The preseason has not even started, yet we here at SBRforum, taking NFL bettors interest to heart, are already asking which coaches will be shown the door if the regular season goes from bad to worse.
The Hit List -
At the end
of a long night, you can hear a familiar refrain bellowed by the bartender or
the bouncer in barrooms all across the country, "You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." That phrase will be parenthetically echoed
throughout some NFL team offices this season, but you can be sure a guy like
Bill Belichick will never hear those words from Patriots owner Bob Kraft. No, the man under the hoodie is safe, but some
of his contemporaries are already on the hot seat. Let's take a look at a some of them.
Norv Turner - Chargers
Ya
think?! Most Chargers fans are wondering
why he's still in San Diego after leading his talented team to consecutive
seasons devoid of a playoff berth. Team
owner and feisty octogenarian Alex Spanos apparently sees something in Turner
that the rest of us don't or perhaps he just doesn't give a damn.
But even the
most ardent supporters of Old Norv agree that he has one bite at the apple left
and if the Bolts spiral at any time this season, Turner will be pink slipped
faster than you can say unfulfilled potential. Turner has no room for error this
season, and anything but a deep run in the playoffs will most certainly be
the end of the Turner regime.
Andy Reid - Eagles
In a world
of what have you done for me lately,
Andy Reid hasn't done much. The 2002
Coach of the Year has taken the Eagles to five NFC Conference Finals and one
Super Bowl. After their loss to the Cardinals in the NFC
finals in 2008, not much has happened in Philly. Last season they were supposed to be a Dream
Team, but the season quickly turned into a nightmare. Philadelphia finished the season 8-8, and the
City of Brotherly Love will be neither brotherly nor loving if Reid doesn't get
it together real pronto.
Chan Gailey - Buffalo Bills
Big things
are expected of the Bills this season, having won the Mario Williams Sweepstakes
and the biggest free agent prize outside
of Peyton Manning this offseason. As if that wasn't enough, they plucked another chaos-maker - this time from their division rivals the New England Patriots - when
they signed Mark Anderson to line up alongside Williams. They then drafted arguably the best defensive
back on the board in Stephon Gilmore. Factor in a $36 million commitment to wideout Stevie Johnson and these
Bills aren't playin'.
Gailey rebounded
from a disappointing inaugural season with the Bills (4-12) to another slightly
less disappointing season last year (6-10). The pieces are there for the Bills to improve again but, if they don't, Chan and his staff will be looking for employment outside of Buffalo.
Rex Ryan - New York Jets
I happen to
be that rare breed who is both a Patriots fan and a Rex Ryan fan. The guy always has a great sound bite and
you've got love his passion, his conviction and even his consternation when
things go wrong. Well, there's plenty
that could go very wrong this season as the carnival returns to the
Meadowlands.
The acquisition of Tim Tebow is just a
quarterback controversy waiting to happen. They signed Mark Sanchez to assuage his fragile ego, but only days later
traded for Team Jesus. As Sanchez goes,
so goes the fate of Sexy Rexy. Apparently the big man lost over one hundred pounds in the
offseason. If the Jets are grounded
early, get ready for the team to lose another 250 lbs. real quick.