Hot Seat Coaches with Most on the Line in Week 17 of NFL Season

We’re still trying to figure out why the day after Thanksgiving is called “Black Friday” (in reference to purchasing things), and the Monday after the final day of the NFL season is called “Black Monday” to signal the jettisoning of head coaches.

That’s a little harsh, but that’s the reality of what’s getting ready to happen a few days from now after the 2015 campaign ends and 20 teams head home for the year.

In one case, an organization chose not to wait until next week. After a disappointing 6-9 showing this season, the Philadelphia Eagles decided to part ways with head coach Chip Kelly on Tuesday, and Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com has his take on that move.

So as we get ready for the final 16 games of this regular season, here’s a look at 10 sideline leaders (in team alphabetical order) that may not be with their clubs by this time next week. We are not saying that each deserves to lose his job, but the possibility remains that some of these men, all dealing with different circumstances, could be elsewhere (or nowhere) soon.

Mike Pettine, Cleveland Browns

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Since returning to the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, the Cleveland Browns have employed 24 different starting quarterbacks and compiled a 87-184 win-loss record...

And have gone through eight head coaches.

The team is in the midst of a 3-12 season with no relief in sight, although second-year signal-caller Johnny Manziel has shown some ability…when available.

The franchise hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2007, which is certainly not the fault of Pettine who was hired by the team in 2014. But after a 7-4 start a year ago, the Browns are 3-17 in their last 20 games.

The organization has obviously shown a lack of patience when it comes to the head coach. Will Cleveland give Pettine one more season?

Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

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It may surprise some people that Jason Garrett is the longest-tenured head coach of the Jerry Jones Era with the Dallas Cowboys.

Of course, it would not shock anyone that, despite the fact that this team spent most of the season minus quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant, Jones could opt to go in a different direction should the team actually finish 4-12 one year after going 12-4 and winning the NFC East.

We really don’t feel it’s likely but are aware that the possibility does remain. Jones has employed seven different head coaches since purchasing the franchise in 1989. And let’s not forget that the Cowboys have made only one playoff appearance since Garrett inherited the club from fired head coach Wade Phillips midway through the 2010 season.

Again, don’t ever be surprised by any decision made by the hierarchy of this club.

Jim Caldwell, Detroit Lions

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You would hope that the Detroit Lions would not make a hasty decision regarding head coach Jim Caldwell.

Yes, the club will be finishing with a losing record for the 13th time in 15 years due mainly to a 1-7 start. Owner Martha Firestone Ford has already made her mark over the last month or so, firing team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew.

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and some other assistant were given their walking papers at midseason. Caldwell, in just his second year in the Motor City, has watched his team rebound the last seven weeks and owns a 5-2 record over that span.

This is a tough call because making another change at the top (Caldwell is the Lions’ sixth head coach since 2001) means starting over once again, per se. But it has already been a season of upheaval in Detroit.

Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts

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Similar to John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco in Baltimore and Sean Payton and Drew Brees in New Orleans, head coach Chuck Pagano and quarterback Andrew Luck both arrived in Indianapolis the same year.

That was 2012 and the start of three straight 11-5 seasons, each resulting in a trip to the playoffs and each year inching closer to a Super Bowl appearance.

But it has all come apart this season via a combination of injuries to Luck, some questionable free-agent moves and a defense that never seemed to improve. Pagano’s current contract expires this year.

“Like I told you guys a long time ago, I’m going to be fine,” he said Monday to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star.  “I’m covered. I’m covered. I got one goal, one focus, and that’s the Tennessee Titans and getting this team ready to win another football game and give us a chance. If the stars line up.”

Will Pagano be back even if the Colts somehow capture the AFC South with an 8-8 record? It’s been a season-long topic in Indianapolis.

Dan Campbell, Miami Dolphins

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Four games into the season, the Miami Dolphins were 1-3, riding a three-game losing streak and on their way back from London following a humbling 27-14 loss to the New York Jets.

Exit Joe Philbin and enter promoted assistant Joe Campbell, the club’s tight end coach who spent 10 years playing the position with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. The Dolphins won their first two games in impressive fashion under their new coach but are 2-7 since and currently on another three-game losing streak.

The Dolphins have made one playoff appearance since 2002 and haven’t won a postseason game since Jimmy Johnson and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino’s final season with the franchise in 1999. There’s plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the recent failures of a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2008.

It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins feel Campbell has the pedigree to lead this team out of the wilderness.

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints

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The head coach/quarterback combination that helped revitalize the New Orleans Saints has now spent 10 years together in the Big Easy.

Sean Payton has led this club to heights not seen before. The club that was born in 1967 made only five playoff appearances in its first 38 years of existence, and Payton (along with prolific quarterback Drew Brees) has reached the postseason five times and capped off the 2009 season with a 31-17 victory in Super Bowl XLIV.

But the Saints are now in the midst of another losing campaign. A win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday would give the club a 7-9 mark for the third time in four years.

This was an offseason of massive change, as New Orleans traded away tight end Jimmy Graham, wide receiver Kenny Stills and guard Ben Grubbs and released running back Pierre Thomas. Now we will wait and see if Payton is around for the start of a second decade in New Orleans.

Tom Coughlin, New York Giants

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It seems like Tom Coughlin has been sitting on a permanent hot seat ever since he was hired by the New York Giants in 2004.

There have been plenty of peaks and valleys. The ups include two Super Bowl titles (XLII and XLVI). The downs include missing the playoffs for what will be the sixth time in seven years in 2015.

In 20 seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Giants (including playoffs), Coughlin owns a 182-156 record, that victory total ranking 11th in NFL history. It includes a 110-92 overall mark with New York in 12 seasons at the helm.

Given his age (69) and the up-and-down nature of this club under his tenure, Coughlin has always been a popular topic when it comes to this being his final season on the sidelines. We’ll soon find out if “Black Monday” includes the current leader of Big Blue.

Mike McCoy, San Diego Chargers

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The story in San Diego these days has been less about the possible departure of a head coach and more about the franchise leaving the city for Los Angeles.

It’s been a bad year for the Chargers. In each of Mike McCoy’s first two seasons at the helm, the Bolts finished 9-7, and the first of those showings resulted in a wild-card berth in 2013.

But following a 2-2 start this year, San Diego has won just two of its last 11 contests. Five of those last nine setbacks have come within the division, as the Chargers have already been swept by the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders this season. In three of those five games, including both losses to the Chiefs, McCoy’s club scored exactly three points.

It will be intriguing to see if the fourth-year head coach survives a rocky year, given the fact that he led the Chargers to winning marks in his first two campaigns. While the Denver Broncos and Chiefs are both looking to wrap up the AFC West this Sunday, the Bolts have already secured last place in the division for the first time since 2003.

Jim Tomsula, San Francisco 49ers

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After Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers went their separate ways following the 2014 season, the franchise elevated longtime assistant Jim Tomsula (a member of the organization since 2007) to head coach.

It was not his first time on the job, having been named interim head coach by the club for the final game of the 2010 season in place of Mike Singletary. That day the Niners routed the Arizona Cardinals 38-7.

This season, it’s Tomsula who has been on the wrong end of some nasty losses. The 49ers are 4-11, and a setback on Sunday against the St. Louis Rams would give the team a dozen losses for the first time since 2005.

Let’s not forget the massive list of departures this team faces this offseason, putting Tomsula and his staff in a difficult position. But will management opt to show some patience here?

Mike Mularkey, Tennessee Titans

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Like his counterpart with the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans sideline leader Mike Mularkey is an interim head coach. The well-traveled teacher replaced Ken Whisenhunt after seven games this season.

While it started out well, courtesy of a 34-28 overtime victory at New Orleans, the Titans have won only one game since. This is a franchise that owns a 5-26 record the past two seasons, and Mularkey is the team’s third head coach dating back to 2011.

Armed with a promising young quarterback in Marcus Mariota, the Titans make for an attractive spot for any coach to land. There’s a lot of work to do in terms of personnel, and with all due respect to Mularkey, he’s just the latest Band-Aid for the club that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2008.