NFL hot seat watch: Rex Ryan still struggling, Doug Marrone auditioning heading into Week 6

Prior to Week 5, we said that New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan could be next on the chopping block after Dennis Allen was fired by the Oakland Raiders. Ryan is most definitely on the hot seat at this point, and we noted that he'll need to turn things around sooner rather than later if he's going to have any chance of keeping his job through to the end of the season.

The Jets then went out and lost to the San Diego Chargers, 31-0.

On top of that, you have veteran quarterback Michael Vick, the backup tasked with coming in if Geno Smith is injured or otherwise benched, stating that he didn't take preparation for the Chargers seriously enough. As poorly as that should reflect on Vick, it also continues to bring questions about Ryan and his decision-making.

Ryan has continually hitched himself to poor quarterbacks from Mark Sanchez to Matt Simms to Smith and now to Vick. Tim Tebow was even a legitimate topic of discussion at one point. Now the Jets have the No. 32 passing offense in the league and despite strong showing in other stats, they're still sporting a 1-4 record with no solutions in sight.

Rex Ryan, New York Jets (1-4)
Doug Marrone, Buffalo Bills (3-2)
Jeff Fisher, St. Louis Rams (1-3)

Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5)
Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons (2-3)

We already talked about Ryan and the Jets, but if you need some more on just how bad they were in Week 5, we'd be glad to oblige. Smith completed just four passes with an interception before he was benched, and Vick managed to complete just eight of 19 pass attempts, putting up 47 yards. Undrafted rookie running back Branden Oliver went off on the Jets, putting up 114 yards and a touchdown off of 19 carries. Philip Rivers threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Jets running back Chris Johnson coughed up a fumble, which San Diego recovered.

Doug Marrone's Buffalo Bills are actually doing pretty well this season, but that doesn't change the fact that the man is on the hot seat. Marrone is in his first year, but there's new ownership in Buffalo, and with that comes the potential for an overhaul. Marrone is doing well thus far, tied for first place in the AFC East with a 3-2 record. In the event that he is auditioning for a future job, this showing could go a long way. A solid 17-14 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 5 helped things considerably.

There's plenty of people who talk about Jeff Fisher as though he's guaranteed another season because Sam Bradford was lost for the year due to injury.

That said, Fisher needs to draw some flack for even making the decision to stick with Bradford as opposed to trying to look elsewhere. Bradford has under-performed for much of his career and had an injury history already. Fisher may be more in danger than some will admit. The Rams fought gamely with the Philadelphia Eagles coming off a bye week, but still fell, 34-28, and dropped to 1-3 on the season.

Gus Bradley wasn't expected to turn around the Jacksonville Jaguars quickly or anything like that, but they're currently winless and not showing a whole lot of potential. Mike Smith's Atlanta Falcons started the season off well, but they've looked more like the poor team they were a season ago than the juggernaut they were the year before that. Guys like Marc Trestman of the Chicago Bears and Ken Whisenhunt of the Tennessee Titans deserve mention as well, though they're a ways off from being on the hot seat.

If Ryan can make any argument to attempt to save his own skin, it's that the Jets have a tough schedule. In Week 6, the team will face the 3-1 Denver Broncos. At this point it seems like Ryan doesn't have a whole lot of hope, but if there's any, it hinges on beating the Broncos. That doesn't seem entirely likely, however.

For the Bills, Marrone can do nothing for himself that would get him more goodwill with the new ownership than beating the New England Patriots. Buffalo and New England are both 3-2 and the AFC East is up for grabs. It's going to be a tough one for them to win, but it is a home game.

Similarly, the Rams are taking on the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers in prime-time on Monday Night Football. While St. Louis appears to be out of contention for the division right now, the Rams were built specifically to beat the 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. That would be a good first step for Fisher.