NFL Coaching Hot Seat Index: Who's in trouble?Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports October 12, 2015
(Photo: Aaron Doster, USA TODAY Sports) The ever-toasty NFL coaching hot seat has already claimed Joe Philbin in Miami. Who else might be feeling the heat in the "Not For Long" league as the 2015 season plays out? If form holds true, 7 or 8 coaches will turn in their playbooks the day after the regular season concludes. Here is our Heat Index after Week 5:1. Jim Caldwell, Detroit Lions: His team is winless, a scarlet zero no other coach in the league bears. One of his receivers (Golden Tate) says opponents know the plays, while the other starting wideout (Calvin Johnson) is playing like Mini Me instead of Megatron, averaging just 10.1 yards per catch with one TD and one unforgettable fumble. And now Caldwell has benched the struggling franchise quarterback (Matthew Stafford) he was supposed to cultivate. The Colts wasted little time moving on from Caldwell when things went south in Indianapolis. This is beginning to feel like déjà vu all over again. STATUS: MEDIUM BOIL2. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs: His team is on a four-game slide after losing to the lowly Chicago Bears at Arrowhead and probably lost its best player, RB Jamaal Charles, for the rest of the season. A star-studded defense ranks near the bottom of the league. Worse, the offense Reid oversees hasn't struck fear into opponents – and certainly won't sans Charles – partially due to a poor line featuring albatross No. 1 draft pick Eric Fisher. Is it all Reid's fault? No. But as he loves to say, pretty much weekly, "It's my responsibility." STATUS: LOW BOIL3. Lovie Smith, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: He finally won at home Sunday, making him 1-10 in Tampa. But Smith's defense, which has allowed the most points in the league, may be outmoded. And he could be relying on a rookie quarterback for a stay of execution. STATUS: LOW BOIL4. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars: Players seem to love his exuberance and have consistently played hard for him (if not well) throughout a comprehensive rebuild. But he was clearly frustrated Sunday after a loss to Tampa. At what point can Bradley's 8-29 record not be ignored? STATUS: LOW BOIL5. Chip Kelly, Philadelphia Eagles: Prior to Sunday's blowout of the New Orleans Saints, it sure seemed like former GM Howie Roseman did a better job picking players than de facto GM Chip Kelly. Owner Jeffrey Lurie is all in at this point on Kelly, who wrested control of the entire football operation after last season. Yet you never know when the mythical sirens might start singing, luring Kelly to a place like the mythical Troy, better known as USC. It might look like a soft landing spot if NFL defensive coordinators continue exposing his offense. STATUS: MICROWAVEABLE6. Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins: He's in the second season of a guaranteed five-year contract, not that owner Dan Snyder is afraid of eating dead money. And Gruden didn't inherit a great roster, which new GM Scot McCloughan seems to be effectively overhauling. Still, Gruden is 1-9 on the road, and he did not pick the QB the owner favors. STATUS: MICROWAVEABLE7. Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts: He's atop his division with a two-game lead in the win column despite an 0-2 start and an injured franchise quarterback. He also doesn't have a contract for 2016. STATUS: SIMMERING8. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints: The next head coach of the Dolphins? Not the kind of scuttlebutt a coach needs circulating around a 1-4 start, even the coach who has the equity of being the greatest in Saints history and the only one to throw a Lombardi Gras party. STATUS: THAWING9. Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans: He sure seems like the guy you want on the sideline given what he did at Penn State before squeezing nine wins out of this team last year. But we have to question what's going on under center, where it appears the Texans would have been far better off keeping Ryan Fitzpatrick. STATUS: THAWING10. Jeff Fisher, St. Louis Rams: No one wants to play his talented team, though it inexplicably lays eggs too often (reference Washington, Week 2). Fisher is probably the perfect guy to be leading a franchise that may be relocating in 2016. But the Rams currently sit under .500 for the fourth consecutive season. STATUS: THAWINGFollow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
