NFL Hot Seat: 5 coaches that must win Week 5
By Josh Hill
Most NFL head coaches are doing a good job, but a few are on the hot seat and need a big win this weekend.
We’re past the quarter-pole of the NFL season, and it’s starting to become clear who the obvious candidates for offseason firings will be. John Fox and Chuck Pagano are usually on this list, but they won’t be the only coaches mentioned in conversations about who will replace them as the season wears on.
There are a handful of other coaches who will likely join them unless things don’t start turning around this weekend.
Mike Mularkey
Head Coach, Tennessee Titans
The Titans were a chic pick before the season to be a team that takes the next step. It seems like ages ago that Tennessee was in a position to make the playoffs last year, and now a quick pivot needs to be made. Mularkey came stumbling out of the gate with a bizarre onside kick call in the first week against the Raiders and things have been spotty since.
It’s tough to figure out what kind of coach he is and how much credit or heat he deserves. The team lost Week 1 because Mularkey decided against running the ball against a weak Raiders front. A few weeks later he coached the team to a resounding win over the Seahawks. Last week was a 57-point blowout at the hands of the Texans — a team vying for the same division title as Tenessee.
Mularkey’s seat is getting warm, and a loss to a lowly Dolphins team on Sunday could be the spark that ignites a flame which leads to his eventual firing.