NFL hot seat rankings: Another coach suddenly in jeopardy?
As the NFL season reaches its midpoint, the rumor mill regarding coaches who could be in trouble is starting to get cranked up as more and more owners get cranky with the state of their franchises. Without further hesitation, here's the latest installment of our weekly hot seat rankings:
1. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars: As if a massively disappointing 2-5 start wasn't enough, his team has been blown out the last two weeks by the franchise's previous two head coaches, Jack Del Rio and Mike Mularkey. Maybe punting OC Greg Olson will give the Jags a lift similar to the one the Bills rode after making the same move earlier this season. But with owner Shad Khan now getting uncharacteristically involved, Bradley better push all the right buttons from here on out. Last week: 1
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2. John Fox, Chicago Bears: His team bowed up to surprisingly knock off the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. Still, it's become apparent Fox is in trouble after NFL Network reported he's on "shaky" ground as ownership invites outside consultants to assess the state of the franchise. Fox is only two seasons into a four-year deal, but he's been unable to flee the Jay Cutler albatross as this team continues to remain stuck in neutral. Last week: unranked
3. Mike McCoy, San Diego Chargers: No shame in losing at Denver to the reigning champion Broncos ... especially when QB Philip Rivers misfires on 27 of 47 passes, with three of those incompletions getting picked off. The Bolts no longer enjoy much of a home-field advantage at Qualcomm Stadium, but maybe being in San Diego for four of the next five weeks will allow them to focus on making perhaps a final push to get out of the AFC West cellar and perhaps keep McCoy employed. Last week: 4
4. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals: He's got the healthiest team in the AFC North, but that translated to all of one win in October. Heading into their bye week, the Bengals have a golden opportunity to regroup before embarking on what appears to be a favorable second-half schedule. If not, ownership may no longer look favorably upon Lewis. Last week: 3
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5. Rex Ryan, Buffalo Bills: Just when it seemed this team had finally caught fire, and owner Terry Pegula was taking steps to publicly back his coaches and front office, Ryan mismanages RB LeSean McCoy's latest hamstring injury, then gets his hat handed to him four weeks after poking fun at Bill Belichick's Tom Brady-less New England Patriots in Week 4. Suddenly, Buffalo has lost two in a row, finds itself 1-3 in division games and on its way to Seattle for Week 9. The temperature of Rex's seat may once again be inversely related to the temperature in upstate New York. Last week: 6
Cooler seats (for now): Jeff Fisher, Chip Kelly
— Week 7 rankings (Gus Bradley)
— Week 6 rankings (Marvin Lewis)
— Week 5 rankings (Mike McCoy)
— Week 4 rankings (Mike McCoy)
— Week 3 rankings (Gus Bradley)
— Week 2 rankings (Rex Ryan)
— Week 1 rankings (Mike McCoy)
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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis
PHOTOS: Week 8 NFL action
