Jack Del Rio vs. Pat Shurmur: Whose Seat Is Hotter and Whose Should Be?

A college professor once told me that there are two sides to every pancake no matter how thin it is. His point was that there is always another story to be told or another side to an argument that needed to be heard.

Maybe in the case of the Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars, there are two seasons to be played by both teams. Well, maybe we are getting way ahead of ourselves with that one.

When you look at both the Browns and the Jaguars, you cannot help but see some similarities in their production; both having Top 6 defenses in the league and offenses that can't seem to get out of their own way.

Such is the life of NFL bottom-feeders.

With such problems comes the finger pointing at both Jack Del Rio of Jacksonville, who has felt the heat under his seat before the season started, and Pat Shurmur, who is experiencing his first rodeo in the NFL this year as as head coach.

While it would appear Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver will finally make a change at the end of the season, it is yet to be determined if Shurmur has earned the right to come back for another season.

And while Shurmur is still getting his head-coaching feet wet, the president of the Browns, former NFL head coach Mike Holmgren, may have an itch he needs to scratch on the sideline next season.

Of course, this is all pure speculation, but we can see the wheels spinning on both sidelines week after week of bad play. And winning games against the Colts, which both teams have done, does not solve the issue of having two teams that need to do something now before they fall deeper into the purgatory that is the doldrums of the NFL life.

So, which coach has the hotter seat right now? Is it the nine-year veteran with only one playoff win to his credit, or the neophyte who needs more seasoning before he becomes a conditioned NFL head coach?

Would you be surprised if I said both were on equal footing right about now? I knew that would not win any fanfare from you guys. But seriously, if I were to say who was in deeper water right now, it would probably be Del Rio for the sheer fact his writing was on the wall before the season began.

Shurmur may have a little more rope to hang himself with. But the idea of Holmgren lurking above in the sky box every game cannot help the rookie coach.

A lot of the same things Del Rio is being criticized for are the same things Shurmur may get a pass for.

Shurmur inherited most of the Cleveland players and the situation on offense. Del Rio helped draft or sign most of the issues on offense and now must help dig himself out of a hole that has left his team 31st in scoring offense. The receivers are mediocre at best and the play of his rookies has been suspect at best.

The Browns are not Cam Cameron's Miami Dolphins or the 0-16 Detroit Lions, but they have their issues.

And while the rookie coach is trying to make adjustments to life in the NFL, the veteran coach should already be able to make these changes and adapt to them and make his team a greater success.

That is why Shurmur gets a pass on this one. He has more time to grow.

In Del Rio's case, the growth has already taken place and the development has been great in some areas (like on defense and the running game), but in others, it is enough to say things need to change.