Jaguars’ Bradley badly needs win
The weather will be getting cooler as the NFL calendar flips from September to October, but some coaches will find themselves on increasingly warmer seats.
The third installment of our weekly hot seat rankings: 1. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars: A day after his oncepromising team fell to 0-3, Bradley said, “No one wants to get it more right than us. The coaches and the players — we are doing everything we can, and we have to find more.” Yep. If a coach who is 12-39 in three-plus seasons doesn’t get to 13-39 after this week’s trip to London, it won’t be shocking if Bradley is looking for work as the Jags head into their bye week. Last week: 2. 2. Rex Ryan, Buffalo Bills: As impressive as Sunday’s win against the Arizona Cardinals was, it might ultimately do little but delay the inevitable for Ryan. Buffalo’s next two games are on the road against the unbeaten
New England Patriots and a West Coast swing to meet the resurgent Los Angeles Rams. Last week: 1. 3. Mike McCoy, San Diego Chargers: Another loss, another starter (linebacker Manti Te’o) lost to injury. McCoy is a capable coach, but it feels like he’s inexorably moving toward an inevitable fate as much as it feels like this franchise is probably eventually leaving town. Last week: 4. 4. Jim Caldwell, Detroit Lions: OK, his seat probably isn’t all that warm, given how competitive the Lions have been, even amid a two-game slide. (Caldwell said after Sunday’s loss, “It’s all coaching, if you ask me. ... Every single bit of it. We’re responsible.” Talk about accountability.) Yet it’s worth noting that Caldwell only has a year left on his deal, and new general manager Bob Quinn might decide he wants to hire his own guy for 2017 if Detroit again misses the postseason — which seems quite likely, given the Lions seem to be running a distant third in their division. Last week: Unranked. Cooler seat (for now): Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins