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NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat and About to be Fired

By Bryce Olin

Nov 3, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton shake hands after the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won the game 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton shake hands after the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won the game 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 3, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton shake hands after the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won the game 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 3, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton shake hands after the second half at MetLife Stadium. The Jets won the game 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

Which NFL coaches are feeling the flames in the last few weeks of the season? 

There are 11 legitimate NFL teams who could be looking for a new coach after this season.

That’s truly amazing when you actually stop and think about it. More than one-third of the league could be looking for new coaches. I can’t even believe that.

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With so much pressure to succeed and win, it’s easy to see why these teams fire their coaches after one, two, or three seasons. Even teams that have success might start looking for a new coach, if it’s not a Bill Belichick-type fit.

Every situation is slightly different, and that’s what makes it so hard about finding a good coach and sticking with them. It’s the “grass is always greener” philosophy until it isn’t.

Ask the Chicago Bears fans if they would have Lovie Smith rather than Marc Trestman.

It’s a cutthroat business, the NFL, and it’s especially hard for coaches who have little influence, at times, in what actually happens on the field.

I’ll stick with the Trestman example; Trestman can call the perfect play with a route that gets Brandon Marshall wide-open across the middle of the field, but if Jay Cutler doesn’t make the pass, it doesn’t even matter.

In that scenario, Trestman becomes the fall guy because it’s much easier to replace a coach than a starting quarterback with “potential.”

Of course, I’m using Trestman because there’s like 99.7 percent chance he gets fired this offseason– I’ll get to it in the slides–and Cutler will likely be the starting quarterback of the Bears next season unless they can trade him.

It’s not a great time to be an NFL coach in the age of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. It seems like poor Jay Gruden and Mike Pettine is on ESPN every day to talk about their quarterbacks and why they suck.

Regardless of how hard it is to be a coach, the coaches need to get their teams to perform. When they don’t, they run the risk of ending up on the coaching hot seat and being fired.

So, who are the top coaches about to be fired after this season? I’ve ranked the top eight!

Next: 8. Riverboat Ron

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