Early-Season Hot Seat Watch for NFL Head Coaches

Yes, we are only two games into the latest NFL season, but that doesn't mean the pressure isn't on for a fistful of sideline leaders.

High expectation and early disappointment can make for a lethal combination when it comes to teams and their head coaches.

So thanks to some not-so-scintillating starts (and that doesn't necessarily mean 0-2), here are five current NFL leaders who may find their current seats a little warm—and we're not talking about in their cars.

We've also taken the time to point out three head coaches who may also be feeling a little pressure by year's end despite good or respectable starts.

We are certainly not suggesting anyone in this piece should be fired. Of course, where there is smoke...

Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts

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It seems as if we are in familiar territory when it comes to the Indianapolis Colts, a team that came within one win of a Super Bowl appearance last season.

If they are to get to the Big Game for the first time since 2009, they will have to overcome a 0-2 start for the second straight season. That was the case a year ago, when Chuck Pagano's club dropped their first two games to the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles but still rebounded to finish 11-5 and reach the playoffs.

Yes, under the current playoff format that dates back to 1990, there have been 24 occasions in which a team has bounced back from losing its first two games to reach the postseason. But it's also worth noting no franchise has done it in consecutive years.

That's now the obstacle facing Pagano. And this season's winless start doesn't bare any resemblance to last year's winless start. Fourth-year quarterback Andrew Luck stated the obvious regarding Monday night's 20-7 home loss to the New York Jets, according to Mike Chappell of Indy Sports Central:

"

My play. Turning the ball over. Fumbles, interceptions. Pretty glaring. I don't want to take anything away from what the Jets did on defense, but we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers.

"

Added Luck, "If we don't clean those up, it's hard to win football games."

More importantly, it may be hard for Pagano to be at the helm of this team a year from now. His current contract with the team expires after this year, and there are whispers of friction between himself and general manager Ryan Grigson, via Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated.

It may be a bumpy road back to .500 and beyond for Indianapolis.

Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins

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The last time the Miami Dolphins reached the playoffs was also the last time the New England Patriots failed to do so.

That would be way back in 2008, when then-head coach Tony Sparano (with a big assist from Hall of Famer Bill Parcells) led the franchise to an 11-5 mark and the AFC East title.

Since then, the Dolphins are a combined 44-54, including 24-26 under current sideline leader Joe Philbin. The team has spent its share of money in free agency in each of the last two seasons to secure a playoff berth. But losses in their final two games in 2013 and a 2-4 finish last year relegated them to 8-8 each time.

So where does that leave Philbin? This offseason, via free agency and trades, the Dolphins added defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and C.J. Mosley, wide receivers Greg Jennings and Kenny Stills and tight end Jordan Cameron. And following a 17-10 victory at Washington, the Dolphins stubbed their toes at Jacksonville last Sunday.

Are the Dolphins headed for another up-and-down season? If that's the case, it could be thumbs down for Philbin.

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints

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For the second straight year and the third time in four seasons, the New Orleans Saints have dug themselves an early 0-2 hole.

In both 2012 and 2014, the team got off to miserable starts and inevitably were not able to overcome them. In 2012, head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the season. A year ago, he was not, and the team finished 7-9 for the second time in three years.

Now, the Saints are 0-2 again and face the 2-0 Panthers this week in Carolina. A loss would put them in a major hole early, especially since the Atlanta Falcons have also won their first two games this season.

ESPN NFL analyst Herm Edwards was asked Tuesday which of the nine 0-2 teams in the league was in trouble, and the longtime player and coach pointed to the Saints and cited a number of reasons (courtesy of Julie Boudwin of NOLA.com):

"

Drew Brees, obviously, now has a sore shoulder. They don't have a home field advantage. You look at this team and they’re struggling on both sides of the football. Jimmy Graham is missed. He is missed in New Orleans. That was (Brees') security blanket and no more Jimmy Graham. So, all these problems are mounting up. On the defense that's obviously is hurt, little bit beat up; look at their schedule.

"

This marks not only Payton's but quarterback Drew Brees' 10th year in the Big Easy. But in 2015, it may be very hard to once again overcome such a shaky start...in more ways than one.

Tom Coughlin, New York Giants

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He's fashioned a 96-82 record in just over 12 seasons with the New York Giants. He's led the franchise to a pair of Super Bowl wins, both involving extraordinary circumstances.

But head coach Tom Coughlin is also at the helm of a team that has inexplicably forgotten some basic principles about the game of football.

For one, how to protect a fourth-quarter lead.

Hence the Giants are 0-2 for the third consecutive year, with the last two ending with 7-9 and 6-10 records, respectively. But in a division that is off to a tumultuous start this season, could Big Blue be in the black come December?

Quarterback Eli Manning has put up somewhat respectable numbers so far, completing 61.8 percent of his passes while not throwing an interception (although he's lost one fumble). But his decision-making late in games has come into question, as the team has squandered 10-point fourth-quarter leads in consecutive weeks to the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons.

Coughlin has seemingly been on the hot seat ever since his arrival in 2004. But these days, the temperature seems to be going up a bit.

Jeff Fisher, St. Louis Rams

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We have been patiently waiting for the St. Louis Rams to live up to all of that early-round talent the last few years.

But could patience be wearing thin in the Gateway City?

Jeff Fisher was the Tennessee Titans head coach for 16-plus years from 1994-2010 and led that franchise to the Super Bowl in 1999—coincidentally ending in a 23-16 loss to the Rams. Following a one-year hiatus from the sidelines, Fisher was hired by St. Louis in 2012 and has failed to deliver a winning season to date.

This year began on quite a high note. The Rams outlasted the defending NFC champion Seattle Seahawks 34-31 in overtime to kick off 2015. Last Sunday, this same club couldn't stop the Washington Redskins running game and fell hard at FedEx Field 24-10.

So which version of the Rams will we see this week? This year? The franchise hasn't enjoyed a winning season since 2003 and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2004. That's not all on Fisher, but last week's letdown following a win over the Seahawks was a bit distressing.

This is a club stacked with talent and one now with a former Pro Bowl quarterback in Nick Foles. But does the team have the right man at the helm to get the job done?

A Little Warm?

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Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals

Wait a minute. The Cincinnati Bengals have reached the playoffs four consecutive years, the longest streak in the history of the franchise, and head coach Marvin Lewis could be feeling a little heat?

You will notice we didn't mention anything about a playoff victory, something the team has not managed to get since quarterback Boomer Esiason led Sam Wyche's Bengals to a 41-14 victory over the Houston Oilers in the 1990 AFC Wild Card Round. Lewis has led Cincinnati to a total of six playoff appearances in the last 10 years and is (obviously) 0-6 in those contests.

Is patience running out in the Queen City? We may not know until December...or January.

Mike Pettine, Cleveland Browns

After being rolled by the New York Jets in Week 1 at MetLife Stadium, the Cleveland Browns gave Johnny Manziel the football (who got it to Travis Benjamin), and Mike Pettine's team rebounded with a 28-14 win over the Tennessee Titans.

But that doesn't mean all is rosy with this team and the head coach, the franchise's eighth different sideline leader since 1999. This is an organization that has lacked stability since it returned to the league, and an eighth straight losing season (the second under Pettine, if it should occur) could spark another coaching change in Ohio.

Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins

Simple math tells us Jay Gruden's stay in the nation's capital could be short-lived if he can't turn around a Washington team that has finished dead last in the NFC East six times in seven seasons dating back to 2008.

Of course, the Redskins won a division title in 2012 under head coach Mike Shanahan and starting quarterback Robert Griffin III. Obviously, neither one of those men are in the same position these days.

Gruden is the eighth head coach under current owner Daniel Snyder, and following a 24-10 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, there are signs the 'Skins may be turning the corner on both sides of the ball, especially in the trenches.

Of course, we also know that the longest-tenured head coaches during the Snyder Era (Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan) lasted a mere four years.