Coaches With Contracts Expiring:

- Marvin Lewis - Cincinnati Bengals
- Lewis has been one of the longest tenured coaches along with Bill Belichick. However, the biggest difference between the two men is that one has a lot of playoff wins and a five Super Bowls. While, the other has been a coach for 14 years and has zero wins. Granted Lewis took a team with zero aspirations to one that was competitive at the very least throughout his tenure. I am firm believer that more than 10 years is way too long for a coach to be in charge of a locker room. Eventually his stuff will fall on deaf ears and with one who has just been okay I think it's time for a new direction. If Lewis does leave I think he might take a year or two off to be with his family before coming back. However, if a good job like the Giants, Colts, or any other great job opens up he should jump for it. I do think he gets another job eventually.

Possible Replacement: Dave Toub Special Teams Coach - Kansas City Chiefs
- Toub is the old-school diciplinarian type the Bengals need to begin a new era in Cincinnati. I also think he is very good at managing a team and feel for the locker room rather than just be a guy to take care of one side of the ball. I think he can become the next big thing within a similar vein of John Harbaugh who was also a special teams coach prior to his head coaching opportunity.

- Jim Caldwell - Detroit Lions
- I am not a big fan of Caldwell's with his ability to always be in charge of a mediocre Lions team and never getting them ready to win the big games. However, his players do seem to love him a lot and always have glowing words to say about him. I imagine he stays for another couple years, but it will all depend on how his team finishes out the year. With Green Bay losing Aaron Rodgers the division is there for the taking and if the Lions make it out of there as the division winners he should end up staying. However, I could also seem them going in another direction with a guy who is more technically savvy and able to make better game day adjustments than Caldwell.

Possible Replacement: Matt Patricia Defensive Coordinator - New England Patriots
- I am skeptical of guys who leave New England, but eventually you got to give them a shot and hope you land the next Belichick. Patricia has been in charge of the most underrated part of the Patriots for a few seasons and has done a good job keeping a nameless defense afloat as best he can. He is also in Belichick's shadow the most since his background is on defense as well. I think he would be at least a better x's and o's coach than Caldwell who seems to be worst after halftime in most games.

- John Harbaugh - Baltimore Ravens
- I am just putting this here since he does technically have one year left on his contract, but I fully expect him to come back to the Ravens. The problems with this team is not his fault, but more so injuries and poor drafting that is causing this team to falter. Yes, I said it Ozzie Newsome's impeccable drafting is flawed especially on the offensive side of the ball where he routinely whiffs on prospects. If I were the Ravens and I know they will not do it, but I would think about a new general manager before a coach. Especially, with how long Newsome's been there and often guys around that long lose their drive without someone pushing them.

Possible Replacement: None
- I expect Harbaugh to be back.

Coaches Who Could Be Fired:

- John Fox - Chicago Bears
- It's no secret that the Bears have been ready to press the button to fire Fox since he arrived in Chicago. I understand why they went with a retread after whiffing Marc Trestman an outside the box candidate, but Fox's track record is similar to Jeff Fisher's that is held to a high standard for no reason. He did a great job in Carolina, but since then he has gone downhill in my opinion and Peyton Manning helped make him look better than he was in Denver. With a new young quarterback the Bears should look to bring in an offensive mind to work with him and possibly keep Vic Fangio around on the defensive side to keep the continuity over there.

Possible Replacement: Scott Linehan Offensive Coordinator - Dallas Cowboys or long shot Jim Harbaugh Head Coach - Michigan Wolverines
- Linehan has had a nice rebound after his quick ouster with the Rams during their rebuilding. Since then he has done a nice job developing Matthew Stafford and Dak Prescott in recent years. I think his style of run-first and use play action style of play calling would mesh really well with a tandem of Jordan Howard and Mitchell Trubisky. The other very long shot is a reunion with Jim Harbaugh if he decides he would prefer to come back to the pros and not have to worry about the massive expectations up in Michigan. He could also avoid the mettling NCAA and their strict rules. Harbaugh got the most out of Kaepernick and would be able to do a lot more with an actual quarterback like Trubisky. He also can bring more attitude to the team overall that has been lacking for a bit recently.

-- Mike Tomlin - Pittsburgh Steelers
- I have never been a fan of Tomlin who is more of a cheerleader than a head coach for the Steelers. He has had very good teams throughout his tenure and has never gotten the most out of them or prepared enough to beat good teams like the Patriots. To me he keeps this team not buttoned up overall and they end up losing games they should win like against the Bears and Jags this season. If they somehow miss the playoffs or get embarrassed by the Patriots again in the playoffs I think it's time to look in a new direction.

Possible Candidate: Dave Toub Special Teams Coach - Kansas City Chiefs or Jim Schwartz Defensive Coordinator - Philadelphia Eagles
- Another proper spot for Toub with his ability to be a disciplined coach and one who can just manage the team. This is a good roster with talent on both sides of the ball and just needs a coach to help push them over the hump. Another possible candidate could be Schwartz who is a terrific defensive coach, but a very poor offensive one. With the Steelers they have great talent on offense to allow him to give the job to someone he trusts and just man the defense where is best at. If he can continue to make this underrated defense to the next level and stop the Patriots he may be a perfect fit.

- Bruce Arians - Arizona Cardinals
- This is more of a retirement than a firing, but he does have more than one year left on his deal. However, I think at his age, health, and the state of this team I think it is time to hang it up for the lifelong coach. This team needs to be rebuilt from the top down and all across the roster for it to get back to being competitive. I do think Arians may be back somewhere not as a head coach, but maybe a president or general manager like Tom Coughlin has done down in Jacksonville.

Possible Replacement: Harold Goodwin Offensive Coordinator - Arizona Cardinals
- Why not elevate Arians right hand man to the full time job in respect to the man who led this team to many good years. Goodwin is a terrific play caller and so much so that Arians had trust in him to call the offensive plays, which he was very weary to let go of control. Goodwin also has ties to Pittsburgh and Indy like Arians and could possibly pry away some good coaches from either organizations. Maybe even make it an ideal landing spot for Peyton Manning who has hinted at wanting a front office job.

- Chuck Pagano - Indianapolis Colts
- As bad as it sounds Pagano getting cancer gave him an extra few years as the head coach. At this point, however the good feeling from his great defeat of the disease has worn off and people are starting to again realize how bad of a coach he is. If you ask me he should have been fired right after that ridiculous fake punt play he called against the Patriots a few years ago. I am sure the new GM Chris Ballard will want to bring in his own guy who can help build an offense around Andrew Luck.

Possible Replacements: Jim Bob Cooter Offensive Coordinator - Detroit Lions or David Shaw Head Coach - Stanford Cardinal
- Cooter has done a great job rehabbing Stafford's play the past few seasons and deserves a shot as a head coach from that alone. Maybe he can do the same masterful work of game planning around Luck to get even more out of the talented and oft-injured signal caller. Another candidate may be Luck's old head coach Shaw who has been the apple of many NFL team's eye who are looking for the next best thing from college. Shaw is a good all around coach with strengths on both sides of the ball and getting the most out of less than talented players at tough school like Stanford. I think he can do even better with actual pro talent.

- Ben McAdoo - New York Giants
- I am not the biggest fan of firing a coach after just two seasons, but sometimes you can just tell that you messed up in the decision. For the Giants McAdoo may just be that guy who seems to have let the locker room get out of hand and seems to think he is the smartest man in the room. In many cases, some coordinators are never meant to be head coaches like Wade Phillips, Josh McDaniels, or others over the years. The case, is probably the same for McAdoo who will get a coordinator job elsewhere.

Possible Replacement: Jim Harbaugh Head Coach - Michigan Wolverines, Dave Toub Special Teams Coach - Kansas City Chiefs, or Steve Spagnolo Offensive Coordinator - New York Giants
- Landing a coach who can get this team to one more Super Bowl before all their good players are past their prime is just the job for Harbaugh if he wishes to leave college. The same could be said about Toub who should be a hot coaching candidate in my opinion. The Spagnolo who had one run out in St.Louis as a head coach could be in line for another. He is well liked within the organization and could help simplify this offense that needs work.

- Hue Jackson - Cleveland Browns
- Here's is the obligatory Browns head coach on the hot seat. For his credit Jackson has hung around longer than his predecessors, but now I think his time is up. His mishandling of the quarterbacks this season to me has sealed his fate. If he were smart he should just have stuck with Kizer and lived with it. At least than he can use the excuse that he is just a rookie quarterback. Instead, in what was supposed to be a year of an upswing has just been more the same.

Possible Replacements: Who knows
- This team is a sunk cost until told otherwise. Anyone who takes this job should know he just tossed away a lot of credibility once he gets fired in two seasons with about 4 wins. Possibly some lesser known coordinator will take a flyer on this job as a lottery ticket if they some how make this team competitive.

Coaches Who Saved Their Jobs:

- Todd Bowles - New York Jets
- For a team left for dead it's incredible that they are not the worst team that plays in MetLife Stadium. On that merit alone he should be brought back for another year. It also seems like his players play incredibly hard for him and if this organization can find him a YOUNG good quarterback this team could possibly sneak past the aging Patriots.

- Sean Payton - New Orleans Saints
- If he brings this team to the playoffs after so many poor seasons prior and zero expectations coming in he may have given himself a few more seasons of life. It's also incredible with how well this defense has played and Dennis Allen the coordinator may have coached his way to another head coaching job possibly. It will be interesting to see if he stays if Brees leaves or retires, but I suspect he will stay as long as they will let him down in the Big Easy.

- Bill O'Brien - Houston Texans
- I think if his quick hook on Tom Savage failed he may have pulled the plug on his own job down in Houston. However, with how well Watson has played he looks like a genius for going to the rookie signal caller. That alone has given him a few more years down in Houston.