Hot in Herrre!!!

While Saints fans are feeling all warm and fuzzy for Coach Sean Payton, a handful of other NFL coaches find themselves in the hot seat, before the season even starts. From unsigned draft picks to unrealistic fan expectations, the coaches listed below are learning the hard way it ain’t always easy to be the guy in charge.

Romeo Crennel – Cleveland Browns

Romeo, O Romeo! Wherefore art thou draft pick Romeo? Cleveland Browns Coach Romeo Crennel is trying to live up to the high hopes of the Dawg Pound following his successful years in New England as the defensive coordinator. The real question is, “What up with Brady Quinn?” The #22 pick is reportedly in Arizona, blowing his chance to be the starting QB with his foolish holdout from Browns’ camp. Crennel doesn’t need this drama in his critical third year. And Quinn doesn’t need this delay in learning the Cleveland system and establishing a rhythm with the offense. Somebody in The Brady Bunch needs to give Quinn a sound kick in the keister and tell him to shelve his dreams of being paid like he got drafted in the Top 10. Then he needs to pack his hair products and hightail it to camp. If the Browns have to go with Charlie Frye as their starting QB again this season, Crennel will almost certainly be looking for a new gig come January.


Tom Coughlin – New York Giants

Tom Coughlin has made the theme of Giants camp “Shut Up and Play”. He’s asked that the players talk to him about team problems and not rush to share internal issues with the media like they did last season. You can bet the fiery and ferocious New York press will only take this as a challenge and do even more to draw out controversial comments from Giants’ players.
This season’s mantra for Coughlin needs to be “Step Up and Coach”. He needs to focus on fundamentals, consistency and game planning. He needs to work with the players to cut down on penalties at key junctures in games. He needs to start leading and stop whining. If Coughlin can really take control of what’s happening on the field, then all griping and grousing by the players off the field should cease.


Jon Gruden – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jon Gruden’s no longer the fresh-faced offensive prodigy he once was. He’s looking a little worn and wrinkled in his attempt to regain the glory of winning Super Bowl XXXVII in his first year with the Bucs. He’s only had one winning season since that Super Bowl run. Many believe Gruden was the beneficiary of the groundwork laid by his predecessor, Tony Dungy, and doesn’t have the coaching skill to get it done again himself.
Things are already off to a shaky start at camp with both of the competitors for the starting QB position, Jeff Garcia and Chris Simms, dealing with early injuries. Garcia needs to be healthy and fully integrated into the offense so the team gets off to a strong start. Chuckie won’t be around for the full season if the Bucs get off to another woeful start like last year when they lost 7 of their first 9 games.




John Fox – Carolina Panthers

Panthers fans may be hungry for some Fox if their team doesn’t get back into the playoffs this year. Under the leadership of Coach John Fox, the Panthers have gone 7-9, 11-5, 7-9, 11-5, and 8-8 over the last 5 seasons. Following the team’s Super Bowl appearance, the Panthers were expected to emerge as the class of the NFC. But the team failed to rise to those lofty expectations due to their uneven play and those surprising upstarts, the New Orleans Saints. Fox needs to have a winning season this year and next to keep his job. So even if the Panthers manage to be this year’s surprise team in the NFC South (a big IF with the Saints looking even tougher in 2007), Fox will remain on the hot seat during the 2008 campaign in his effort to prove that he can achieve back to back winning seasons.


Jack Del Rio – Jacksonville Jaguars

If only it was enough to look suave in a suit on the sidelines, Handsome Jack. You’ve got to not just look sharp but your team has to play sharp. And that was not the case in 2006 when the Jaguars, coming off a 12-4 season, faltered in spite of having a lot of highly touted players in their lineup. Del Rio is another coach with quarterback issues. Questions continue to swirl about the staying power of Byron Leftwich through 16 games. Leftwich is in the last year of his contract so he needs to prove that he can last through a full rough and tumble season if he wants to be in a strong negotiating position in 2008. If Leftwich manages that, he and his head coach may both be in Jacksonville for quite a while.


Another worry for all these coaches involves a man with one of the meanest mugs in football, former Steelers coach Bill Cowher. Analysts suspect he’ll be a very attractive replacement option for struggling coaches since he sports the hottest of all NFL accessories, a Super Bowl ring.