NFL Week 16 - The Hot Seat

Written by John Edward Betancourt

With only two weeks left in the regular season, most people are talking about who will be in the playoffs before too long. But while there is plenty of glory to go around for the teams competing for the Lombardi trophy, there are teams preparing to change their destiny for the next year by firing their head coach and others as they deem necessary.  Yes, the day known as Black Monday draws near and today we are taking a look at which coaches and other football minds are on the hot seat and are likely coaching to either audition for their next team, or doing their best to show their current employers they are still worth every penny.  So without further ado, here is who is on the hot seat.  

1. Chicago Bears Head Coach Marc Trestman.  Coach Trestman was brought aboard as a quarterbacking guru, the guy who was going to change the course of the enigmatic Jay Cutler. But the team has not prospered under Trestman at all, and it has come to the point where Cutler has been benched in favor of Jimmy Clausen for the final two games of the season. At times this year the Bears have looked completely lost on the field and that falls on the head coach for not having this team ready to play. There has been a lot of buzz coming out of Chicago that the Bears are ready to move on.  But if the Bears are suddenly competitive with Cutler out of the lineup, he may keep his job, but right now it simply looks like a case of too little, too late.

2. New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan. There have been glory days for Rex and the Jets.  Early on in his career there he led the Jets to an AFC Championship game. The defense was competitive and at times downright scary.  Those days are gone. The Jets no longer find themselves in the playoffs, the defense looks lost and confused on every play.  Granted, the talent that John Idzik has put on the field isn't exactly the finest the league has to offer, but it's Rex's job to get the best out of his players and he simply has not and it would not shock me to see Ryan be let go in the next couple of weeks. 

3. Washington Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden. Jay Gruden and Robert Griffin III do not get along. Jay is often quite critical of RG3 and it was Jay's idea to bench his inconsistent quarterback.  However, whether he be right or wrong, RG3 is owner Daniel Snyder's golden boy and the last coach to tell Mister Snyder that RG3 is not an NFL quarterback, was fired just over a year ago.  Yes, Mike Shanahan, a two time Super Bowl Champion was let go for defying ownership and pointing out that RG3 has issues, so I would not be surprised to see Gruden get his walking papers over doing the same thing. 

4. Cleveland Browns Head Coach Mike Pettine. Pettine's job may or may not be tied to the decision to bench Brian Hoyer for Johnny Manziel.  As crazy as that may sound, let's not forget that the Browns are a franchise that is about as dysfunctional as it gets. They burn through two things in this town, Quarterbacks and Coaches.  So it would not shock me in the least if they missed the playoffs and put Pettine in the unemployment line.  Of all the coaches out there, Pettine likely has a better chance of staying, but you simply never know when it comes to Cleveland. 

5. New York Jets General Manager John Idzik. He drafted Geno Smith, who has been a disaster at quarterback. But his list of mistakes simply don't end there. He traded for Percy Harvin, which while that move looked great on paper, it means nothing when you have a quarterback who cannot throw the ball to a receiver. The defense is mediocre talent wise at best, I'd say there is a fair chance he is sent packing with Rex in a couple of weeks.  

6. Chicago Bears General Manager Phil Emery. This is the man taking some serious heat right now for two reasons. One, his choices on defense have been abysmal. A team once known for scary defense no longer has that edge and he also gave Jay Cutler a super contract that made him one of the highest paid players in the league and $54 million guaranteed.  There is a chance he could stay, but I get a feeling he may be on the outs in Chicago as well. 

---