Forgive me for being a little tardy on the competition post; I was at a journalism intern fair at college, and it got pretty busy. Now then; the post makes it abundently clear what the topic is. What current NFL coach is feeling the burn the most? Who has such shaky security, that working for Al Davis would look like fun? Who wishes they had William Clay Ford for an pwner? Here are my top five, and the reasoning behind it:
5. Wade Phillips, Cowboys: I'm not saying that Phillips will be fired tomorrow; I mean to look at what he must do to stay beyond this year. He must overcome Tony Romo's thumb injury, placate two primadonna WRs in Terrell "Team Obilterator" Owens and Roy "That Annoying #### First-Down Signaler" Williams, fix a defense that has major secondary problems, wonder about Pacman's future, and take the 'Boys to the Super Bowl after not winning a playoff game since 1996. Easy, isn't it?
4. (tie) Eric Mangini, Jets & Romeo Crennel, Browns: Monday's impressive win not withstanding, the Browns were expected to be better than 2-3 at this point. Crennel was on the hot seat prior to last season, when the Browns went 10-6, because players seemed to be on the verge of mutiny against his Belichick-ian ways. Crennel must make the playoffs to keep the wolfs at bay, since his QB entered Monday as the NFL's lowest rated passer, and the fans could still pine for Brady Quinn. Meanwhile, Mangini is under even more pressure than Crennel, considering that the Jets brought in Brett Favre and several other prominent FAs to make a run right now. Mangini has come under fire for being too conservative, and it could get hotter if the Jets lose.
3. Herman Edwards, Chiefs: In a previous blog competition post, I said that the Rams were the worst team in the NFL because they fought more than the Hatfields and McCoys. Well, look at the dissention in KC; Tony Gonzalez wanted out, but is still there (the countdown to him becoming Shockey has begun), Larry Johnson was charged with assault, and the Chiefs don't have a quarterback. Combine that with a terrible stretch of play (1-13 if my math is correct) and the lack of imagination (quote of the year; I heard someone say "Edwards should realize that Army isn't #1 anymore) and you've got some major heat.
2. Marvin Lewis, Bengals: Speaking of dissention, Lewis is another example of getting bitten in the rear by bad apples. The Bengals began their offseason with both Chad Ocho Cinco and T.J. Houshmanzadeh pining for new homes/new contracts, and their lack of conditioning has been evident. Granted, injured QB Carson Palmer has barely played, and Ryan Fitzpatrick has been terrible, but neither play defense, which was supposed to be Lewis' forte, and has stunk in Cincy throughout his tenure. But at least he has won in the past, which I can't say for...
1. Rod Marinelli, Lions: I'm not looking through this with rose-#### glasses! Marinelli is the only coach I think right now should be fired on the spot! The Lions invent new ways to lose each week; last week, they chose simply to rip the heart out of the few fans they had left by showing abysmal clock management and allowing the Vikings to kick the winning field goal. They traded Williams to Dallas for draft picks in a draft without a legit star at the top, and then they treat Jon Kitna (who I don't really care for) like #### by ending his season with an 'injury' that would heal through rest! Why stop someone who is lightyears better than Dan "Where's the Out of Bounds Area?" Orlovsky and Drew "Injury Waiting to Happen" Stanton? Marinelli should be fired, plain and simple.
There's my coached on the hot seat. What coaches do you think should be feeling the heat? Just let me know in a comment. Until next time, may these coaches feel really lucky that I don't own a team!