Jags’ Bradley feeling the heat
Thanksgiving is upon us. We’re thankful that the Arizona Cardinals’ Bruce Arians is out of the hospital and apparently well enough to coach this week. We’re thankful that none of the NFL’s coaches has been fired (yet) — it’s a tough business after all. But the holiday spirit will only last so long.
Here’s the latest installment of our weekly hot seat rankings: 1. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars: Even the ever-ebullient Bradley, who’s now 14-44, looked ready to go nuclear when DT Sen’Derrick Marks’ offside penalty Sunday essentially cost the Jags any shot at catching the Detroit Lions in the final minutes. Don’t worry, Gus, this group of underachievers almost surely will be someone else’s problem in six weeks. Last week: 1 2. Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati
Bengals: It doesn’t appear that Year 14 will net playoff victory No. 1 for Lewis, who watched his two most explosive offensive players, WR A.J. Green (hamstring) and RB Gio Bernard (anterior cruciate ligament), go down Sunday. Only five teams in the league are worse than Cincinnati (3-6-1), and the lack of established depth is showing. Whether it’s enough for owner Mike Brown to veer from Lewis remains to be seen, especially since the injuries are a builtin excuse. Last week: 3 3. Todd Bowles, New York Jets: The (New York) Daily News reported during the bye week that this team might quit on Bowles if he stuck with second-year QB Bryce Petty ahead of interception machine Ryan Fitzpatrick. Bowles announced Monday that Fitzpat- rick would resume his starting duties for Week 12. Not a good look when outside perception is that the inmates are running the asylum for a 3-7 team. Last week: 4 4. John Fox, Chicago Bears: Good thing that Cubs vibe will last for a while, otherwise Chicagoans would be miserable. Fox might be stuck starting QB Matt Barkley the rest of the way on an offense that needs a power play to be competitive. And rookie LB Leonard Floyd’s scary neck injury weakens the defense. This doesn’t all land at Fox’s feet, but that doesn’t mean he might not prefer to walk rather than oversee this teardown. Last week: 5 5. Mike McCoy, San Diego Chargers: Hopefully he got the chance to enjoy San Diego’s delights during the bye, because it might be his last chance to do so. He could also be the last NFL coach who calls San Diego home, which is part of the challenge he’s trying to navigate. Last week: 2 6. Mike McCarthy, Green
Bay Packers: He has won more games in Green Bay than Vince Lombardi, so it’s a good bet McCarthy will be sticking around. Probably. And though injuries have helped sabotage this team, there’s evidence that his coaching staff could use significant alteration on both sides of the ball. Last week: 7 7. Rex Ryan, Buffalo Bills: Let’s give his team credit. The Bills play solid defense, run the ball better than anyone in the league and don’t turn the ball over. That’s what Ryan has always preached and could be construed as progress for this .500 outfit. Still, is that enough improvement for a club that would still have to leapfrog four teams just to snag the final wild-card spot in the highly competitive AFC? Last week: 6