NFL Week 16: 5 Coaches on Hot Seat
Nov 20, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bills won 16-12. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
With only two weeks remaining in the 2016 season, the pressure is on for these head coaches on the hot seat for NFL Week 16.
The current list of head coaches on the hot seat for NFL Week 16 took another interesting twist after the Jacksonville Jaguars finally decided to part ways with Gus Bradley shortly after Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans. Between Bradley and Jeff Fisher, it will be interesting to see which current head coaches will be next to join these two on the unemployment line.
As bad as it sounds, the decision to fire these two former head coaches was way overdue when considering how bad this year turned out to be for the Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams. On a positive note, at least these two teams will have an upper hand over the other teams that will soon be searching for their next head coach since they have already started the process.
While most of the coaches on this week’s list happened to make the cut in Week 15, the one new face to keep an eye on is Rex Ryan as the Buffalo Bills are all but eliminated from the playoffs. The Bills have shown potential at times for looking like contenders in the AFC, but there have already been reports about Ryan most likely losing his job at season’s end, so these final two games will be crucial for the head coach.
Let’s not waste anymore time and jump into this week’s list of head coaches on the hot seat for NFL Week 16, starting with Bruce Arians of the Arizona Cardinals.
Dec 18, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians looks on during the second half against the New Orleans Saints at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
5. Bruce Arians
At the beginning of the season, the Arizona Cardinals were seen as heavy favorites to not only win the division the title, but the entire NFC in general. Instead, Bruce Arians and company are going to finish with their first losing season since he took over as head coach in 2003.
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When taking a look at the success from Arians since then, all signs point to the head coach receiving another shot at redeeming himself, but that doesn’t he’s not going to be on the hot seat. The argument will be made this year’s team was the most talented when it comes to the potential of winning the Super Bowl, and Arians simply came up on the failing end.
What makes this situation even more tough for the Cardinals is the team will have plenty of decisions to make in the offseason when it comes to the future of Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald. The duo is at a stage in their careers where they may only have another good year or two left in them, which means Arizona may need to begin thinking about their plans for the future sooner rather than later.
Does figuring out what’s in store for the future include Arians? Only time will tell for the head coach as his losing season from 2016 will certainly play a factor in that decision.
Nov 27, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson during the second quarter between the Cleveland Browns and the New York Giants at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Giants won 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
4. Hue Jackson
The Cleveland Browns are two losses away from becoming the second team in NFL history to go an entire season without winning a single game. With two tough games remaining against the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, all signs point to the Browns ending up on the wrong side of history, whether they like it or not.
Not even Hue Jackson could have predicted this year would turn out the way he did as the head coach assumed he would go through some struggles during his first season as head coach, but nothing this bad. If it weren’t for the Browns dealing with so many injuries at the quarterback position, there’s a good chance this team would have won a few games with a healthier Robert Griffin III under center.
For the sake of Cleveland and their fans, here’s to hoping the team figures out a way to end the year on a positive note by competing in each of their remaining games. Most teams tend to give a head coach at least one year to prove themselves, but nobody could have predicted this outcome on Jackson’s end as the head coach has been on the hot seat for a few weeks now.
Dec 18, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan reacts to his team scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at New Era Field. Buffalo beats Cleveland 33 to 13. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
3. Rex Ryan
At 7-7, the Buffalo Bills have a slim chance of earning a spot for one of the two Wild Card spots in the AFC playoff picture, but it would take a miracle when seeing what would actually have to happen in order for that to take place. If the Bills do officially get eliminated from contention this weekend, Rex Ryan will have nobody to blame but himself for falling short of his postseason goals.
One of the biggest problems for Ryan is he set the bar so high for himself when he took over as head coach in 2015, making everyone believe Buffalo’s disastrous playoff drought would finally come to an end. Instead, the Bills will most likely enter the offseason realizing they missed out on numerous opportunities that would have them in much better shape this late in the year.
Let’s not forget Buffalo was considered one of the hottest teams in football at the beginning of the season by winning four games in a row following an 0-2 start, with both losses coming by six points. In fact, all but one of the seven losses by the Bills this year happened to come by single digits, which is simply frustrating to think about.
If only Ryan’s squad could have closed out a few of those games, his job wouldn’t be on the line heading into 2017.
Nov 27, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly reacts on the sideline during the second half against Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
2. Chip Kelly
One thing to takeaway from the 2016 season is no matter how much they want to see it happen, the San Francisco 49ers need to realize that Chip Kelly‘s system isn’t fit for the NFL. This year has been an absolute disaster for the 49ers as they head into Week 16’s game against the Los Angeles Rams on a 13-game losing streak.
Coincidentally, the last time San Francisco won a game happened to be opening weekend against Los Angeles, which could give the team an extra boost of confidence heading into Saturday. Still, a win against the Rams won’t take away from how terrible the 49ers have been all season as this team has plenty of changes to make once the offseason rolls around.
Hopefully, one of those changes ends will be parting ways with Kelly as head coach so this team can receive a fresh start. There’s a reason why the Philadelphia Eagles gave up on Kelly so fast after three short years as it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 49ers do the same, whether it comes before or after the end of the regular season.
Either way, at least everybody can agree the Kelly experiment in the NFL has been a complete failure.
Dec 18, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers head coach Mike McCoy reacts during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
1. Mike McCoy
After nine of their 12 losses in 2015 were by single digits, the San Diego Chargers were hoping for better results this time around during the 2016 season. Unfortunately, the problems of closing out games have carried over for the Chargers this year as eight of their nine losses have come by single digits as well.
Just like the Buffalo Bills, if only a few of those losses resulted in wins, there’s a good chance San Diego would actually be in the playoff picture, along with the race for the AFC West title. Instead, this team is left wondering whether it’s even worth keeping Mike McCoy around as the argument can be made the team should have parted ways with the head coach a long time ago.
McCoy set the bar high for himself during his first year as head coach by leading the Chargers to the playoffs in 2013. Since then, it’s all been downhill for McCoy and San Diego as the team has only recorded nine wins over the last two seasons.
The decision to hire McCoy back in 2013 was considered questionable at the time, and this just confirms he should have never been brought on board in the first place. The good news is if the Chargers do finally end up parting ways with McCoy, the next head coach will have plenty of talent to work with.