NFL Power Rankings Week 4: Which Coaches are Earning Their Paycheck?
The NFL coaching carousel has already seen one coach fall off the ride this season.
The San Francisco 49ers fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye after the team started 0-3.
Mike Singletary’s job is safe for now, but that could change if the team’s performance doesn’t pick up.
Singletary isn’t the only head coach in trouble though. Plenty could be out of a job at season’s end.
Then, there’s the other end of the spectrum: the coaches who may be saving their jobs, or earning their next big paycheck.
Let’s rank ‘em!
Their Seats are Getting Hot
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32. John Fox, Carolina Panthers: Fox has two stud running backs and a stud wide receiver. But that doesn’t matter much when Matt Moore or rookie Jimmy Clausen is pulling the trigger. The Panthers have the worst scoring offense in the league.
31. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders: I bet Cable isn’t the biggest Sebastian Janikowski fan right now. Cable came into the season already on the hot seat, pulled Jason Campbell as the starter, and started 1-2. When can we expect an Al Davis press conference?
30. Chan Gailey, Buffalo Bills: The Bills play in arguably the best division in football, and they go to work every Sunday with Ryan Fitzpatrick behind center. Trust me. Trent Edwards wasn’t the team’s only problem.
29. Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars: Poor Maurice Jones-Drew. I feel sorry for that guy. He’s on a bad team in a good division, and the best the team can do to help him is Trent Edwards?
28. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns: You knew this wouldn’t be a good season for the Browns when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. Mangini will probably be looking over his shoulder for Mike Holmgren all season.
27. Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers: Am I the only one who’s waiting for Singletary to have a meltdown of Dennis Green proportions? Bank on that happening if the 49ers continue to play like they have been.
26. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings: Childress is a Brett Favre injury away from his entire season going up in smoke. Yeah, Favre has showed his age this season, but the Vikings aren’t making the playoffs with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback.
25. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants: Penalties, turnovers, and Brandon Jacobs meltdowns could make Giants fan forget about that Super Bowl win. Bill Cowher, anyone?
24. Wade Philips, Dallas Cowboys: He may have himself with a win against Houston this week, but does anyone ever really believe Jerry Jones when he says Philips’ job is safe?
23. Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals: Arizona’s two wins this season have come against the Rams and Raiders. And they’ve been way too close. I bet Whisenhunt wishes Kurt Warner traded in his dancing shoes for football cleats.
22. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers: Is there any team that gets off to a slower start than the Chargers? Better yet, when are Ryan Matthews and Vincent Jackson coming back?
21. Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions: He seems to be turning the Lions around, but his team is still winless. He needs Matt Stafford back.
20. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Sam Bradford went head to head with Donovan McNabb in Week 3…and won. Oh yeah, he did it with no receivers and without Steven Jackson for the most part too.
How He Could Blow It: Same reasons as above. Spagnuolo has a rookie quarterback with only one real offensive weapon in Steven Jackson. The defense isn’t much for opposing coaches to worry about either.
Potential Potholes: Seattle in Week 4, San Diego in Week 6.
19. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Seahawks have beaten the 49ers—which doesn’t look quite as good now—and the Chargers when they weren’t projected to do much this year.
How He Could Blow It: By playing on the road. Seattle is like a homesick kid when not playing at home. You can see it on the players’ faces. They’re wondering, “Where’s the 12th man?”
Potential Potholes: Chicago in Week 6, Arizona in Week 7.
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18. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Any coach that can when a game with Kyle Orton behind center has got to be doing something right. McDaniels may not have a very talented offense, but he was two turnovers on downs in the red zone away from hanging with the Colts in Week 3.
How He Could Blow It: Remember when Denver started out 6-0 in 2009, and went 2-8 the rest of the way? Well, now they’re 1-2, with a very unfriendly schedule ahead.
Potential Potholes: Week 4 against Tennessee, Week 5 against Baltimore, Week 6 against the New York Jets.
17. Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Redskins fell behind early against the Rams, but didn’t give up. Hey, that’s something, right?
How He Could Blow It: The Redskins gave up nearly 500 yards passing in Week 2 against the Texans, and made Sam Bradford look like a season vet in Week 3. Something needs to be done about that.
Potential Hiccups: Philadelphia in Week 4, Green Bay in Week 5, Indianapolis in Week 6, Chicago in Week 7.
16. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Titans manhandled the Giants from to start to finish. Oh yeah, Fisher also stuck with Chris Johnson after an unusual down week in Week 2. And that Johnson guy is pretty good.
How He Could Blow It: There’s something to be said for continuity. And although Vince Young may not be a future Hall of Famer, Fisher needs to stick with the guy because he knows how to win football games.
Potential Hiccups: Too many to name. The schedule is pretty vicious, especially considering the Titans haven’t played the Colts or Texans yet.
15. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin connection actually showed up in Week 3. Granted, it was against the Browns.
How He Could Blow It: The Steelers look like the best team in football right now even though they weren’t a hot pick at the beginning of the season. For the Ravens, it’s Super Bowl or bust.
Potential Hiccups: Pittsburgh in Week 5, New England in Week 6.
14. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Bengals needed a statement game against Carolina to show that they’re a hardnosed football team that runs the ball and plays good defense. That’s exactly what they got.
How He Could Blow It: For all the star power on offense—Carson Palmer, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Cedric Benson—no one fears the Bengals. Why? Because they simply haven’t been that impressive.
Potential Hiccups: Week 7 against Atlanta, Week 8 against Miami, Week 9 against Pittsburgh, Week 10 against Indianapolis.
13. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Patriots offense looks a lot like it did when Tom Brady topped 50 touchdowns, and the team found another weapon in Danny Woodhead.
How He Could Blow It: New England gave up 30 points to the Bills. That’s right, the Bills. That defense isn’t going to cut it in the AFC.
Potential Hiccups: Weeks 6 through 8 against Baltimore, San Diego, and Minnesota.
12. Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Texans are still 2-1 even though the offense faltered against the Dallas Cowboys.
How He Could Blow It: Houston’s defense is young, inexperienced, and not very good. The secondary consists of all first or second-year players. That’s a lot to ask for a team with high expectations.
Potential Hiccups: Kansas City in Week 6, Indianapolis in Week 8, San Diego in Week 9.
11. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Morris decided to give LaGarrett Blount a second chance. That was pretty much the lone bright spot in a game where the Bucs were brought back to Earth after a 2-0 start.
How He Could Blow It: The Bucs beat Cleveland and Carolina in their first two games, but they’re more like the team that lost to Pittsburgh in Week 3: young and just not very good.
Potential Hiccups: Weeks 5 and 6 against Cincinnati and New Orleans.
10. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Colts have rebounded nicely from their opening week loss, and Caldwell may have found another diamond in the rough in Austin Collie.
How He Could Blow It: Is this Peyton Manning’s team or Jim Caldwell’s team? Caldwell might be the least vocal coach in the league.
Potential Hiccups: Week 8 against Houston.
9. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Reid took a huge risk by naming Michael Vick the starter, and it has paid off big time. Vick has been the league’s MVP so far.
How He Could Blow It: If Vick starts to struggle and Reid switches quarterbacks again, it could really hurt the team’s chemistry.
Potential Hiccups: Week 6 (Atlanta), Week 7 (Tennessee), Week 9 (Indianapolis).
8. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears
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How He Earned His Paycheck: The Bears are 3-0, and in first place in the NFC North. Did anybody expect that?
How He Could Blow It: If Jay Cutler returns to last season’s form, it could be a long season in Chicago. The defense looks good with Julius Peppers, but Mike Martz must keep Cutler on the right track.
Potential Hiccups: Minnesota in Week 10.
7. Rex Ryan, New York Jets
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The dude lost 80 pounds! But seriously, the Jets looked like the team we expected against the Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.
How He Could Blow It: Mark Sanchez is playing out of his mind right now, but will that continue?
Potential Hiccups: Week 5 against Minnesota, Week 8 against Green Bay.
6. Tony Sparano, Miami Dolphins
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Dolphins were one play (and a two-point conversion) away from taking the Jets to overtime, and Chad Henne looked as good as ever.
How He Could Blow It: The passing game is still suspect at best. Who is really a threat besides Brandon Marshall?
Potential Hiccups: The schedule is absolutely brutal through Week 11. It will make or break Miami’s season.
5. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Saints were outplayed by Atlanta, but were a missed field goal from winning the game.
How He Could Blow It: The defense has been brutal, especially against the run, and the offense has had less balance than a drunk guy on a pogo stick.
Potential Hiccups: Week 8 against Pittsburgh.
4. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: If it wasn’t for a James Jones fumble, Green Bay would be 3-0 right now.
How He Could Blow It: The Packers need to find a replacement for Ryan Grant, or else it will rely too heavily on the passing game.
Potential Hiccups: Weeks 6 through 12 will be tough for Green Bay.
3. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Steelers looked like the best team football after a dominating performance against Tampa Bay. And that was with Charlie Batch at quarterback.
How He Could Blow It: Except for Week 3, the offense hasn’t looked all that great and the team’s next game comes against the Ravens.
Potential Hiccups: Week 4 against Baltimore.
2. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Is there a better way to skyrocket up this list than beating the defending Super Bowl champs on the road?
How He Could Blow It: If the team plays like it did in Week 1 against Pittsburgh, Falcons fans will forget about the Saints win really quick.
Potential Hiccups: Philadelphia in Week 6, Cincinnati in Week 7.
1. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Chiefs are 3-0! Who would have predicted that?
How He Could Blow It: The Chiefs’ opponents are a combined 1-8. Are the Chiefs good or are their opponents that bad?
Potential Hiccups: Indianapolis in Week 5, Houston in Week 6.
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