3 NFL coaches squarely on the hot seat after Week 7, 1 who cooled things down

Bill Belichick cooled his hot seat

It was strange to hear murmurings about Bill Belichick's place in New England after the Patriots fell to 1-5 on the season last week. It's not that Belichick was in serious danger of being fired. But the mere implication that the head coach could or should be forced into retirement or ousted in any way was pretty wild.

This may have been the closest Belichick has been in his Patriots tenure to actually feeling the heat.

The bleeding isn't entirely stopped, but the Patriots' 29-25 win over the Bills definitely should cool the chatter around Belichick.

He's still an all-time head coach. He just logged his 300th regular-season victory. And before that win, someone leaked to insiders that Belichick "quietly" signed an extension before the season. His safety couldn't be more clear.

If anything, this season has created a strong argument for Belichick to release some control as far as roster management is concerned. But the fact is he's still one of the best coaches in the business and still capable of winning any game in front of him.