Which Head Coaches will be on the Hot Seat?

With the season kicking off tonight, let’s take a look at which head coaches could be on the proverbial hot seat, and which teams could be looking at drafting a QB for next year.

— AFC East

I see the potential for two head coaches getting the ax with another sub-standard year. Doug Marrone from Buffalo and Joe Philbin are my prime candidates from the AFC East. Marrone took over a bad team and they have not improved under him. Joe Philbin will be one of those offensive coordinator’s that should just stay as an offensive coordinator, the Dolphins are going to be bad this year.

— AFC North

I think everybody in this division will be safe. The one to watch will be Mike Pettine in Cleveland. I think he’ll have them playing better this year, but not by much. Let’s face it, the Browns canned their previous coach after just a one year stint, so who knows. The darkhorse could be Marvin Lewis. He’s one of the longest tenured head coaches in the league, but he’s also lost two of his best coordinators in Jay Gruden and Mike Zimmer.

— AFC South

This division should be safe from black monday. Gus Bradley would likely be the only one that could potentially be on the hot seat as the season progresses, but I think he is building up their roster and the owner is letting the coach fix the defense and they just bolstered the offense with Blake Bortles. Ultimately, I think everyone in this division will be safe.

— AFC West

Dennis Allen from the Oakland Raiders will be on the hot seat. The Raiders are just a horrible organization, and they go through coaches like no other team. They’ll be riding the hopes of Derek Carr, and if he struggles, it’ll be Schaub. That’s all you need to know. Someone will need to fall on the ax, and it’ll be Allen.

 — NFC East

Jason Garrett was on the hot seat on the final game, but he survived. Much of the room Garrett has been given can be attributed to Jerry Jones’ affinity for Garrett. Garrett has been with the Cowboys since before Wade Phillips was named the head coach. Jerry loves Garrett, but this could finally be the season Jerry moves on from Garrett. A forth straight 8-8 season or below could be the absolute final nail in the coffin; however, if Jerry think Garrett has repaired the offense and the defense still needs another year of revamping, then he may yet again survive black monday. How crazy would that be? The darkhorse could be Tom Coughlin. The Giants have stuck with Coughlin and he has delivered, but there have been moments along the way were he was on the verge of getting canned. The Giants have struggled in the preseason with their new look west coast offense and it could be what finally brings down the Super Bowl winning coach. We’ll see.

— NFC North

This division is also likely safe from any firing at the end of the season, and we typically don’t see any firings of a head coach after just one year. It’ll be interesting to see if Jim Caldwell does better with his second opportunity with the Lions. I think Caldwell is a good offensive coordinator, but not so sure the Lions will do any better under him than they did with Jim Schwartz.

— NFC South

Mike Smith from the Falcons and Ron Rivera have the most potential of being in trouble as the season progresses. Smith put together a bad season last year, and he’ll need a bounce back season this year. To me, if the Falcons have another bad year, he’ll be gone. Ron Rivera will be challenged as well, mainly on the offensive side of the ball and if they have a bad year he could be in trouble.

— NFC West

Everyone should be safe in this division. The darkhorse could be Jeff Fisher, he’s in a tough division, and they’ve been competitive, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to win with Shaun Hill as their QB. I’m sure the Rams will be a top tier defense, but the offense has a lot of question marks going into the regular season.

New QBs in 2015: What teams could use an upgrade at QB next season?

Buffalo Bills – EJ Manuel

Pittsburgh Steelers – Ben Roethlisberger

Tennessee Titans – Jake Locker

Houston Texans – Ryan Fitzpatrick / Ryan Mallett

Dallas Cowboys – Tony Romo

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Josh McCown

St. Louis Rams – Sam Bradford

Arizona Cardinals – Carson Palmer

All these QBs have concerns as they enter the 2014 season, and if they don’t play up to their potential, their teams could look to the future in 2015. Some of these guys are good, but age is catching up to them, and some of these guys are teetering on being recent draft busts. There will be a market for some of these college QBs that will be contemplating entering the draft next year.