the COVID situation “cool the hotseat” of coaches and GM’s who may be feeling the flames this offseason?

“Not really. I still see Matt Patricia in pretty bad shape for his job security, and Doug Marrone is almost surely fired after this season. The Jags may completely throw out their current staff. Adam Gase seems to love digging his hole deeper, and I’m pretty sure he has social media burners a la Kevin Durant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets take a step forward this year and he keeps his job for a little longer. If a bunch of players test positive after camp and the season gets canceled, then these coaches will probably still be around in 2021, but that doesn’t mean their seats are cooler.” ~ Jack Salo

“The NFL never stops churning and I doubt that this is going to change an owner or GM’s mind when the season ends. The only caveat is if there’s fewer than 10 games, then I think everyone will chalk it up to a weird season.” ~ Sam Householder

“Nope. Not to me, at least. The hotseat will just stay at it’s current temperature until action resumes.” ~ Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter

“Fans will say no, but obviously if the season is impacted significantly by COVID outages or massive player health issues, then yes it will cool any/all hotseats league wide. If a coach has to play 20 or even 30 street free agents for several weeks and loses because of it, it’s kind of hard to blame the guy. In Chicago in particular, Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy are only on the hot-seat with fans... not management... anyway.” ~ Ken Mitchell

“The NFL is and always has been a results based business, so if a team doesn’t live up to expectations, even during a pandemic, the owners won’t hesitate in making a move. And with that being said, I can’t see anyway the Chicago Bears make a move at GM or head coach unless there’s a Trestman level meltdown in 2020.” ~ Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.

Editor’s note: The COVID-19 pandemic is a subject that requires sensitivity and care. Many families and people have already been impacted by this crisis as it unfolds. This is a reminder to please express yourself respectfully while also exercising common courtesy in interactions with one another in the comments. All WCG commentary guidelines remain in effect and apply especially. Stay safe and healthy, everyone.