
Jeff Fisher, John Fox and Other NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat
We've gone an entire week without having another NFL coach hit the chopping block. But that doesn't mean that these five head coaches are safe.
With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, the pressure is on these coaches to prove that they deserve to keep their jobs. Just one statement win could mean the difference between having a job next season and watching football from home.
Here are the five NFL coaches whose jobs will be on the line this week.
Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans
1 of 5
Fisher is one of the best coaches in football and he has a 136-110 lifetime record to prove it. But this might be Fisher's worst coaching job since the Titans finished 4-12 in 2005.
After starting out the season 5-2, the Titans have dropped six straight and are staring at last place in the AFC South. And now there's news of a growing rift between Fisher and quarterback Vince Young.
Young hasn't played since Week 11 and is now on the injured reserve. He doesn't even attend Titans home games and has been known to have verbal disputes with Fisher.
The Titans need to play competitively the rest of the season or Fisher will have to take the blame for driving this team, and its promising young quarterback, into the ground.
Mike Singletary, San Francisco 49ers
2 of 5
Singletary made a gutsy move by replacing quarterback Troy Smith with opening day starter Alex Smith after Troy had won three of five games as a starter.
But the switch paid off as the 5-8 49ers earned a huge 40-21 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, despite the loss of running back Frank Gore two weeks ago.
San Francisco still needs to beat St. Louis and Arizona to clinch a playoff spot, but it could happen, with wins already over those two teams. If Singletary can get his team to the playoffs, he may just be able to come back in 2011.
Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
3 of 5
The Bengals lost their 10th straight on Sunday and dropped to 2-11 overall. Cincinnati showed little life during a 23-7 pounding at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers and now must close out the season against the Browns, Chargers and Ravens.
Lewis could win all three of those games and it still probably wouldn't be enough to keep his job. Atrocious season all around.
Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans
4 of 5
Kubiak did about all he could in a game against the Baltimore Ravens, but the Texans still fell short, losing 34-28 in overtime on a Josh Wilson interception return for a touchdown.
Though Houston was impressive in rallying back from a 21-0 deficit and later a 28-7 deficit, it still wasn't enough. Staying competitive against good teams is not going to be enough to save Kubiak's job. He needs to win some games.
The 5-8 Texans have games left against Tennessee (a team they demolished three weeks ago 20-0), Denver (collapsing even more every day) and Jacksonville (likely to need a win to clinch a playoff spot). Kubiak needs to win at least two of those three games to have a chance at coming back next season. Winning all three would be even better.
John Fox, Carolina Panthers
5 of 5
Fox has never had back-to-back winning seasons as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Somehow, it took the Panthers owners the entire length of Fox's contract to figure this out.
Carolina lost again on Sunday, dropping a snoozer 31-10 to the Atlanta Falcons. It's the seventh consecutive loss for the Panthers, a team that looks like it is going to finish the season with the worst record in the NFL.
The Panthers have games against Arizona, Pittsburgh and Atlanta remaining. There's a chance they could top the Cardinals, which will have John Skelton making his second career start. But that likely still won't be enough to spare Fox from the unemployment line.
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