NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Which Coaches Are Earning Their Paycheck?
While one game this early in the season may not make or break a team's season, it's a different story for coaches.
One bad performance could be the difference between coaching your team on one Sunday, then watching it from your living room the next.
So after Week 5, who's in danger of going from NFL head coach to resident couch potato? Better yet, who saved themselves from joining millions of Americans in unemployment?
Here's a look at the Week 6 Coaching Power Rankings. For some of these guys, it may be the last time they ever appear on this list.
The Seat, The Seat, The Seat Is on Fire: No. 32-26
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32. John Fox, Carolina Panthers: I feel for you, John.
You just don't have the talent on offense. But that doesn't justify why your team is winless.
31. Chan Gailey, Buffalo Bills: Gailey said that rebuilding the Bills would take a while. Too bad he might not be there to see it happen.
30. Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers: Singletary needs to put his little squabble with Alex Smith on the backburner, and get the 49ers straightened out. Despite what anyone in the organization says, Singletary's seat is scorching.
29. Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys actually ran the ball this week, but still lost. Going winless so far at home isn't earning Phillips any fans in Dallas.
28. Eric Mangini, Cleveland Browns: Colt McCoy is now your starting quarterback, and he isn't even remotely prepared for the job.
Good luck with that.
27. Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders: Sure, he ended a 13-game drought against the Chargers. But he still doesn't have a quarterback that's going to save his tail.
26. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings: It doesn't matter how close the Vikings were to beating the Jets. Minnesota is loaded with talent, but still just 1-3.
Don't Get Too Comfortable: No. 25-21
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25. Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions: The Lions demolished the Rams this week, but a 1-4 record just isn't going to get it done.
24. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Lewis probably isn't Carson Palmer's biggest fan right now. The Bengals blew the game against Tampa Bay, a win they absolutely should have had.
23. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers: Turner can't expect to get off to a slow start every year, and keep getting away with it.
22. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams: Any time your team loses to a winless opponent by 38 points, your job security takes a hit.
21. Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals: Yeah, the Cardinals beat the Saints, but Arizona has three wins by a combined 15 points, and Max Hall isn't going to lead this team to many victories.
No. 20: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Seahawks had a bye this week, but Seattle will be tough to beat at home this season. Plus, the team swung a trade for Marshawn Lynch, and now has a feature back.
How He Could Blow It: The Seahawks are winless on the road, and Carroll's team has to win away from Seattle if they want to be taken seriously.
Potential Potholes: Week 6 at Chicago will be Carroll's toughest road test so far.
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No. 19: Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: I'm actually not sure Kubiak should have gotten paid for his team's performance against the Giants. At least the Texans didn't get shut out, though.
How He Could Blow It: If the Texans' secondary continues to get torched, it will be a long season for Kubiak.
Potential Potholes: Weeks 6-9 will be tough, with games against Kansas City, Indianapolis, and San Diego.
No. 18: Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Colts handed the Chiefs their first loss, even though the team didn't play particularly well.
How He Could Blow It: Caldwell continues to be the least vocal coach in the league. He needs to show some sort of emotion on the sidelines instead of letting Peyton Manning run the team.
Potential Potholes: Weeks 6-9 will be tough. Indianapolis faces Washington, Houston, and Philadelphia.
No. 17: Tony Sparano, Miami Dolphins
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Sparano earned his check this week by not losing a divisional game after two consecutive losses. Of course, the Dolphins didn't play in Week 5, but Miami looked good early in the season.
How He Could Blow It: Although Miami plays in a tough division, Sparano needs to win divisional games besides the ones against Buffalo.
Potential Potholes: Weeks 6-11 are brutal. We'll learn a lot about Miami.
No. 16: Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Not many people expected the Jaguars to be 3-2, especially considering the three victories include a huge win over the Colts.
How He Could Blow It: Fail to throw the ball or stop the pass. The Jaguars' secondary has been bad all season, and David Garrard ranks 26th in the league in passing yards.
Potential Potholes: Divisional games against Tennessee and Houston in Weeks 6 and 10, respectively.
No. 15: Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Anyone who can turn Kyle Orton into one of the league's most effective quarterbacks deserves high praise.
How He Could Blow It: Despite the stats Orton and Brandon Lloyd have put up, the Broncos have failed to win two consecutive games all season. McDaniels' offense has to show it can do more than produce inflated numbers.
Potential Potholes: Week 6 against the New York Jets. This may be the game of the week.
No. 14: Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Any coach who has had as much inconsistency at the quarterback position as Reid has would gladly take a 3-2 record.
How He Could Blow It: No offense to Kevin Kolb, but this team will only go as far as Michael Vick takes them. If Vick can't return to his pre-injury form, the Eagles will struggle.
Potential Potholes: The Eagles have a tough stretch from Weeks 6-13. Every game could go either way.
No. 13: Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Titans went into Cowboys Stadium and handed Dallas its third loss. And Fisher seemed to remember that handing the ball to Chris Johnson is the way to win football games.
How He Could Blow It: This team lives and dies by Chris Johnson. The Titans have to develop some kind of passing attack to be a serious contender.
Potential Potholes: Jacksonville in Week 6 could be a potential trap game for the Titans.
No. 12: Tom Coughlin, New York Giants
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: After a 1-2 start, Coughlin's Giants destroyed the Bears and Texans to get back above .500.
How He Could Blow It: If the Giants play like they did in Weeks 2 and 3, nobody in New York is going to remember what the Giants did to Jay Cutler.
Potential Potholes: Weeks 7 and 10 against Dallas. Divisional games are always huge in the NFC East.
No. 11: Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: It may not have been a beautiful victory, but Shanahan has the Redskins at a surprising 3-2 following a big victory over Green Bay.
How He Could Blow It: If the secondary continues to play like it has, this team is in trouble. Washington is getting burned for 300 yards a game through the air.
Potential Potholes: Indianapolis and Chicago in Weeks 6 and 7.
No. 10: Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Despite a slew of injuries, including a concussion suffered by Aaron Rodgers, the Packers still sit at 3-2.
How He Could Blow It: Keep losing close games.
Both of the Packers' losses this season are by three points. McCarthy's team needs to find a way to win the close ones.
Potential Potholes: Weeks 6-8. It doesn't get any easier for the Packers, with games against the Dolphins, Vikings, and Jets.
No. 9: Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Even though the Chiefs lost the Colts this week, no one outside of Kansas City thought they'd start the season 3-1.
How He Could Blow It: Kansas City's victories came against teams who are a combined 3-12. The Chiefs have to prove they can beat a playoff-caliber team.
Potential Potholes: Houston in Week 6. This gives the Chiefs an immediate chance to show how good they are.
No. 8: Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Todd Collins had just 34 yards passing and thew four interceptions, but the Bears still beat the Panthers by 17 points. That's enough for me.
How He Could Blow It: Aside from the Carolina game, the Bears haven't won a game by more than seven points. They need to show they aren't just lucking out in close games.
Potential Potholes: Minnesota in Week 10. The division is up for grabs, so every game will matter.
No. 7: Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: New Orleans has looked pretty terrible all season, but the team is a missed field goal away from being 4-1.
How He Could Blow It: Fail to make adjustments. Payton hasn't really changed the team's gameplan, despite poor play.
He needs to find a way to win without Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas.
Potential Potholes: Tampa Bay in Week 6 and Pittsburgh in Week 8. The Saints could be looking at .500 halfway through the season.
No. 6: Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Michael Spurlock did not catch the pass that set up the Bucs' winning field goal. But Tampa Bay still got a win to move to 3-1, and match the team's win total from 2009.
How He Could Blow It: Tampa Bay has yet to beat a good team this season, so the Bucs need to show their hot start is not a fluke.
Potential Potholes: Week 6 in New Orleans. This is a huge game for both teams, and gives Morris a chance to show whether or not he can win the big ones.
No. 5: Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Atlanta is 4-1, and the Falcons actually look like they could be the team to beat in the NFC.
How He Could Blow It: I'm having a hard time figuring out whether Atlanta is lucky or good. The Falcons are a couple plays—a Garrett Hartley field goal and a Nate Clements fumble—away from being 2-3.
Potential Potholes: Weeks 6-10 should set the tone for the rest of the regular season.
No. 4: Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Patriots made a ballsy move by sending Randy Moss to Minnesota, and trading for Deion Branch. And New England is looking pretty good at 3-1 on the season.
How He Could Blow It: What if Tom Brady and the new-look Patriots struggle on offense? That will go a long way in determining the success of the Patriots.
Potential Potholes: With the exception of one or two games, Weeks 6-15 look very difficult, even for a good team like New England.
No. 3: Rex Ryan, New York Jets
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Apparently, Mark Sanchez is now a good quarterback. Who knew?
How He Could Blow It: Buy into the media hype. The words "Jets" and "Super Bowl" have been used in the same sentence for a while now.
Ryan needs to take it one step at a time.
Potential Potholes: Denver and Green Bay in Weeks 6 and 8. If Revis isn't fully healthy, can the Jets stop two potent passing offenses?
No. 2: John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: The Ravens have two huge victories over the Steelers and Broncos the last two weeks, and Baltimore looks like a top-three team.
How He Could Blow It: I think the Ravens only have two games remaining this season that prevent them from getting home-field advantage in the playoffs: against the Patriots and the Steelers.
Potential Potholes: Against New England in Week 6. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the game of the week.
No. 1: Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Why He Earned His Paycheck: Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon have started at quarterback for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are 3-1.
Enough said.
How He Could Blow It: Big Ben returns in Week 6. How much will the offense improve, or will it at all?
Potential Potholes: New Orleans in Week 8 and New England in Week 10.
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