San Francisco 49ers and 10 Teams that Will Make Coaching Changes in 2011
At the end of every season, a whole bunch of head coaches get the ax.
When teams lose, there is a price to be paid. Wade Phillips already has paid that price.
Phillips won't be alone in the unemployment line, though. Soon enough, he'll have company from several other teams around the league.
Here's a look at 10 teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, who may be shuffling names on the door of the head coaches' office.
10. Jacksonville Jaguars
1 of 10
Jack Del Rio is taking blame for his defensive unit's complete collapse since 2008.
He might end up paying for that mistake with his job.
The Jaguars' defense is mired at the bottom of league rankings. Del Rio admits to several mistakes when rating players and which free agents to bring in.
Should Del Rio get fired, the Jaguars could target someone like Jim Haslett, who could work on rebuilding the defense anew.
9. San Diego Chargers
2 of 10
Norv Turner has one of the best teams in the league.
But you wouldn't know it by their record.
The inconsistent regular seasons the Chargers have had lately, coupled with the lack of success in the playoffs, may persuade the Chargers general manager A.J. Smith to make a change.
Smith fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 year, so there's no reason to think he wouldn't fire Turner this year.
Smith would target Jon Gruden and put every ounce of resources he has behind it.
8. Cleveland Browns
3 of 10
While the Browns are playing great right now and just came off of a string of upsets, there's no guarantee at this point the Browns don't collapse down the stretch.
Should the Browns finish the season on a downer, and Mangini gets cut loose, then team president Mike Holmgren has to decide whether or not he's going to go back to the sidelines or bring in his friend Jon Gruden.
At this point, it's Gruden or Holmgren. Otherwise, Mangini stays.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
7. Chicago Bears
4 of 10
To say Lovie Smith is on the hot seat would be an understatement.
Smith's job seemingly has been dangling in the air the last few years, but he's managed to avoid getting sacked so far.
The Bears aren't as good as their current record reflects. If that record continues to get worse, Smith's nine lives may be running out.
If a change happens in-season, Mike Martz definitely is a candidate. In the offseason, the Bears could go after Brian Billick, or try and lure Steve Mariucci out of retirement.
6. Denver Broncos
5 of 10
Josh McDaniels came into Denver and lit the place up, winning the first six games of his head coaching career.
It's been a rocky road ever since, and this season rapidly has gone down the drain. If the losing ways continue, Denver management may decide McDaniels was a mistake and move on.
With Tim Tebow on the sideline, though, and the fact he was taken in the first round, Jon Gruden again becomes the prime candidate. Denver will have to find a coach that's good with quarterbacks and good at developing young talent.
A secondary candidate would be Brian Schottenheimer.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6 of 10
The Bengals under Marvin Lewis have had a lot troublemakers and discipline problems.
The Bengals, for a long time, were known more for their rap sheet than their playoff aspirations. The team, once again, is awful this year.
Despite having Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens on offense, the Bengals only have won two games this year. Lewis most likely will take the fall for the sins of the 2010 season, and the Bengals will turn the page.
The Bengals could go after Bill Cowher since he knows the AFC North. But they also might target an up-and-coming coordinator like Rob Ryan.
4. Minnesota Vikings
7 of 10
To say Brad Childress will be gone by season's end seems more like a foregone conclusion at this point.
Owner Zigi Wilf has let it be known publicly he's unhappy with Childress, and Childress no longer has the support of his team or the fans.
The Vikings are going to want to go in a completely different direction. They'll probably look for a disciplinarian like Cowher, or Brian Billick.
3. Carolina Panthers
8 of 10
The Panthers have fallen so hard, so fast, it seems inevitable at this point that there's going to be a head-coaching change.
The Panthers went from a playoff team to one of the worst teams in the league in barely more than a season.
Even with three quarterbacks drafted this past spring plus Matt Moore, Fox couldn't seem to rely on any of them. Now Moore is on IR and Clausen hasn't shown the kind of ability he was being hyped with coming out of Notre Dame.
Like the Broncos, if the Panthers want to develop a quarterback, they're going to go after Gruden or Schottenheimer.
2. Dallas Cowboys
9 of 10
Jason Garrett is the man in Dallas, but for how long?
Garrett has eight games to audition for the Dallas job. Should he not pass the test, Jerry Jones will be casting the net out wide for an established coach.
Gruden, of course, comes to mind. But Cowher may be more of what Jones is going to be looking for, and Jones has ceded front-office power before to Bill Parcells.
1. San Francisco 49ers
10 of 10
There are few people who could say they have more passion for the game than Mike Singletary.
But passion, sometimes, isn't enough.
Singletary may one day be a great head coach, but that day isn't here yet. His time in San Francisco is coming to a close.
It seems almost inevitable at this point that Singletary will not survive the year, and the 49ers will be looking for another new head coach.
With Singletary being a first-time head coach, it is unlikely the organization goes that route for the next candidate.
Cowher definitely would get a phone call. But a possible backup plan could be giving someone like Haslett or Jim Fassel another try.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")