NFL Rumors: Hottest Buzz on Final Day of Regular Season

As the NFL season winds down, playoff teams are grinding one final time in the regular season to gain the highest seed possible.

However, those not in positions for postseason berths tend to already be focusing on next year. Rumors are flying high at this time of year in regard to the future of many head coaches, even one of the longest-tenured ones in the game.

Only the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick and Cincinnati Bengals' Marvin Lewis have coached longer than Tom Coughlin has with the New York Giants, but he could be coaching his final game with the team in Week 17.

Let's take a look at some rumors regarding Coughlin's future, as well as another head coach and one-time No. 1 overall draft pick:

Week 17 May Be It for Tom Coughlin in New York

Coughlin has won 102 games in 12 years with the Giants, but he has not won 10 games since 2010 or finished over .500 in the past three seasons. With one game remaining following this year's 6-9 start, Coughlin could be ready to resign Monday, per FOX Sports' Mike Garafolo, speaking on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Friday.

"This is a different Tom Coughlin, and I think he's ready to move away," Garafolo said. "A lot of people are talking as if it's an inevitability that on Monday he is going to resign. I am hearing that from a lot of people."

It's not the first time Coughlin's seat has been hot, as Garafolo referred to, but he has perhaps been given a longer rope than some because of his two Super Bowl victories with the Giants.

The 69-year-old coach, who has won a combined 170 games as a head coach with the Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, recently didn't sound like someone who was certain he'd be coaching next season, relayed by James Kratch of NJ.com:

"

Do I want to come back, I don't think that's a great question right now. What I want to do, is win a game on Sunday. That's the bottom line for this group right now.

I always have the competitive spirit. Sometimes it takes me a day or two to figure it all out when it's over. But right now, let's stick with the game and let's go win a football game.

"

Coughlin has no doubt left his mark on the Giants franchise, and he may see the writing on the wall. If he resigns, it will be on his own terms, although it most likely means a firing was coming. But he will go down as one of the better coaches the NFL has seen in the past 25 years.

McCoy's Fate With Chargers in Limbo

Mike McCoy is in just his third season with the San Diego Chargers, but it has been yet another underwhelming campaign. At 4-11 this year, McCoy's teams are just 22-25 since he took over the reins.

He did win a playoff game his first season, but with quarterback Philip Rivers and the talent surrounding him, it's been a tenure that has not lived up to expectations. It has caused rumors to swirl on both sides of the spectrum.

On Jan. 1, Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com tweeted "multiple folks around the NFL" told him Week 17's game against the Denver Broncos will be McCoy's last in charge of San Diego.

However, a day later, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune said it is looking more likely the Chargers will retain McCoy for at least next season.

Gehlken wrote that "Chargers decision-makers" did not want to make a knee-jerk reaction and feel confident McCoy is the right person for the job. Although he also said the decision comes down to John Spanos, the Chargers' president of football operations, and that it is "his preference to allow a full season to develop before finalizing such decisions."

One of the reasons McCoy's predecessor, Norv Turner, was let go was the fact San Diego failed to make the playoffs for three years in a row after failing to win in the postseason despite strong regular seasons.

McCoy has now been the coach of teams that have not made the postseason for the past two years, which is the reason these rumors are circulating in the first place.

Whatever fate McCoy faces, it most likely won't happen right away as Spanos apparently needs some time to think about it.

Williams Could be Cap Casualty 

Mario Williams was a heralded No. 1 overall pick by the Houston Texans in 2006, and the four-time Pro Bowler has racked up 95 sacks in 10 seasons with Houston and the Buffalo Bills.

However, four years into a six-year, $100 million contract, Buffalo plans to cut the 30-year-old defensive end, per the Associated Press (via ESPN).

The report hit on the main reasons why Williams will be released:

"

Williams has become expendable because his contract is deemed to be too expensive, and also because he has struggled to make the transition to the defensive system introduced by first-year coach Rex Ryan. Williams has two years left on the six-year, $100 million contract he signed in free agency in 2012.

"

In the same story, Ryan was quoted as denying there is any truth to the report. "Well, I don't know where it's coming from or whatever," Ryan said. "I know we have a game to play and that's really where all of our focus is. So I don't know where the story is coming from."

The rumor comes on the heels of one of Williams' worst seasons as a pro. If he does not record a sack in Week 17, the four he has registered this season will be the lowest total of his career to date.

Although Williams did not address the rumors on Thursday, he did speak with the Buffalo News about next season. Per Tyler Dunne, he didn't seem to think 2015 would be his last year with the Bills.

“At the end of the day, you just have to play what’s called and the position you’re in," Williams said. "You can’t do anything about it.”

Dunne quoted an anonymous teammate of Williams who said he felt Williams "totally checked out" when the rumors started and one who said, "it’s been clear to me that Mario doesn’t care about anybody but himself."

Williams may return to Buffalo next season, but it certainly doesn't sound like it. Ryan is a coach who wants things his way, and if Williams doesn't fit his scheme, he won't be there. 

In addition to getting rid of a player who apparently doesn't want to be there anymore, the Bills would also save $12.9 million under the salary cap if they were to release him, per Dunne.