NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat This Week and Hot-Seat Candidates for 2010

Note: There were some adjustments to this article after the Chicago Bears retained Lovie Smith this afternoon.

It's that time of year again where the NFL regular season comes to an end and teams around the league begin to make their adjustments on the coaching staff.

With Jim Zorn's firing coming no less than 24 hours after the Redskins finished up their 2009 season with a 23-20 loss to the San Diego Chargers, expect a handful of other coaching moves to be made this week by owners from around the league.

Here is a list of potential head coaches who could be looking for a new job by the end of the week.

Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders

As always, it's hard to figure out what to make of the Oakland Raiders and what will happen to Cable after everything they went through in 2009. The talent always seems to be there, but they struggle to find a way to take advantage of it.

Despite their seventh straight losing season, the Raiders had a few impressive wins this season that make a solid case to give their head coach at least one more year to make this team a playoff contender.

Even though the Raiders finished with just five wins this season, four of them came against playoff-caliber teams in the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos. Not to mention, the losses to the San Diego Chargers were only by four and eight points.

If anything, the potential is there for the Raiders. This year was enough evidence the Raiders know how to win, but they need to learn how to be consistent.

The most important factor in the offseason starts with figuring out who will play quarterback next season.

Whoever ends up coaching the Raiders next season will need to make their first priority figuring out a way to fix the $68 million investment in JaMarcus Russell.

Jim Mora, Seattle Seahawks

2008 was the first time in six years the Seattle Seahawks failed to make the playoffs, posting a 4-12 season.

With the absence of many key players (especially quarterback Matt Hasselbeck) due to injury, most analysts predicted them to at least give the Arizona Cardinals a run at the division title in the NFC West.

Instead, Mora saw similar results to the 2008 season as the Seahawks finished 5-11. While this team dealt with its fair share of injuries, the amount of talent on the roster gives this team no excuse with the way 2009 played out.

The signing of former Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was supposed to provide an extra advantage to an offense that already consisted of Deion Branch and Nate Burleson as Hasselbeck's targets.

Instead, the Seahawks struggled to put up points the entire season and finished 25th averaging just 17.5 points per game.

Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns

Mangini's situation seemed to be a disaster from the beginning as he failed to acknowledge a starting quarterback for the season until a few days before the opening game against the Vikings.

Throughout the season, he went back and forth trying to decide between starting Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn.

Despite finishing the season on a four-game winning streak for the first time since 1994, the Browns seemed to be more of a mess this season than the Raiders between trying to figure out their starting quarterback and the departure of Braylon Edwards to the New York Jets.

The Browns averaged just 9.8 points per game over the first eight weeks of the regular season. His first season as head coach may not have been what Mangini expected after a 5-11 record, but things seemed to be turning around in Cleveland after Mike Holmgren came aboard as the new president.

The only question now is whether Holmgren will decide to keep Mangini around or take the approach for a fresh start in Cleveland.

Head coaches to keep an eye on in 2010

Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Morris actually had a section on this list until a story broke out from the Associated Press a few hours prior to the publishing of this article that he would return as head coach for the Buccaneers next season.

After a disappointing rookie season, he will need to figure out the problems with both the offense and defense if he wants to keep his job secure for a few more years.

Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys: In three seasons as head coach for the Cowboys, Phillips has a 33-15 record with two NFC East titles. However, expectations are higher than ever in Dallas as Jerry Jones is anxious to get the monkey off his back considering the team's last playoff win came in 1994.

Of course, if he makes it past the first round this year, his job should be more secure entering next season.

Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos: Mike Shanahan was fired in 2008 after the Broncos collapsed at the end of the season, losing their last four games while handing the AFC West title to the San Diego Chargers.

After a 6-0 start this season, Denver failed to make the postseason after winning just two of its following eight games.

John Fox, Carolina Panthers: Ever since they were blown out against the Arizona Cardinals in the Divisional round last postseason, the Panthers have not been the same.

Many were surprised to see them finish 8-8 after starting the season 4-7. It should be interesting to see what happens considering he is entering the final year of his contract.

Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars: Del Rio has just one playoff win in his seven years as head coach with the Jaguars. Not to mention Jacksonville's slim chances at making the playoffs this season were denied after losing to the Browns last weekend.

Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears: In his first three seasons as head coach of the Chicago Bears, Lovie Smith looked like a genius as he took his team to the playoffs twice—including a trip to Super Bowl XLI.

Since then, the Bears have gone 23-25 and failed to make the playoffs for the third straight season. After the firing of offensive coordinator  Ron Turner and tight ends coach Rob Boras, Smith was retained by the Bears for at least 2010. What happens after that will most likely be decided after next season.

Dan Parzych is the Cincinnati Bengals Examiner for Examiner.com

He is also the Eagles Fan Voice for NFLTouchdown.com

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