NFL Training Camps: 5 Coaches Starting Camp on the Hot Seat

Players have started to arrive for training camps around the National Football League, and while many of them dread the upcoming drudgery of weeks of outdoor practices in full pads as an August sun beats down on them, fans everywhere are bursting with excitement at the prospect of another exciting NFL season.

Some fans dream of seeing their team down in New Orleans next February hoisting the Lombardi Trophy high above their heads, while others are just hoping their team can keep their win-loss record respectable in 2012.

And some fans just want their coaches fired.

Yes, every year we start the season with a handful of head coaches who know that they are coaching for their professional lives and that if they don’t produce, an NFL owner will throw them to the wolves to satisfy the bloodthirsty fanbase.

Today we look at the five men who I think are under the most pressure to win this year.

A quick word about the names you won’t find here. I think Andy Reid is safe, barring an epic collapse. I think the only way Rex Ryan is fired is if Mike Tannenbaum is beheaded by Woody Johnson. And I think it’s pretty clear that Lovie Smith has compromising photos of the McCaskey family.

With that out of the way, let’s see who is on the chopping block heading into the 2012 season.

5. Pat Shurmur, Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmur is coming off a 4-12 season that saw his version of the West Coast offense give the Jacksonville Jaguars' pop-gun offense a run for its money for the title Worst Offense In The League, scoring only 20 touchdowns and ranking 30th in yards per play in 2011.

Yes, Shurmur is only heading into his second season as head coach, but he took over Eric Mangini's 5-11 squad—and went backward with it. The Browns defense actually played quite well last year, and a lot of that can be attributed to foundations laid down by Mangini. 

Shurmur has been given one of the most talented young running backs in the league in Alabama's Trent Richardson. He's been handed a nearly 29-year-old rookie quarterback who should have the tools necessary to run an NFL offense, unlike last year's starter Colt McCoy, who, while determined, does not seem to have the skill set necessary for the quarterback position in the NFL. 

He has an underrated offensive line, an emerging playmaker at the wide receiver position in Greg Little and a defense that can keep games close into the fourth quarter.

If Shurmur doesn't win more than four games this year, even in the tough AFC North, look for him to be shown the door by longtime friend Mike Holmgren.

4. Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins

Surprised?

I don't believe for a second that Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is happy having ex-Packers offensive coordinator and virtual no-name-outside-league-circles Joe Philbin as the man in front of HBO's Hard Knocks cameras this summer. Ross tried and failed to land Jim Harbaugh (last year) and then Jeff Fisher (this year prior to hiring Philbin) before settling on Philbin.

I happen to think Philbin is a good coach who will do the best he can in Miami, but the talent deficiency on the offensive side of the ball can't be discounted. Outside of Reggie Bush at the tailback position, it's hard to find a player who is causing any consternation in defensive meeting rooms around the league.

I actually don't think this comes down to Philbin—it comes down to Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland. If Philbin somehow produces wins with the roster Ireland has constructed (I haven't even touched on the fact that he's heading into 2012 with Davd Garrard as his likely starter), he and Ireland will probably stick around.

However, if Philbin doesn't get results with the players Ireland has picked, after all the drama in Miami this offseason, much of it centered around Ireland, I would not be surprised in the least to see Ross let Ireland go and go get a new general manager—probably one with a marquee name who would only come on board with the understanding that he gets to pick his own guy to be head coach.

In that sense, Philbin enters his first head coaching position not only coaching for his job, but for Ireland's as well.

3. Leslie Frazier, Minnesota Vikings

If owner Zygi Wilf has proven one thing during his tenure as owner of the Minnesota Vikings, it is that he is not afraid to go all-in when looking for a quick fix.

From landing Brett Favre to quarterback a team that was indeed a quarterback away from being a contender, to going after Bill Parcells to help clean up the mess that has been left behind as his team sifts through the detritus of Favre's tenure, Wilf may not always get his man, but he's clearly not inhibited when looking for ways to fix perceived problems.

The question is, will current head coach Leslie Frazier be perceived as a problem by the end of the 2012 season?

Hired on an interim basis when Wilf had to fire Brad Childress and then named to the head coaching position on a full-time basis last last offseason, Frazier suffered through a tough first season as the man in charge, and the prospects heading into 2012 don't look much better.

A big issue is the adjusted arrangement that has given full authority to a general manager. Frazier needs to show that he can make it work with Rick Spielman. If Wilf is going to defer to anyone here, it's the GM. Then there is the small matter of the last year of Frazier's contract reportedly not being guaranteed. 

Bottom line: The team needs to show improvement, if not markedly so in the win column, then definitely in its play on the field. Otherwise Wilf will pull the plug on a short-lived Frazier era.

2. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers

Many were shocked when San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos chose to retain both general manager A.J. Smith and head coach Norv Turner after a second disappointing season in a row. Smith was under fire for allowing too much talent to walk while doing a poor job replacing it, and Turner was under fire for all the reasons Norv Turner has been under fire forever.

Actually, one of the most common knocks on Turner's Chargers teams has been the fact that they are notoriously slow starters, almost always needing furious comebacks in the second half of the season to make the postseason.

However, in 2011, this was not the case. The Chargers came out of the gate winning four of their first five games—and then everything fell apart.

More than anything, Turner must get quarterback Philip Rivers back on track. Turner has a strong track record with quarterbacks in general, which may be why Spanos chose to stick with him—at least one more year.

Smith has done a good job both via the draft and free agency bolstering the roster. Turner has his own guy installed as defensive coordinator in John Pagano for the fired Greg Manusky.

This is a must-win season for both men, but for Turner especially. The talent level on this team is comparable with some of the best teams in the league, with a good mix of veteran savvy and youthful promise.

Turner has to finally deliver on that promise.

1. Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones made some waves this offseason when he stated, probably truthfully, that the window for the Cowboys to win championships is closing.

Now, we've all listened (and listened and listened...) to Jerry Jones over the years. We know what moves the needle down in Dallas—namely, he does. If Jones is saying that the current core of players has a finite amount of time to get it done and get their owner another Lombardi Trophy, it's pretty clear who is responsible for making sure that happens.

Jason Garrett was a fine offensive coordinator. Is he a head coach, let alone a good one? I'm not so sure, and I don't think Jones is either.

Obviously, Garrett's missteps in his first full year as Cowboys head coach have been well documented, from icing his own kicker to not calling timeouts when they clearly needed to be called to having his owner call him out for not being aggressive enough at the end of games. That's the deal in Dallas. Your every failing is trumpeted for all the world to hear.

This is an extremely talented team. Jones used valuable resources, both draft picks and big free-agency money, to improve a defense that let the team down badly last year. They should be improved enough to make a serious run at a championship.

If Garrett doesn't make that happen in 2012, Jones has certainly shown he has no problem finding someone else who he thinks will be up to the task.