Week 9 Coaches on the hot seat
On Tuesday, the Tennessee Titans fired head coach Ken Whisenhunt. We left Whisenhunt off the hot seat list because he was in his first season with presumed franchise quarterback Marcus Mariota, and we assumed – falsely, clearly – that Whisenhunt, a coach with a background on offense, would get some time to work with Mariota before his seat got so hot he was ejected from it.
Alas, he did not.
Amy Adams Strunk, now the controlling owner of the Titans, was fairly blunt in a statement about Whisenhunt’s firing, which came with 3 1/2 years remaining on his five-year contract: “We have expected more progress on the field, and I felt it was time to move in a different direction.” Tennessee was 3-20 under Whisenhunt, winning the season opener this year before losing six straight.
With Whisenhunt unemployed, Indianapolis’ Chuck Pagano remains on the hot seat, and Jim Caldwell can’t be too comfortable either in Detroit. Caldwell fired three offensive coaches 10 days ago, before his team played Kansas City in London, promoting Jim Bob Cooter to coordinator. Not that miracles should have been expected in just a couple of days, but the Lions looked terrible against the Chiefs.
Worse, they seemingly had no desire to fight back, which can be blamed on Caldwell. Sure in front of cameras and on the sideline he seems as bland as plain oatmeal, but in the locker room, he has to be able to inspire his players.
As for Pagano, he watched offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton get his walking papers on Tuesday, just days before his struggling team hosts the undefeated Denver Broncos and their top-ranked defense. The Colts’ bye is after that, and with his team likely to be 3-6, Pagano could be the next coach booted out the door by general manager Ryan Grigson, the man most responsible for the mess Indy has become.
ON THE HOT SEAT
Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis
Over the last two-plus years, with a healthy Pagano leading the Colts, they are 15-0 against AFC South teams and 10-15 against all other teams. We still maintain Pagano is doing what he can with the roster he’s been given by Grigson, a sentiment that’s shared elsewhere.
Jim Caldwell, Detroit
On Tuesday, Caldwell called the media workroom at the Lions’ facility the “dungeon of doom” and said “there’s no question” the Detroit media are the most negative he’s been around. He said these things coming off a 45-10 beatdown to a Chiefs team that couldn’t get out of its own way not long ago, losing five straight games. Matthew Stafford got sacked six times (a seventh was wiped away by a penalty) and intercepted twice.
SEAT’S STILL WARM
Jay Gruden, Washington
Washington had its bye last week after its come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay. It travels to undefeated New England for Sunday’s game. The last time the franchise played in Foxborough, 2007, it was handed a 52-7 loss. That game has little to do with this one, but it provides the chance to pull out a classic Bill Belichick quote from that postgame: “What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?”
