National Football League

A Pick 6 of coaches on the hot seat

Published Dec. 23, 2011 6:18 p.m. ET

foxsports

If the Indianapolis Colts blow the No. 1 pick in next year's draft with their astonishing end-of-season winning streak, owner Jim Irsay has all the ammunition he needs to dismiss coach Jim Caldwell.

How dare he rally his troops to finish with a flourish and blow a chance at drafting quarterback Andrew Luck, aka as the next John Elway?

It was bad enough Caldwell's Colts ran out to a 0-13 mark and all but clinched the No. 1 pick. The record alone was enough for firing consideration. Now this: After a second straight win, the Colts (2-13) allowed the Rams (2-12) and Vikings (2-12) into the race to see who can lose their way to the top pick.

Will this turnaround help or hurt Caldwell's job status? Only Irsay knows for sure.

As if you hadn't guessed by now, this week's Pick Six is coaches on the hot seat - Caldwell excluded (we think he'll be back) as well as already fired coaches Jack Del Rio, Tony Sparano and Todd Haley.

-Chan Gailey, Bills: Has any team come undone more than the Bills? After a 5-2 start, it's been all downhill for the boys from Buffalo. A seven-game losing streak has them out of the playoffs for the 12th straight season. On Saturday, Gailey's guys get a look at Tebow Time. Or will it be Gailey Time?

-Raheem Morris, Bucs: Yes! The Bucs have been as bad as the Bills. After winning 10 games last season, Morris was being tagged as a can't-miss coach, about to lead his young team to the playoffs in 2011 with QB Josh Freeman at the helm. A 4-2 start has been wiped out by an eight-game losing streak and now Morris' status is in jeopardy.

-Steve Spagnuolo, Rams: Granted, there have been a bunch of injuries, but so what? A defensive-minded coach has one of the league's weakest defenses (21st overall), and an offense (30th overall) averaging all of 11.9 points per game under a not-always-healthy quarterback Sam Bradford.

-Leslie Frazier, Vikings: Doesn't it seem like after every loss, Frazier says he's not coaching well enough? OK. So why is he still the coach? Is this season an audition? Donovan McNabb didn't work. Neither did anything else. And, star running back Adrian Peterson got hurt in the process. Frazier is likely to get another year, but this season seemed lost from the start.

-Andy Reid, Eagles: Even if Philly (6-8) makes the playoffs (that's how bad the NFC East is), it sure appears it's time for a new coach. Yes, Reid has led his team to nine playoff appearances, six NFC East titles, five conference championship games and one Super Bowl in his first 12 seasons. But his dream team was supposed to be much better than this. It isn't, and maybe this time the boo birds might have it right.

- Norv Turner, Chargers: Don't let this late-season surge fool you. A rare quick start for the Chargers deteriorated into a six-game losing streak followed by a three-game winning streak, leaving San Diego a long shot to make the playoffs. A loss to the Lions on Saturday could mean the end of Turner after five mostly disappointing seasons.

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Follow Richard Rosenblatt on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rosenblattap