NFL Hot Seat: Gauging Every Head Coach After Week 5

Their are tons of interesting changes and updates to check out in this week's addition of NFL Hot Seat.

Week 5 saw some key changes in coaches' "hot seat status updates" with two new coaches being added to the Hot Seat and one coach who was hot after Week 2 is now officially cool.

When you consider that the average tenure of an NFL head coach is only about 3.25 years, it becomes clear that things change fast in this league. That is why this hot-seat temperature needs to be updated every week.

Here's a temperature reading, from hot to warm to room temperature to cool to cozy, for every head coach in the NFL.

Chan Gailey

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Hot

Last week, a 52-28 stomping by their divisional rival New England Patriots was disappointing enough to return Gailey's seat to warm. This week was even worse. The 49ers absolutely dismantled the Bills in a 45-3 blowout.

So far this season, Gailey has been hot, warm, room temperature, back to warm, and now, he's finally on the Hot Seat.

One thing the Bills expected to be much improved this season was the defense, and judging from from their performances against the Jets, Patriots, and now 49ers, it doesn't seem like this unit will be living up to expectations. The highest-paid defensive player in NFL history had another subpar game, contributing two tackles and zero sacks.

Buffalo fans won't tolerate these performances for long, considering the higher-than-normal expectations heading into the 2012 season. Gailey needs turn things around quickly or else he'll be sent packing.

Jason Garrett

Last Week: Hot

After Week 5: Hot

Last week, I warned that, if Jason Garrett were to lose the Monday night game against the Bears, seats would be getting pretty hot in Dallas. Now, Garrett is the skipper of a sinking ship while captain Jerry Jones will need to find someone to blame, considering he won't fire himself.

Garrett does deserve a great deal of responsibility for the poor play on big D, and he may not make it to the end of the season.

One of the major issues for Garrett, beyond his record, is the perception that he’s too passive and afraid to really take control of the egos in the Dallas locker room. After all, some men make better coordinators than they do head coaches. Perhaps, it's time to leave the head coaching duties up to a guy who can stand up to Jerry Jones.

Joe Philbin

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Room Temperature

Before Sunday's big win over the Bengals, Miami was coming off two consecutive hard-fought overtime losses.

Even though Philbin and the Fins are 2-3, they have managed to keep their games extremely competitive, despite some growing pains from rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill. These are the type of games you can tolerate from a first-year head coach and rookie quarterback when you know the future is a promising one.

Patience may not be a luxury Philbin can afford when you consider the tension building since Bill Parcells took a less-active role as a consultant and general manager Jeff Ireland assumed full command in September 2010. Lack of success on the field and an inability to recruit key free agents have put Ireland on a short leash.

This likely will limit the time given to Philbin, considering he was handpicked by Ireland. But for now, he should have some comfort, considering his room temperature status. But, things in Miami could change quickly.

"

The Cleveland Brown are 0-5 with a point differential of -30. The Titans are 1-4 with a point differential of -93

— Sideline Scouting (@sidelinescouts) October 8, 2012

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Tom Coughlin

Last Week: Cool

After Week 5: Cool

Judging by the way Sunday's game against the Browns started out, you would think Coughlin's Giants were in for another upset. But in normal Tom Coughlin fashion, the Giants were able to make plays and step it up when it matters most.

Given his age (66) and his questionable history with player relations, don't expect his seat to get cozy any time during the regular season. At the least, he will need to go deep into the playoffs for that status to be warranted.

Bill Belichick

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cozy

Job security shouldn't be an issue in this town for a while. My words from Week 1 are just as applicable today, so I'll post them again: No coach in the NFL has more job security than Bill Belichick.

He likely will coach the Patriots as long as he wishes, which at this point could be for a long time.

Belichick sets the bar for all other active coaches in the NFL and has acquired complete control over football operations in New England.

He could go for it on every single fourth down in a game while wearing a dress and smoking a Cutler-brand cigarette on the sideline, and he still wouldn't get fired.

Belichick is one of the most successful and influential football minds in the history of the league and likely is the most coveted individual, either player or coach, in the NFL. I think it's safe to say he'll be around for a while.

"

Execution on offense was pretty sound today. Defense as well. Tough three game stretch up ahead... #Patriots need to get healthy.

— James Christensen (@NEPatriotsDraft) October 7, 2012"

Andy Reid

Last Week: Hot

After Week 5: Hot

A 3-1 record was the best stat the Eagles had going for them, traveling into Pittsburgh to face a Steelers team trying to get healthy. Well, it appears the Steelers were able to get healthy, which is a lot more than we can say for Mike Vick.

Vick clearly lacks the ability to correctly adjust pass protections or recognize when he has to get rid of the ball quickly. His pocket awareness is abysmal and is the main reason why he's had such a hard time staying healthy for a complete season.

But, will all of his turnovers, lately, maybe Vick is more valuable from the sidelines.

Some may choose to blame Vick or the underperforming defense. However, Reid has been the mastermind behind just about all the key decisions, including a pass-happy offense that puts Vick at risk of both injury and turnovers as well as the odd hiring of Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator, despite no previous NFL experience on that side of the ball.

Rex Ryan

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Warm with a win over the Texans Monday night; Hot pending a loss.

Mark "Sanchize" Sanchez has now finished three consecutive games, completing less than 50 percent of his passes. The ground-and-pound style the Jets hoped to implement has been all but abandoned.

Darrelle Revis was lost for the year in Week 3, and now, it appears the Jets will have to figure out how to win without their most reliable offensive weapon—Santonio Holmes—as well, who was lost for the season with a foot injury.

The Jets' season seems to be heading downhill after an embarrassing shutout loss to the San Francisco 49ers at home.

It appears highly questionable whether the Jets will be able to rebound from the injuries incurred over the last two weeks and the poor play of Mark Sanchez. If they make a habit of accumulating non-competitive losses, it's not out of the question for Jets owner Woody Johnson to clear house from the GM to the quarterback.

Mike Shanahan

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Room Temperature

In all fairness, Shanahan had to do without his star rookie quarterback for the second half of the game which may have cost them the upset victory over the undefeated Falcons on Sunday.

This is not a season in which owner Dan Snyder will tolerate a losing record. Snyder has to be growing tired of life at the bottom of the NFC East. One more year of this could spell trouble for Shanahan, despite signing Shanahan to a five-year deal back in 2010.

With that said, the growing rapport between rising NFL star RG3 and his head coach is not to be underestimated. It would take a pretty poor season to get Shanahan fired, and I don't see that as a likely scenario.

If the Redskins are scraping the bottom of the division by Week 12, expect Shanahan to, at least, be on the hot seat.

John Harbaugh

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cozy

The win against the Chiefs this week wasn't pretty, but it was a win nonetheless. The Ravens are now 4-1 and heading in the right direction.

Harbaugh has done a great job winning the games he's supposed to win. The best part about their wins early in the season are they are without the reigning defensive MVP Terrell Suggs.

Winning nearly 69 percent of his regular-season games over four years, Harbaugh’s job status is stable and will be unaffected by the outcome of any one game this season.

"

A weird/fun statistic: Ravens have now won 4 games in franchise history when they didn't score a TD. No team has won more. (via @mattpompom)

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 8, 2012

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Lovie Smith

Last Week: Cool

After Week 5: Cool

Sure, the Bears bashed the Jaguars 41-3 this weekend, advancing to a 4-1 record, but they could have been on the verge of a locker-room meltdown reminiscent of the 2011 Jets after back-to-back weeks of Cutler's sideline antics. For this reason, it's going to take a bit more on-the-field success before Coach Smith is awarded with the Cozy status.

For the time being, Lovie has righted the ship in Chicago and put the brakes on panic talk for another week. Smith has managed to field a consistently competitive team and is not in any immediate danger of feeling warmth.

However, should signs emerge that his locker room is out of control, that could change quickly for Smith and his Bears.

"

Bears defense is just sick.

— Michael Schottey (@Schottey) October 7, 2012

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Marvin Lewis

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Room Temperature

Cincinnati is pretty banged up right now but have managed a 3-2 record, following a lost to the Miami Dolphins now 2-3.

Only Andy Reid and Bill Belichick have coached their current teams longer than Marvin Lewis has coached the Bengals.

Lewis has been given a lot of time to create a champion and has even been given a lot of control over personnel decisions by owner Mike Brown, but his window of opportunity will be closing soon if the Bengals fail to improve on last year's success.

For now, his seat remains unchanged. The Bengals are in fairly good shape heading into the fourth week of the season.

With a great start to the season at 3-2, if Cincinnati can improve its banged up and questionable defense, it should be in good position to compete in the notoriously tough AFC North and Lewis should be safe heading into the 2013 season.

Jim Schwartz

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Warm

Nothing has changed for Detroit this week, considering they had a bye.

A 1-3 record is not exactly how the Lions envisioned to start the first quarter of the season. As a result, Schwartz must now face the added pressure of keeping his job.

He may want to do himself a favor and replace his special teams coach Danny Crossman. Special teams play has been a major reason for the team's struggles this year.

Pat Shurmur

Last Week: Hot

After Week 5: Hot

Well, the Browns looked good in the first quarter against the Giants. But, things went south quickly after that.

So what's wrong in Cleveland, besides being the last winless team in the NFL and who's to blame?

One solution might be to give Colt McCoy a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job.

Twenty-eight-year-old rookie quarterbacks are not afforded the same type of patience as the more common 22-year-old variety. Even though Weeden didn't play terrible on Sunday, Shurmur is 100 percent responsible for the QB situation which likely would have been to difference between a couple wins and losses in those close games earlier in the season.

Shurmur needs to be pull out some victories soon or he could find himself watching the end of the season from his couch.

Mike McCarthy

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cool

Well, Coach McCarthy has slipped a bit in his job security rating as the Packers find themselves below .500 for the first time in...um...two weeks actually. But before that, it was...um...Week 1.

Losing to the Colts was tough for Packers fans to swallow when you consider the Colts won only two games last year while the Packers lost only one game. 

Most expected the 2012 version of Green Bay to be even more dangerous and complete than last year. But, this isn't quite the time to panic yet. McCarthy is still a good coach, and Rodgers is still the best quarterback in the NFL.

Expect the Packers to be major players in the postseason and don't expect Mike McCarthy's seat to get Hot this year.

"

Any GB fans missing Joe Philbin this season? Underrated elemenYt or not?

— Scott Kacsmar (@CaptainComeback) October 7, 2012

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Mike Tomlin

Last Week: Cool

After Week 5: Cozy

In a statement game for Pittsburgh following a much-needed bye week, the Steelers were able beat a tough Eagles team in order to get back to .500 and bring Tomlin's job status back to "Cozy."

Many expect this to be somewhat of a down year for Pittsburgh, but even that's relative. Winning records are commonplace for the Steelers. One thing the great teams are able to do is find a way to win. The Steelers have been one of those teams for a long time.

However, this may be the year they find themselves without a playoff spot.

Either way, Tomlin will return as coach, and the Steelers are only a few pieces away from contention. That minimizes the fact that Tomlin is the first coach to fall from his cozy status, but there is plenty of time for Tomlin to be sitting pretty again.

Leslie Frazier

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Cool

Yes, the Vikings are leading their division with a 4-1 record. After their Week 2 loss to the Colts, I had Frazier on the hot seat. These days, he has cooled things down significantly moving all the way up to "Cool." He may end up proving he can be the Vikings' coach for the long haul.

Frazier seems to have found the guy who cannot only save his job but also build around in Christian Ponder.

The question now becomes: Are these Vikings for real?

My hat's off to Coach Frazier for being the front-runner to Coach of the Year.

"

 

Minnesota is a Andrew Luck GW drive away from 5-0 and I don't think they're even the second best NFCN team. Maybe not even third.

— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) October 7, 2012

 

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A magic 8-ball would be a better HC than Childress RT @fbgchase you know, Leslie Frazier just may be a better HC than Brad Childress.

— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) October 7, 2012

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Gary Kubiak

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cozy—regardless of Monday night's outcome.

The Texans are looking like the team to beat this year as they have dominated every game up to this point.

Kubiak has slowly built a Super Bowl-caliber team in Houston. At 4-0, the Texans remain the last undefeated team in the AFC and have won each game convincingly, leaving little to chance.

The system and style of coaching implemented by Gary Kubiak has been invaluable to the Texans' success, so don't expect a move to replace him any time in the foreseeable future.

Given the team’s consistent improvement through the years, Kubiak has bought himself a lot of leeway for an NFL head coach. His seat is cozy and should remain so for quite some time now.

Mike Smith

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cozy

The Atlanta Falcons are the only 5-0 team in the league right now and one of only two teams yet to lose a game; the other team being the Houston Texans who play on Monday night.

Coach Mike Smith has never had a losing season during his tenure in Atlanta, but what he still needs to prove is that he can win games in the postseason.

In four years of calling the shots, he has won 67 percent of his games (via Pro Football Reference) and brought a level of consistent success that the Falcons organization has never had before. Smith's job security is cozy and should remain so for at least the next few weeks.

Chuck Pagano

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Room Temperature

Chuck Pagano found himself in a unique situation this week dealing with life-threatening issues far more severe than the outcome of any football game. He was diagnosed with Leukemia earlier in the week and is now forced to take a leave of absence.

But, the love for their head coach was apparent Sunday when they did the unthinkable by defeating the Green Bay Packers in a win dedicated to Chuck. Clearly.

Chuck Pagano, who is just getting started at Indy, should remain in the room-temperature range for the duration of his inaugural season as head coach.

However, if the team ends up racking up a ton of victories without him in what's supposed to be a rebuilding year, we may have to question his true value to the team aside from being a rallying cry. Or, we may have to get Bruce Arians a head-coaching job in 2013.

Ron Rivera

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Hot

Ron Rivera is the newest member to the Hot Seat Club, and this status is well-deserved after the type of football being played in Carolina.

Coach Ron Rivera is on pace to have the same type of season he had last year, which isn't saying much in terms of his job security. To his credit, he was a few inches away from pulling out a victory against the undefeated Falcons, but a Cam Newton fumble prevented them from converting a game-winning first down.

Rivera's biggest disappointment, so far, this year has been the team's struggles defensively. Considering he's a defensive-minded coach, the type of confusion on that side of the ball is becoming disturbing to say the least.

"

I wish there was a vote for #NFL Worst Coach Of The Year. I would vote so hard for Ron Rivera.

— Josh Zerkle (@PUNTE) October 7, 2012

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Mike Mularkey

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Warm

Mularkey would be on the Hot Seat right now, but he still has a little bit of time on his side left, considering this is his first year as head coach. We also need to consider how much of the franchise's problems stem from the personnel side.

Whatever the source of the problem is, one thing appears clear in Jacksonville. They're not a good team. Sunday, the Bears embarrassed the Jaguars in a 41-3 win that had many believing the team has already thrown in the towel.

Jacksonville is 1-4 after five weeks. They don't appear to be fielding a legitimate contender this season to say the least. But, if Mularkey fails to field a competitive team capable of fighting for four quarters, he is almost guaranteed to be out of a job before summer hits.

"

A lot of what is wrong with Jacksonville has to do with poor player evaluations, whether by the scouts, or GM not trusting scouts.

— Benjamin Allbright (@NFLDraftMonster) October 7, 2012

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#Jaguars have rolled over and died.

— Eric C. Stoner (@ECStoner) October 7, 2012

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Sean Payton

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cozy

Sean Payton's importance to the Saints is becoming more evident after each week of struggle. Even though the Saints got their first win Sunday night, the team is clearly lacking its mastermind with Payton being suspended for the season. The Saints are running around like an unpolished version of themselves.

This is the irony of Payton's hot-seat update. He is best served by a poor display by the Saints, exactly the type of play we have seen for two consecutive weeks.

Considering Payton may be the second-most important person in the franchise behind only Drew Brees, the Saints may want to begin negotiating a contract extension for him as soon as possible.

"

Wait, the Saints got some yardage in the run game and sustained a drive? You don't say.

— Thomas Melton (@TMeltonScouting) October 8, 2012

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Mike Munchak

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Warm

Munchak was just downgraded to Warm last week and has done enough over the last two seasons to avoid the Hot Seat just yet. However, with a 1-4 record to start the season, I just don't see enough going right in Tennessee to justify stable job security.

The Titans do not seem to be improving from last season and have actually regressed overall which played a big factor in the regression of Munchak's hot-seat status to warm last week.

The fate of the offensive approach could decide Munchak's future. If coordinator Chris Palmer fails to produce an effective offense, Munchak could end up on the hot seat sooner than many may have expected.

"

 

Chris Johnson was held below 25 rush yards for the 4th time in 5 games this season.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 7, 2012

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The Cleveland Brown are 0-5 with a point differential of -30. The Titans are 1-4 with a point differential of -93

— Sideline Scouting (@sidelinescouts) October 8, 2012

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Greg Schiano

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Room Temperature

Schiano's Buccaneers deserve credit for fighting hard all season, but a 1-3 record is not where they were hoping to be. We will get to see how this first-year NFL head coach utilizes his Week 5 bye through making adjustments and correcting team weaknesses.

This is not a team generally looked at as one that needs a lot of time to rebuild. The Buccaneers may be one of the younger squads in the league, but they also are extremely talented, with three promising rookies in Mark Barron, Doug Martin and Lavonte David. They also brought in high-profile, free-agent wideout Vincent Jackson to be the go-to receiver.

A loss next week could finally push Greg Schiano's seat into the warmer regions of job security.

John Fox

Last Week: Cool

After Week 5: Cool

Denver looked crisp as they fired on all cylinders against the Raiders in Week 4, but on Sunday, the Patriots proved to be too talented for the the Broncos defense to handle.

With the addition of Manning, expectations are extremely high in Denver.

Fox’s squad would have to implode for him to be in trouble. At the same time, he hasn’t proven nearly enough in Denver to allow this hole to get much deeper. For now, the Broncos sit with a 2-3 record and a coach whose seat is remaining cool for the time being.

"

The Patriots are straight putting it on the Broncos.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) October 7, 2012

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Ken Whisenhunt

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cool

Thursday night's prime-time showdown of NFC West risers was hard-fought and demonstrates the type of defense played in this division. Unfortunately for the Cards, this game did seem to bring this high-flying unit back down to earth.

Despite the loss in St. Louis, Whisenhunt has done the best with what he has to work with. However, let us not forget the role Whisenhunt played in creating this lackluster quarterback situation by releasing Leinhart, bringing in Kolb with a big free-agent contract and failing to add any help in the area this offseason.

The Cardinals may have a solid defensive but have one of the worst offensive units in the NFL. Yet, they've started the season by beating three teams they had no business competing against. This is always a good sign of solid coaching.

The preseason was cause for concern for Cardinal fans. Watching their offensive line fall apart in the manner in which it did was scary and gave little hope for the near future.

Jeff Fisher

Last Week: Cool

After Week 5: Cool

Fisher and his squad were able to pull off the significant upset against the red-hot Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. Defense was the name of the game in that contest as the Rams won a close battle at home 19-13.

It was more of the same on Thursday night's prime-time stage when the Rams defense bruised and bloodied the undefeated Cardinals. This was a big divisional win on national television that definitely made a statement to the rest of the league.

Luckily, the Rams have their franchise QB in Sam Bradford and can build around him for the next 10 years. All indications seem to point toward Fisher being a big part of that process, so his hot-seat status will remain relatively safe.

Romeo Crennel

Last Week: Hot

After Week 5: Hot

Scott Pioli and the Chiefs organization expects immediate success in Kansas City this season, given the obvious talent on the roster. Anything less could cost Romeo Crennel his job. Unfortunately, starting the season off with a 1-4 record already has Crennel's job under fire.

The loss on Sunday to the Ravens was at least a competitive game which is more than I can say for their performance against the Chargers last week.

The last thing you want to see from a team with the talent level of Kansas City is losses that aren’t even competitive.

It seems a winning record is the only outcome that can save Crennel's job for 2013. As of right now, his seat is very hot, and he is in danger of not finishing out the season.

As for Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, this is likely the last head coach he will hire in Kansas City.

Jim Harbaugh

Last Week: Cozy

After Week 5: Cozy

San Francisco has won their last two games with a combined total of 79-3. That's pretty good by most standards.

The 49ers bounced back from a tough loss to the Vikings a few weeks back by demolishing the New York Jets in their own house and then blowing the doors open offensively and defensively against the Bills.

Alex Smith had one of his more impressive games as a professional and needs to string together more games like this if he hopes to lead his team to the ultimate prize in February.

Regardless, Harbaugh's job status remains unchanged. Getting the 49ers to the NFC championship game last year in his first season as head coach, and more importantly, creating a distinct identity for his team as a tough group with an old-school mentality has him completely safe.

Harbaugh’s turnaround of the organization and general style of coaching are hard to ignore. He will have to endure a series of terrible losses for anything to change in his status this year.

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Vikings woke up the 49ers…Since losing in Minnesota, SF is beating their opponents 58-3

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) October 7, 2012

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This just in...... Breaking news, #49ers are um, good

— Vincent Frank (@VincentFrankNFL) October 7, 2012

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Dennis Allen

Last Week: Warm

After Week 5: Warm

The last thing Raiders fans want to endure is another season known as the most dysfunctional team in the NFL. This group looked to be headed in that direction before winning big at home two weeks ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The good news is the Raiders looked like they were playing smart, disciplined football and fought for four quarters during that game.

Last Sunday's abysmal loss to the Broncos, however, seemed to be more reminiscent of the Raiders of old: unable to execute, poor defense and an offense that failed to reach the end zone. Hopefully, Coach Allen can turn things around during the team's bye week.

The Raiders are 1-3. Regardless of the record, Allen will be judged on his ability to make the team competitive in every game while showing improvement as the season progresses.

His job status will be more reflective of this premise rather than wins and losses.

Pete Carroll

Last Week: Room Temperature

After Week 5: Room Temperature

The Seahawks seem ready to contend for the playoffs this year, and Pete Carroll is proving more than willing to do what it takes to get them there, even if it means benching the big free-agent QB acquisition in favor of the shrimpy, third-round rookie because of his impressive play in the preseason.

Carroll has also built, perhaps, the league's most feared secondary.

As long as Seattle wins more than it loses, Carroll should be fairly safe for at least a few more years.

After five games, the Seahawks are one of the better 3-2 teams in the league. Carroll's seat is stable for now, but this really needs to be playoff year if he wants job security for the 2013 season.

Norv Turner

Last Week: Hot

After Week 5: Hot

Norv Turner’s job is all but lost, despite winning his first two games of the season.

The only way he can keep his job at this point is if he gets to an AFC championship game; anything less and it’s "Adios, Mr. Turner." If the Chargers can keep winning games, there is a good chance his seat could cool down before long.

As of right now, the seat doesn’t get much hotter for a head coach who is 3-2, unless your name is Andy and you live in Philadelphia. Turner has nearly worn out his welcome in San Diego and was only retained after last season because of desperate pleas by Philip Rivers, who lobbied heavily to give him one last chance.

Just making the playoffs won't cut it in San Diego this year. The organization has completely lost its patience and is all but set for a complete overhaul from the top down.

This means that even if the Chargers play in a playoff game this year, Turner's status will likely be either hot or warm heading into that game. Should he fail to win a playoff game, we should assume there will be a head coaching vacancy in San Diego days after season's end.

"

U know how well-publicized it was that the Saints lacked a pass rush entering this game. Welcome the SDG OL 2 the equation & voila! #Norv&AJ

— Jeff Roemer (@JeffRoemer) October 8, 2012

 

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