Welcome to Belly Up’s Over-Reactionary Coach’s Hot Seat Scale for NFL Week 10! (Or BUORCHSS, for short.) I’m a little late for the NFL Week 10 hot seat scale, but it still applies… at least until Week 11. First time here? Check out Week 1’s column on a primer for this scale.
Coach-for-Life
Frank Reich, Kevin Stefanski, Matt LaFleur, Joe Judge, Bruce Arians, Jon Gruden, Brian Flores, Kliff Kingsbury, Sean McVay, Sean Peyton, Mike Tomlin, Bill Belichick, Mike Zimmer.
In three weeks’ time Judge has basically gone from the outhouse to the penthouse as his Giants finally scored a win against an NFC East opponent other than Washington. They defeated the Eagles at Met Life Stadium for the first time in four years and are currently a game back in the division race (which is saying something). Another coach who has climbed the hot seat scale is Belichick. His Pats have won two games in a row after their narrow win over the Ravens and they’re eyeing a playoff berth. Tomlin’s Steelers remained perfect with a dominant win over Cincinnati. Sunday’s win was their 11th in a row over the Bengals. Here’s a fun fact: as of Week 10 of this season, the Steelers had one less win than the entire NFC East combined.
Tepid
Mike Vrabel, Romeo Crennell, Matt Patricia, Doug Pedersen, Vic Fangio, Sean McDermott, Pete Carroll, Kyle Shanahan, John Harbaugh.
Speaking of climbing up in the hot seat scale, guess who else is moving on up? Matt Patricia. Even though his Lions blew yet another double-digit lead, Matt Prater’s 59-yard field goal at the buzzer gave the Lions a win over Washington. They sit two games back of the seventh wild card playoff spot. Several weeks ago, Vrabel’s Titans were sitting on top of the AFC South with a 5-0 record. After losing three of their last four games, they’re now in jeopardy of missing the playoffs altogether. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier. They face the Ravens next week, the Colts again the following week, and an improved Browns team.
Instant Pot
Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule, Zac Taylor, Matt Nagy.
Welcome Matt Rhule to the Instant Pot level of the hot seat scale! In NFL Week 10, The Panthers hung in for a while with their division rival Buccaneers in Week 10. However, the Bucs outscored the Panthers 29-6 in the second half and Rhule’s Panthers lost their fifth game in a row. Rivera’s Football Team made a valiant comeback in Detroit, but couldn’t seal the win. Taylor’s Bengals lost (again) to the Steelers. Before last Monday Night’s game against the Vikings, Bears head coach Nagy announced that he would give up play calling. Didn’t matter. The Bears offense was still concerning as their only touchdown came on a kick return.
Circle of Hell: Level 8
Anthony Lynn, Doug Marrone.
Two coaches remain in this level of the hot seat scale after Week 10. Unlike previous weeks, the Chargers didn’t have to surrender a double-digit lead to take the L. Instead, they fell behind early to the Dolphins and almost took a win from Miami. Meanwhile, Marrone’s Jaguars went into Green Bay a double-digit underdog without Gardner Minshew as he sat out with a thumb injury. Rookie quarterback Jake Luton was aided by a strong running game and a surprisingly good performance by his defense. However, the Jaguars couldn’t make the comeback as the Jags lost their eighth game in a row.
Toast
Bill O’Brien, Dan Quinn.
Bye Week
Raheem Morris, Mike McCarthy, Andy Reid, Adam Gase.
Got your own take about the NFL hot seat scale? Leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter: @WhoIsRyanMcC. And don’t forget to check out my podcast No Credentials Required (new episodes every Wednesday) and my live stream show A-Round for the Weekend (most Fridays at 6:30pm).
