Hot-Seat Watch for NFL Players, Coaches After Week 16

To certain NFL players, coaches and general managers: Ask not for whom the bell tolls, as it surely tolls for thee.

And the inexorable march toward Black Monday—the NFL's day of bloodletting, where jobs are lost in droves—continues, with one more Sunday of action standing in its way.

The criteria for this list are simple: If the coach, general manager or player is struggling mightily and his team is performing poorly and eliminated from playoff contention, then it's fair to say he is on the hot seat. 

With these factors in play, speculation about job status is in full effect, with media reports factoring into the aforementioned speculation.

The following NFL players, coaches and general managers are on the hot seat after Week 16.

Jim Harbaugh, Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

As previously stated in this space, we don't quite understand why San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is on the hot seat—but it's more than obvious that he is and that the two sides are hurtling toward a messy divorce.

Adding extra kerosene to the already blazing inferno was Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, who reported on Sunday that Harbaugh will be done as 49ers coach within 24-48 hours of the team's Week 17 game against Arizona.

It's a stunning fall from grace for Harbaugh, who nearly led the 49ers to Super Bowl championships in each of his first three seasons.

In fact, it can be argued that if three plays had gone differently—Kyle Williams' fumbles in the 2011 NFC title game, the fourth-down pass to Michael Crabtree in Super Bowl XLVII against Baltimore and Richard Sherman's interception in the waning moments of January's NFC title game—the 49ers could (and would) have three more rings.

Now, Harbaugh's team sits at an ultra-disappointing 7-8 and is forced to play out the string on a lost season.

As Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel writes, letting Harbaugh walk could ultimately be a terrible decision brought on by an inability to conform to management:

"

When you have a coach of this caliber you find a way to make it work. The best thing to do with someone of immense ability who doesn't like being bossed around is to make him the boss. Or find one who will work well with him. You think Bill Belichick would take directions well? That's why he just gives them out. You think Parcells was easy? Ditka? Lombardi?

"

But all is not lost for Harbaugh. He'll be paid handsomely to coach elsewhere in 2015 and beyond—whether in the NFL (Glazer mentioned Chicago as possibility) or in college (hello, Michigan and your seemingly limitless coffers). 

Meanwhile, the 49ers are taking a tremendous gamble in losing Harbaugh, a coach who helped resuscitate the team after years of losing. Can CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke make the right hire to get the team back on track?

The aftermath of Harbaugh's ouster will be fascinating to behold.

Prediction: Harbaugh will be fired

When It Will Happen: On Black Monday

Marc Trestman, Head Coach, Chicago Bears

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

Have you watched the 2014 Chicago Bears? If so, you don't need to ask why head coach Marc Trestman is on the hot seat.

Chicago's embarrassing campaign continued on Sunday with a 20-14 home defeat to the Lions, dropping its record to 5-10 with a horrendous 2-6 mark at Solider Field. How can Trestman possibly survive what's been a dumpster fire of a season?

Trestman fired his final job-saving bullet this past week when he benched starting quarterback Jay Cutler for backup Jimmy Clausen. While the move certainly wasn't unwarranted, it smacked of desperation.

The rationale was clear: If Trestman could coax solid quarterback play out of the awful Clausen, it could show Bears ownership that Cutler was the problem and make them more apt to keep Trestman heading into next season.

But with Clausen playing average at best against Detroit (23-of-39 passing for 181 yards, two touchdown tosses and one interception), Trestman is likely a goner. 

This Bears season is destined to go down as one of the most disappointing in club history. The team folded on more than one occasion and played uninspired football throughout. Cutler was a train wreck, and Trestman seemed incapable of bringing the losing to a halt.

Now he'll likely pay with his job.

Prediction: Trestman will be fired

When It Will Happen: On Black Monday

Rex Ryan, Head Coach, New York Jets

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

It's just about over for the New York Jets' Rex Ryan.

After six seasons as head coach of Gang Green, Ryan has one more game—this Sunday's tilt in Miami—before he loses his job.

Despite a (mostly) entertaining tenure on the New York sideline, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. Ryan is a dead man walking and deserves to be fired.

Per ESPNNewYork.com's Danny Knobler, he's still clinging to hope, saying Friday, "I'm just going to be myself. I'm not dead yet."

Yeah. Sure.

This season—this dreadful, awful, pathetic season that sees the Jets at a miserable 3-12—will mark the fourth consecutive one without a playoff berth for Ryan's team. That's just not acceptable in today's NFL.

In his time with the Jets, Ryan's offenses never performed up to par, and his bravado wasn't always in good form. He made numerous errors in game and time management, and some of his quotes to the press seemed to be lifted out of a Farrelly Brothers movie.

Sunday's loss to New England encapsulated Ryan's tenure with the Jets. They came oh so close to winning (falling 17-16) against the big, bad New England Patriots before falling in the end. Ryan's Jets could never truly get over the hump.

Ryan will leave the Jets with back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances (2009 and 2010) on his resume, though those seem like a lifetime ago. But thanks to his personality and reputation, it's hard to imagine him being out of work for long.

Regardless of whether Ryan coaches in the league in 2015, the smart money should be on him serving as the head coach of an NFL team by 2016.

Prediction: Ryan will be fired

When It Will Happen: On Black Monday

Rob Ryan, Defensive Coordinator, New Orleans Saints

Bill Haber/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

Coming into the 2014 season, the New Orleans Saints were thought by many (including this humble author) to be legitimate Super Bowl contenders, thanks not only to their perennially high-octane offense but also to a defense that seemed ready to elevate its status to among the best in the league.

Well, to say that things haven't gone to plan would be like saying Harry and Marv's scheme in Home Alone nearly went off without a hitch.

With the 6-9 Saints now officially eliminated from playoff contention—and possessing the league's 31st-ranked defense—someone will have to pay with his job. And that someone is defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

There's simply no way Ryan can return to the bayou in 2015. Head coach Sean Payton will surely be back next year, as he's built up more than enough goodwill in his time in New Orleans. And at this point, the relationship between Ryan and Payton seems untenable. 

Ryan's defense has collapsed more often than not this season, allowing 404 points, good for fourth-most in the league.

While it hasn't been a vintage season from quarterback Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints offense, many of the team's issues can be traced to defensive breakdowns. Simply put: The unit hasn't been good enough, and Ryan should be on the way out as a result.

Prediction: Ryan will be fired

When It Will Happen: On Black Monday

Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel, QBs, Cleveland Browns

David Richard/Associated Press

Why They're on the Hot Seat

At one point this season, the Cleveland Browns were 7-4 and on the precipice of a wild-card berth in the AFC.

But four straight losses have dropped them out of contention, and there's been a common denominator in all of them: substandard quarterback play from the (not-so) dynamic duo of Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel.

Hoyer's issues have been well-documented in this space, so they don't need to be rehashed. He deserves to be on an NFL roster but is clearly miscast as a starter. Manziel's foibles, however, need to be discussed.

There's no sugarcoating it: Manziel has been terrible in his limited game action. He's now 18-of-35 in passing for 175 yards and zero touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble, and he was forced out of Sunday's loss to Carolina with a hamstring injury.

Of course, his malady opened the door for Hoyer to return, and he predictably couldn't put enough points on the scoreboard to secure a victory (the Browns lost 17-13).

Head coach Mike Pettine announced Monday that Manziel's hamstring injury will keep him out of the Browns' Week 17 game in Baltimore, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. With Hoyer also nursing a shoulder injury, rookie Connor Shaw might have to start, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot, which is sure to dampen any holiday cheer in Cleveland.

The Browns are now in a tenuous spot with the quarterback position. Hoyer will be a free agent at season's end, and Manziel has shown more negatives than positives. This isn't to say that Manziel can't or won't turn it around—it's obviously way too early for a career moratorium—but the Browns brass is likely nervous heading into the offseason.

How the Browns handle the quarterback position this offseason will be telling and will speak volumes on their long-term opinion of Manziel.

Prediction: Hoyer will start Week 17 and not return in 2015; Manziel will enter 2015 as the starter

When It Will Happen: Browns coach Mike Pettine will announce Hoyer as the Week 17 starter

Josh McCown, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

Come on, Lovie Smith.

It's time for the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to do the right thing. It's time for him to see what's so clearly in front of him and give a young player a chance to start.

Smith needs to bench starting quarterback Josh McCown for the season's final game and insert backup Mike Glennon into the lineup. It's the only move that makes sense, and the only one that would show Smith is serious about winning another game in this calendar year.

McCown has been positively dreadful this season. After Sunday's loss to Green Bay (in which the McCown-led offense only generated three points), McCown is now 1-9 as the starter this season and has tossed only 10 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions. But somehow, McCown has retained his starting job and hasn't lost the confidence of his coach. It makes less-than-zero sense.

In seemingly every game, McCown makes a boneheaded play that seems to evoke memories of legendary quarterback Brett Favre. Except Favre, you know, actually had talent and won games, unlike McCown.

Meanwhile, the 25-year old Glennon is tethered to the bench with 29 career touchdown passes against only 15 interceptions and a 1-4 mark as the starter this year. Again, it makes less-than-zero sense that Smith continues to trot out the dreadful McCown instead of giving Glennon a shot.

Unless, of course, Smith's rationale is that he's trying to clinch the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft—presumably to draft Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. With Tampa Bay at 2-13, it's in pole position to do just that, and Glennon could ultimately upend the apple cart with positive play. 

But regardless of Smith's intentions, the fact that McCown has started 10 games and Glennon only five is disgraceful and flat-out ridiculous. You know that you have with McCown: a 35-year old journeyman. Glennon still has upside.

Too bad Smith and the Buccaneers didn't care to see it in 2014.

Prediction: McCown will start the team's final game (against New Orleans)

When It Will Happen: No official announcement will need to be made

Kyle Orton, Quarterback, Buffalo Bills

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

The reason why Buffalo Bills quarterback Kyle Orton is on the hot seat is because he's not very good. Nothing more, nothing less.

When Bills coach Doug Marrone made the switch from EJ Manuel to Orton prior to Week 5, it was the equivalent of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Orton is a competent quarterback with obvious limitations, and ultimately the Bills needed more from the position to qualify for the postseason, as Sunday's awful loss at Oakland officially eliminated them from contention.

For Bills fans, this has to be a bitter pill to swallow. The defense was marvelous for the vast majority of the season, and their team doesn't have a first-round pick next year by virtue of the trade that brought receiver Sammy Watkins to western New York.

And because of the problems at the quarterback position, the Bills—a talented team that could have made noise in January with the right signal-caller—will miss the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season, the NFL's longest such drought.

Orton is far from the league's worst quarterback (he's 6-5 as the starter in Buffalo), but he's obviously miscast as a starter. The only reason he even received this opportunity is because Manuel was atrocious. There's no way the Bills can enter 2015 with Orton as the locked-in starter—the entire organization should be fired if that happens.

It would make sense for Marrone to let Manuel play in Week 17 against the Patriots to earn some experience and to see if the benching has helped him at all. Either way, though, one thing is clear: The Orton era needs to come to swift conclusion.

Prediction: Orton will be done as Buffalo's starting quarterback

When It Will Happen: Either this week or after this season

Mark Sanchez, Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles

Mark Tenally/Associated Press

Why He's on the Hot Seat

Quick: What's your favorite movie?

Think about the answer, and then consider this question: What would you say if someone told you that the next time you watched that movie, the ending would be different?

You'd surely tell the person in question that he/she is crazy and that you already know the ending because you've already seen the movie.

Ladies and gentlemen, we tried to warn you about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez. Although there were those who professed that the Sanchez movie would have a different ending in Philadelphia, things were just destined to happen like this.

After Saturday's brutal and unacceptable loss to the Washington Redskins put their playoff hopes on life support, the Dallas Cowboys flatlined the Eagles' chances by blowing out the Indianapolis Colts and winning the NFC East the next day. Three weeks after standing at 9-3 and in the driver's seat for the NFC East, the Eagles find themselves eliminated from postseason contention.

And Sanchez is a major reason why.

In seven starts (and about seven-and-a-half games), Sanchez has committed 13 turnovers, including the grisly late interception that led to Washington's game-winning field goal on Saturday. And anyone surprised by that statistic has clearly never watched Sanchez play quarterback before. This is who he is, and this what he does. He's a human turnover machine who lays an egg in the big spot.

Sanchez, who will start a meaningless Week 17 game against the New York Giants, has once again proven that he's nothing more than a backup.

Maybe at this point, people will realize that the ending of the Sanchez movie is one that they've seen countless times already.

Prediction: Sanchez will lose his starting job in Philadelphia

When It Will Happen: At season's end