The NFL Roundup 2022: Hot Seat Edition

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Hello again, football fans and welcome to a somewhat historic edition of the NFL Roundup. Because normally this time of year, this blog is focused on Wild Card Weekend and the rest of the postseason. But thanks to a big change in the league’s overall schedule structure, there are now 18 weeks in a season and there are still plenty of regular season football matters to discuss. Such as who might be losing their job on Black Monday, since that is an NFL standard that isn’t going away. So, with most of the playoff seeding set and few important games waiting in the wings, let's talk about which coaches are on the Hot Seat and might be leaving their respective jobs come Monday.

Pete Carroll – Head Coach, Seattle Seahawks
It is definitely safe to say that Pete Carroll has enjoyed quite the career in the NFL as Seattle’s Skipper. Since he’s guided this team to multiple Super Bowl Berths and won one over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII. Plus, he introduced the world to the Legion of Boom and helped develop Russell Wilson into a superstar quarterback. But the team has been sliding into decline over the past couple of years and they aren’t as good on the field as they used to be. Which could be related to the message just not resonating in Seattle and that slide, combined with some internal strife with Wilson, could cost Carroll his job come Monday.
 
Mike Zimmer – Head Coach, Minnesota Vikings
Zimmer is another one of those wonderful NFL stories since he basically earned his way into the Minnesota job through brilliant defensive work and for a time it seemed as though Zimmer was the right man for the job. For he led the Vikings to wonderful wins and even got them deep into the playoffs on a couple of occasions. But once again, this is a team that has become stagnant under its head coach’s leadership and despite being loaded with weapons on offense and having a solid defense, this team just isn’t responding to his direction and sadly… that likely means that Zimmer’s time as the head coach of the Vikings will be coming to an end.
 
Matt Rhule – Head Coach, Carolina Panthers
Rhule was hired to a massive contract by Panthers Owner David Tepper, out of the belief that he could transform this team back into a championship competitor and unfortunately for Tepper and Panthers fans… that was simply not the case. Because Rhule has gone a combined 10-22 since he took over as Head Coach and has more or less employed a carousel system for quarterbacks in this town. Since he’s gone through Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold, Cam Newton and P.J. Walker over the past two seasons… with minimal success. Plus, the defense is about as inconsistent as it gets and well, it is obvious that Matt just isn’t working out as the leader of this team and that means he is a likely candidate to be relieved of his duties on Monday morning.
 
Vic Fangio – Head Coach, Denver Broncos
There was a prevailing belief in the Mile High City, that Vic Fangio was finally going to turn this team around when he was hired three years ago. For his hard-nosed, old-school approach to football should have inspired this team to dig deep and use the grit they find within to win. But alas, that never translated to the field. Instead, he’s produced three losing years with the Broncos, the kind that have been free of accountability and have seen the Broncos be outcoached on a consistent basis. And while he is indeed respected by the front office and players by way of his demeanor and impressive resume, it is obvious now that he is way in over his head and cannot handle the head coaching job and that should help General Manager George Paton to release Fangio on Monday. But ironically, while it is inherently clear that Vic is a better coordinator than head coach, it is possible he might land another year in Denver. Provided of course he make some changes to his coaching staff and if he agrees to that, he could get one last shot, and this will indeed be the most fascinating situation to watch over the next few days.
 
Matt Nagy – Head Coach, Chicago Bears
Matt Nagy is another coordinator turned head coach that came to his new job with high hopes surrounding him. Since the Bears were desperate to win again and truly believed his football mind would change their fortunes and unlike Fangio and Ruhle, Nagy made quite the splash in his first year. For he took the Bears to the playoffs for the first time in years, making it seem as though at last… Chicago made the perfect hire. But then… things went south quickly. For the Bears quickly returned to mediocrity under Nagy’s watch, and they even backed into the playoffs and lost again before everything fell to pieces. Which just goes to show that Nagy was a flash in the pan hire, one that quickly lost this team and can no longer lead them and judging from a report that Boomer Esiason dropped the other day, it won’t be long now before Matt Nagy is gone.  

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