Welcome to Belly Up’s Over-Reactionary Coach’s Hot Seat Scale for NFL Week 12! (Or BUORCHSS, for short.) What a wacky week this has been in the NFL. We had a team who was forced to start their practice roster wide receiver at quarterback. Also, we had a game that was postponed FOUR TIMES because #CoronaSZN never seems to end. Nevertheless, the hot seat scale is always moving and this week was no exception. We even have a new coach in the “Toast” level! As always, if you need a refresher on how the scale works, click here.
Coach-for-Life
Romeo Crennell, Ron Rivera, Raheem Morris, Brian Flores, Sean McDermott, Kevin Stefanski, Joe Judge, Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, Andy Reid, Sean Peyton, Matt LaFleur, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin.
If somebody told you back in August that the Giants and Washington would be tied for first place in the NFC East, you would have called them a dirty liar. Well, here we are in NFL Week 12 in the hot seat scale and the Giants are in first place in the NFC East! (Albeit with a 4-7 record because it’s 2020.) Judge’s team has won three games in a row. Chasing after them is the 4-7 Washington Football Team after their dominant win in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. Washington’s strength this far has been their running game.
A result of his growth and talent. Also the run design by Turner and his staff. See it over and over again. https://t.co/q1nyu0d0Gw
— John Keim (@john_keim) November 27, 2020
Meanwhile, Crennell’s Texans are 4-3 and Morris’ Falcons are 5-2 since they were both installed as interim head coaches. Both of their respective squads squashed their opponents this week.
Tepid
Jon Gruden, Frank Reich, Kliff Kingsbury, Bruce Arians, Vic Fangio.
The Raiders have been more or less in playoff contention since mid-October. After splitting their first four games, they won four of their next five, including a big win in Kansas City. Now, they’re on the outside looking in the AFC playoff race following a shellacking in Atlanta. Therefore, Gruden finds himself in the Tepid level of the hot seat scale after NFL Week 12. It was such a bad loss that Gruden apologized to Raider Nation:
Gruden apologizes to Raiders fans for that performance. “We didn’t play well today … and then it snowballed on us. It’s happened before. Can’t happen again.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) November 29, 2020
Elswhere, Reich’s Colts were run over by Tennessee in the Titans’ revenge game in Indianapolis. And is the honeymoon ending so soon in Tampa Bay? Following their third loss in four games, the Buccaneers went from division contender to barely hanging onto a playoff spot. In Denver, Fangio’s Broncos were forced to start a practice squad wide receiver as their starting quarterback following protocol violations by their ENTIRE quarterback room. The NFL squashed the Broncos’ appeals to postpone the game until this week and, as a result, they were squashed by New Orleans.
Instant Pot
Matt Rhule, Zac Taylor, John Harbaugh.
Welcome to the Instant Pot, John Harbaugh! The Ravens started the season 5-1 and were vying with Pittsburgh for the top spot in the AFC North. Now? They’ve lost four of their last five games and out of the playoffs. Their game with the Steelers was postponed FOUR TIMES and they had to play with, essentially, practice squad players. It couldn’t stop the bleeding as they lost their third game in a row. Following the game, some players, most notably defensive back Chuck Clark, expressed their displeasure with the NFL’s COVID protocols.
Chuck Clark admitted team wondered why the team was let back in the building on Monday and Tuesday when there were still positive tests. Acknowledged there was some frustration about how the process was handled.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) December 3, 2020
Circle of Hell: Level 8
Mike McCarthy, Adam Gase, Doug Marrone, Anthony Lynn, Matt Nagy, Doug Pederson.
Welcome to hot seat scale Circle of Hell: Level 8, Doug Pederson! Three weeks ago, the Eagles looked to be in control of the NFC East with a 3-4-1 record. That lead has now evaporated as the Eagles lost their third game in a row to Seattle on Monday night in NFL Week 12. The three losses were only by a combined 21 points, but their woes are offensively. The Eagles have literally scored 17 points in every game. But at least the Eagles aren’t the Jets, who fell to 0-11 after another embarrassing loss to Miami. The circus continues as to who is calling plays following this press conference gem by head coach Adam Gase:
Adam Gase says he did not take over the play calling
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 29, 2020
“This is not hard” pic.twitter.com/esMzHerJaD
Just. End. The Season.
Toast
Bill O’Brien, Dan Quinn, Matt Patricia.
Matty P., we hardly knew ye. In front of a national television audience in NFL Week 12, the Lions kept up with the Texans and were within six at one point. But the Texans outscored the Lions 18-8 in the second half and the Lions dropped another game and further out of playoff contention. This gave the Ford family enough of a reason to relieve both Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn of their respective duties. I’m certain a number of teams will be vying for Patricia’s services on their respective staffs for the 2021 season. Maybe he’ll do what Josh McDaniels did after his failure in Denver and go back to New England. Who knows? Only God and Matty P. do.
Bye Week
No teams were on the Bye in NFL Week 12.
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).
