San Francisco's Mike Singletary was the latest NFL coach to be shown the door, but he certainly won't be the last.
In fact, it seems there are more coaches on the hot seat this season — this year of remarkable competitive balance — than in seasons when the line is more distinct between good teams and bad.
Embattled coaches do have a bit of an advantage with all this labor unrest, because owners will be increasingly careful about making expensive hires with the looming possibility of a lockout. There's a compelling argument in many cases not to make a change, because a new coach might not get a full off-season and training camp to work with players and install a different system.
Regardless, changes will be made, as they are at the end of each season, and the four interim coaches — in Dallas ( Jason Garrett), Minnesota (Leslie Frazier), Denver (Eric Studesville) and San Francisco (Jim Tomsula) — are already under the microscope.
Among the popular replacement candidates floating out there are Super Bowl-winning coaches Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden, and Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh.
Some current coaches whose seats are uncomfortably warm:
JOHN FOX, Carolina: It will be a shock if Fox is in Carolina next season. He and Panthers owner Jerry Richardson have butted heads for years, and it was a clear sign when Fox went into the season without a new deal that the end was near.
Although he got the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003, Fox has never had consecutive winning seasons, and this year has been hugely deflating (although the quarterback mess hasn't helped).
Given his druthers, Fox would wind up in New York, on the longshot chance the Giants would fire Tom Coughlin, or could land in Cleveland as a replacement for Eric Mangini.
Don't look for Richardson to hire Cowher, by the way, even though the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach lives in Carolina and seems like a natural fit. It's far more likely the Panthers reach for an up-and-coming coordinator or maybe Harbaugh.
MARVIN LEWIS, Cincinnati: Lewis helped restore the Bengals to respectability, but he hasn't taken them beyond that. His teams have yet to win a playoff game in eight seasons and have finished with losing records in three of the last four years (including double-digit losses in two of three.)
That said, the Bengals won't build an inside practice facility, won't get aggressive in shopping for free agents and haven't given Lewis the personnel control any coach would want. In other words, is the league's cheapest team going to be able to find someone better?
MANGINI, Cleveland: Even though they're probably going to finish with the same 5-11 record as last season, the Browns have made some progress. They definitely looked on the upswing when they beat New Orleans and New England in consecutive weeks, but how can they explain consecutive losses a month later to the two-win Bengals and two-win Buffalo Bills?
The bottom line is, Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, with their grind-it-out style, will never be on the same page with team President Mike Holmgren, who wants to be less conservative with quarterback Colt McCoy running a West Coast offense.
TONY SPARANO, Miami: Two years ago, he finished one vote behind Atlanta's Mike Smith in coach-of-the-year voting, and the praise was well-deserved. Sparano's Dolphins finished 11-5 and won the AFC East, a year after finishing 1-15 under Cam Cameron.
But Miami took a step backward last season and has done no better this year. Its offense is a mess — starting with the line, Sparano's specialty — and Chad Henne doesn't look like the answer at quarterback. The question is, do the Dolphins want another regime change? They have had four since 2004.
COUGHLIN, New York Giants: If the Giants don't reach the playoffs, New Yorkers can expect the "Fire Coughlin!" rumblings to get louder. But those have cropped up every season, even the year the Giants shocked New England in the Super Bowl.
Yes, last season's team started 5-0 and finished 8-8, and this year's version had an epic fourth-quarter collapse against Philadelphia and handed over control of the NFC East. The Giants don't cycle through coaches, though, and Coughlin hasn't lost the locker room. He's staying.
JACK DEL RIO, Jacksonville: The Jaguars need help to make the playoffs, so that isn't in Del Rio's hands. But his future in Jacksonville could hinge on how the team plays in its finale at Houston, with Trent Edwards at quarterback and Maurice Jones-Drew hobbled. Del Rio has gone eight years with one playoff win and no division titles.
If the team doesn't reach the postseason, it will be the third time since 2006 the Jaguars have had a good shot at the playoffs and sputtered down the stretch. That said, Del Rio would be due a $10-million payout were he to be fired now, and that will give owner Wayne Weaver pause.
