To date there have been only three NFL head coaches fired this year -- Jack Del Rio (Jacksonville Jaguars), Todd Haley (Kansas City Chiefs) and Tony Sparano (Miami Dolphins). Others are surely on their way, perhaps as many as 10 or 11 by the time it's all said and done.
NFL Coaches Hot Seat: Steve Spagnuolo Comes In At No. 1
Three NFL coaches have been fired during the season and more are inevitably coming at the end of the year. Here are five coaches who should be on the hot seat.
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Here are a few coaches who are feeling the heat right now, starting with the guy most likely to be on his way out at the end of the season:
1. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams: He's almost assuredly gone after the season (along with Josh McDaniels). Reports are already stating that the Rams plan to "blow things up" in the front office and coaching staff, which isn't a major surprise. The Rams are 2-12 on the season and they should be much better. I'm not saying this is a team with Super Bowl talent but they won seven games last year and have a competent quarterback -- a two-win season shouldn't happen. But Spagnuolo lands No. 1 on this list because, of all the coaches out there, he seems to be the most likely to get the boot on January 2, the day after the regular season ends.
2. Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers: The San Diego Union-Tribune has indicated that Turner is gone if the Chargers don't make the playoffs, and perhaps even if they do (remember this is the team that fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season). Turner's Chargers are 7-7 and need some help to secure a playoff spot so, for now, he can be considered likely on his way out in San Diego.
3. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts: For a team that's 1-13, there sure is a lot of speculation that Jim Caldwell could stay in Indy. I'm sorry but you simply can not keep a head coach that wins one game (or even a couple) several years into his tenure. Peter King of SI.com has reported that the Polians want to keep Caldwell and that winning one game might be enough to do it. I'm not totally buying that because, from the outside looking in, it seems hard to believe that the Colts could actually keep a head coach that brought them one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
4. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A team that was once 4-2 has now lost eight consecutive games and it may end up costing Raheem Morris his job. The Bucs end the season with two straight on the road -- at Carolina and at Atlanta -- and if both of those end up in the L column then Morris may very well be on his way out. He was a surprise coach of the year candidate last year as he led the Bucs to 10 wins but a miserable fall in 2011 has the temperature rising for Morris.
5. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants: The Giants controlled the NFC East midway through the season but things have fallen apart in the last couple of months. The Giants have lost five of their last six while the Cowboys have won five of their last seven, which now has Dallas in control of the division. If the Giants collapse down the stretch and miss the playoffs, you can expect the chatter in New York regarding the temperature of Coughlin's seat to increase.
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