The NFL Roundup - The Hot Seat Edition

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

(Gary Wiepert/Associated Press)

Change is a necessity when it comes to life in the NFL. Every year, rosters are altered, game plans updated and sometimes...coaches are swapped out due to the fact that they simply couldn't get the job done. It's a harsh reality in the football world and one so important and franchise altering that the usual day when coaching changes occur has earned it's own nickname...Black Monday. But,  as the season winds down, we thought we would take a moment and look at a few other teams around the league that might be making some changes in the next week or two and identify which coaches and executives are sitting on the hot seat.

Rex Ryan - Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills
The prevailing thought when Rex Ryan took over the Head Coaching gig for the Buffalo Bills a couple of years ago was that Rex had received quite the raw deal with the New York Jets. He didn't get the right personnel in place from the front office so perhaps a fresh start would show off his talents as a coach. Unfortunately, the past couple of years in Buffalo have proven that the issue in New York was Rex, not the players because the same mediocrity the Jets suffered from now plagues the Bills. The team just has not improved under Rex's watch, if anything it feels as though they've taken a step back and because of that, it's safe to assume that Rex Ryan will be relieved of his coaching duties come Black Monday, if not sooner. 

John Fox - Head Coach of the Chicago Bears
Coach Fox has quite the reputation around the league for coming in and fixing teams that have lost their way and for proof, look no further than his time in Carolina and Denver, where he took both teams to the Super Bowl, and that excellent resumé is precisely why Chicago wanted him once he became available. However, the Midas Touch that often comes with John Fox's arrival seems to have disappeared with the Bears, in fact, his tenure with this team has been an outright disaster. His first year with the Bears, they finished 6-10 and this year they're sitting at an ugly 3-11. Granted Fox has dealt with injury issues on this team since his arrival as Head Coach, but ownership is no longer looking for excuses, they want the Bears to win and win now, so don't be surprised if Coach Fox is sent packing at the end of the season and the Chicago Bears start over fresh...again...

Hue Jackson - Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns
Truth be told, I feel bad for Hue Jackson. He's an offensive genius, one that managed to put together some impressive game plans in Cincinnati and you can already see how much that team has struggled without him since he left to take the head coaching gig in Cleveland. But the reason I feel a sense of pity for Hue is that he took over a team that has a handful of talented players on the roster, and the 'football minds' making all the personnel decisions truly have no idea what the heck they are doing and sadly...since the team is 0-14, I get the funny feeling that someone is going to have to have to take the fall for this mess...and I think Hue is going to be that scapegoat. Yes, I understand a coach's job is to bring the best out of his players, but what do you expect a coach to do with the worst roster in the NFL? But you never really know what will happen when it comes to the fickle Browns, so there is a chance that Hue might stay, but more than likely, I see this team making yet another coaching change at the end of the year.

Chip Kelly and Trent Baalke - Head Coach and General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers
It's simply been an ugly season for the San Francisco 49ers. They have the second worst record in the NFL this year and they went 5-11 the year prior and well, I get the funny feeling the York family is going to do a little housecleaning this offseason. It will likely begin with their General Manager since he's the one that made the call on hiring the woefully under qualified Jim Tomsula last year, followed by the inept Chip Kelly one year later when the opportunity was there to hire a proven winner in Mike Shanahan and once Trent is gone, more than likely Chip is next since once again his special brand of football has led to titanic failure and the new General Manager will want to hire their own coach to go with a brand new roster but either way, the reset button is about to be hit in Santa Clara again and considering how badly the last couple of seasons have gone for this team...that's not a bad thing.

​Rick Smith - General Manager of the Houston Texans
The NFL can be a forgiving place when it comes to poor personnel decisions, simply because there's so much due diligence in place before a player signs with a team. There's tape study, face to face meetings with the coaching staff, all that good stuff to make sure they'll mesh with the team. But sometimes, grave mistakes are made, like the one Rick Smith made when he signed Brock Osweiler to his roster. There was no face to face meeting, just a seventy-two million dollar contract, handed over to a guy who turned out to be the biggest free agent bust of 2016, and when you look at Brock's performance this season and take into account that he had to be benched in order for the team to win an important game...there's a chance that Owner Bob McNair may hold Rick Smith accountable for this disaster of a deal and send him packing.

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