NFL Coach Hot Seat Rankings, Week 4: Mike Singletary, Tom Coughlin Heating Up
Three weeks are now in the books this season. Some coaches have acquitted themselves very well, moving from initially hot seats to cool ones.
Some, however, have graduated to warmer climates as the season has gone on. As the good, consistent teams have started to emerge from the pack, others are showing up as disappointments and failures.
There's still a great deal of football left to be played, and there's time for all 32 teams to turn around their fortunes, but for some head coaches the clock is most certainly ticking.
Here are your coach power rankings as we head into Week 4's action.
Cool Breezes: Who's Feeling Safer This Week?
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As always, there are a few sighs of relief this week from coaches who were pulling at their collars and fanning themselves heading into action on Sunday. Some are still on hot seats, but for now they've bought themselves a week's worth of breathing room.
Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys
Phillips coaches in the second-most deadly city (at least for coaches) in the NFL. Jerry Jones tolerates failure better than only Al Davis. That's not saying much.
Phillips' Cowboys won their Week 3 showdown against Houston, but the pressure is far from off. Phillips is expected to get his team deep into the playoffs this year and to possibly be the first coach to have a home game for the Super Bowl.
Anything less and Jones will be looking at some coaching candidates who are hungry for a talented team like Dallas.
Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
While certainly not in the firing line, Reid's choice of quarterbacks sparked some controversy this week after he first picked Kevin Kolb, and then chose Michael Vick to be the team's starter.
He's looking pretty savvy now after Vick threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth in a 28-3 rout of Jacksonville. Reid has a long tether, but failing at choosing a quarterback is often a fatal move.
For now, he looks like a visionary. Vick looks like his old self and even a bit more mature as a passer. If Reid can keep that up, the Eagles have a good chance of not missing Donovan McNabb one bit.
Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings
Childress hasn't made the top five yet, but he's certainly not on the warmest seat in the NFL.
After getting his first win of the season, however, things should cool off for about a week or two. Minnesota is contending with ancient-looking Brett Favre at quarterback.
Childress found the best answer for poor QB play when he got Adrian Peterson more involved in the offense on Sunday afternoon. Peterson carried the load for the Vikings and led them to victory, doing more than Favre all afternoon. They'll need more of that.
Not a lot of cooler seats to be had. Here's the top five most endangered coaches:
6. Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars
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What Just Happened?
The Jaguars were not necessarily expected to contend this year, but they weren't expected to be as bad as they are.
Sure, they beat Denver, but Denver hasn't exactly looked tough on defense these last few weeks. Since then, they've fallen to pieces and scored 16 points in losses to stumbling San Diego and the suddenly powerful Philadelphia Eagles.
This Sunday's 28-3 loss to Philadelphia was a new low.
The Problems
Del Rio's team has no offense. Maurice Jones-Drew has been a non-factor in three games, rushing for less than 100 yards in all three contests. David Garrard followed up a nice, three touchdown performance on opening day with two awful games. He's looking less and less a weapon and more a liability.
The defense is leaky too and the receivers aren't helping their quarterback. It's virtually all bad news for this team.
What's Coming Up?
It gets no easier this week for the Jaguars with Indianapolis coming to town. A 1-3 record seems a foregone conclusion. After that comes a trip up to Buffalo, where the Bills looked dangerous in a loss to the Patriots.
Chances of Being Fired For Another Loss
It's very hard to read this team. Del Rio has ducked poor performances and early playoff exits continuously, but you have to think the end is near if this team continues to stumble through the season. I'd say losing to the Colts and Bills would likely put him on the firing line.
4a. (Tie) John Fox, Carolina Panthers
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What Just Happened?
After benching former starter Matt Moore, Fox and the Panthers found out that Jimmy Clausen would have no better time behind that awful offensive line.
The defense allowed a sloppy Bengals squad to beat them and couldn't generate turnovers consistently.
The running attack was again missing, which is probably a product of the poor line play as much as an off year by the team's backs.
The Problems
Fox, besides benching Moore, has done nothing to fix this team. He looks a lot like Bill Cowher in 2006 when Cowher was listless and aloof while coaching out his final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
What has Fox done to deserve the chance to write his own farewell? That Super Bowl appearance was almost a decade ago now. Since then, he's done virtually nothing with the same team that took New England to the wire.
What's Coming Up?
New Orleans and Chicago are on the list before the bye week. Both teams look tough, particularly for a team that can't seem to stop beating itself. Two more losses are not out of the question.
Chances of Being Fired For Another Loss
Losing against a division rival who just won the Super Bowl and a surprise upstart wouldn't normally be so bad, but Fox is already 0-3. He's not really trying to win the games it seems. Why not replace him with someone hungry?
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4b. (Tie) Tom Coughlin, New York Giants
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What Just Happened?
Another ugly loss just happened. They drubbed Carolina on opening day to avenge last season's playoff hope-killing loss, but that's no longer a quality opponent.
Against Tennessee, the Giants looked badly out of sync and poorly coached. As a result, they had another ugly, low-scoring day versus an AFC South opponent.
The Problems
Where to start? Eli Manning is falling apart. He threw a left-handed red zone interception on Sunday and has become prone to turnovers of all kinds.
The biggest problem is that Coughlin, the bastion of control and discipline, has lost his team. If you need evidence, look at how they don't play as a team on the field anymore and how the continually commit stupid penalties.
If that doesn't shake you, try to imagine Brandon Jacobs getting away with his outbursts when Coughlin was with Jacksonville or in his early Giants days.
What's Coming Up?
Chicago, Houston, and Dallas are sandwiched around Detroit before their bye. Detroit isn't even a foregone conclusion now with the way they are playing.
All three other teams are opportunistic and hungry. They will capitalize and score points off turnovers and penalties. Besides Detroit, it's hard to find a win for the Giants if their play doesn't improve.
Chances of Being Fired for Another Loss
Not next week, but if they lose three of those four games to drop to 2-5, Coughlin might be gone. The Mara family is patient, but this is a team threatening to disappoint two years in a row. That won't sit well.
Losing control of his team isn't helping. He had better reel them back in.
3. Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers
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What Just Happened?
I remember when I put Singletary on a warm seat before the season, people commented to tell me I was crazy and that San Francisco was poised to take the division.
I really hoped so. I like Singletary and respect his style and his fiery passion. But after three weeks, his seat is reaching atomic levels.
After his team failed to show up on Sunday against the Chiefs, you have to wonder how safe Singletary is at 0-3.
The Problems
No offense, a defense that is either wearing down too early or just can't stop effective opponents, and a general mayhem around the team all point to coaching issues.
Singletary already took the first step in panic button-pressing when he fired Jimmy Raye, although no one can argue that it needed to be done. Raye's offense didn't move and the play calls were evidently very confusing. Hopefully Mike Johnson does a better job.
What's Coming Up?
The 49ers head to Atlanta this week and come home to face Philadelphia next week. Ouch. They will be 0-5 if their play continues to be as poor as it has been. Atlanta has been tough at home since Mike Smith took over and Philadelphia is scary with Michael Vick running the show.
Chances of Being Fired For Another Loss
The 49ers are already the NFL's most disappointing team. They were supposed to win the division easily this year. The division is doing everything it can to be winnable. The 49ers, however, are looking up at St. Louis in the standings.
An 0-5 start for a previous division favorite should and might be fatal. He bought a week or two by ditching Raye, but firing a coordinator is always a bad sign for job security.
2. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders
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What Just Happened?
The Raiders took a win, and with the help of bad kicking and untimely penalties, turned it into a loss to lowly Arizona. Had the Raiders won, they'd have looked pretty good for gutting it out against a former playoff team.
Losing, however, exposes them as a poor team that is dysfunctional and can't move the ball consistently on offense despite the high draft picks spent on that side of the ball.
The Problems
In case you need a refresher, the biggest problem for coach Tom Cable is that he works for the most impatient, impractical, and illogical owner in the league in Al Davis, who fires coaches "for cause" more often than anyone. He and Donald Trump could be good friends and near twins.
On the field, however, Cable has an offense that can't move and a defense that can't hold up for long periods. He lacks playmakers on both sides of the ball.
The change in quarterbacks from Jason Campbell to Bruce Gradkowski didn't help. They were only marginally better against a defense that has been getting torched since last year's playoffs.
What's Coming Up?
Conference upstart Houston and division rival San Diego are up next. Both games are in front of the home folks, so now is the time. Both teams lost this week and neither looks to be infallible. A good effort against San Diego in two weeks could result in a victory.
But a good effort hasn't been seen from the Raiders since almost 2002.
Chances of Being Fired for Another Loss
Al Davis has been eerily silent. Maybe he's asleep. If he wakes up to this team at 1-3 or 1-4, however, things will get ugly. Davis believes anything good said about his team. Many picked the Raiders as a potential dark horse.
Right now, they're a good bet to be losers again. Davis won't like that. If change doesn't come to Oakland, he'll break out the overhead projector and call the press.
1. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns
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Which brings us to our hottest seat: Eric Mangini
What Just Happened?
Are you ready? They lost again. They couldn't close out a win. They even had a good chance of upsetting Baltimore.
Change the opponent and it's the same story week after week. The Browns always get this close and then fail.
The offense was OK most of the day but withered late. The defense finally caved and did nothing to help themselves by dropping interceptions. A shaky Ravens team emerged with a win. That can't possibly sit well with Randy Lerner and Mike Holmgren.
The Problems
Brian Daboll has to go. His offensive coordinating is terrible. The talent is being mismanaged. Peyton Hillis aside, this team has weapons it's not using. Joshua Cribbs, when healthy, isn't being used enough. Seneca Wallace isn't being used effectively. The receivers can't get open. It's all bad.
The defense is actually better than expected. It's another masterpiece by Rob Ryan, who should someday get consideration for a head coaching job. But the defense can only hang for so long when the offense keeps putting them out there.
What's Coming Up?
Looking for hope? You won't find it on the schedule. Home games against Cincinnati and Atlanta are followed by road dates in Pittsburgh and New Orleans. An 0-7 record doesn't seem unlikely.
The only possible win in there is against the Bengals this week, but even that isn't preordained. The Bengals always play tougher against their cross-state division rivals.
Chances of Being Fired for Another Loss
If they lose to the Bengals, Mangini will either have to make changes or step down. If he somehow survives that, he won't survive an 0-7 start. Very few coaches would, and Mangini began the season in the hottest seat.
It's win now or go home.
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