Tom Coughlin, Nick Saban, Dennis Green and the many other coaches who might be on the short lists for NFL teams looking for coaches next January had big days Sunday without even coaching.
Why? Many of the coaches on the proverbial hot seat did not.
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Bill Callahan is finding out 'Just win baby' is not so easy. (AP) |
All lost their games, with Fassel being the biggest loser as his Giants lost 27-7 to the Falcons at home. Atlanta came into the game 1-7 on a seven-game losing streak. And now they are 2-7, and the Giants are sinking quickly in the NFC East.
Losing at home to the Falcons, who hadn't won since opening day, is not a good way to solidify your coaching status. Much like they did when they chanted "Goodbye Allie" years ago to Allie Sherman, the Giants fans chanted for Fassel to be fired. They will get their wish if the Giants don't make the playoffs, and that is looking more and more likely.
Wannstedt's Dolphins lost for the third time in four games when the Titans blew them out 31-7. Tennessee manhandled the Dolphins, who have not won a game against a team with a winning record this year.
Wannstedt's job status is tied to the playoffs -- no matter what the team is saying now -- and at 5-4, those hopes are in trouble. It didn't help that Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor questioned the coaching staff after the game, wondering why the offense didn't use help to block defensive ends Jevon Kearse and Kevin Carter.
"We get it from every team, and I looked at the photos on the sideline today, and they weren't necessarily using the back in the backfield," Taylor said. "They used the tight end and had receivers come down the line on the way out and they chip you.
If players start questioning the coaching staff, or the strategic decisions, it's a bad sign for the head coach.
Coughlin might be a possibility in Miami, since he is the opposite of Wannstedt. He is a strict disciplinarian who has a strong offensive background, everything Wannstedt isn't. Plus, he could keep his home in Jacksonville, which his wife prefers to do.
Meanwhile, Callahan is 2-7 after his team lost 27-24 in overtime to the Jets, and he also is dealing with a mutiny by his players, with some saying he has lost the team. Owner Al Davis has been too quiet, which can't be good for Callahan.
Jauron will be out after the season when general manager Jerry Angelo sets him free. The two have never been on the same page, and losing 12-10 to Detroit doesn't help his status.
The Bills are 4-5 under Williams, who is in the final year of his contract. It doesn't help that the offense isn't scoring points. Buffalo failed to score a touchdown for the third consecutive road game and has lost four in a row on the road, getting outscored 95-21.
When all five of those coaches look back at the end of the season, and perhaps wonder why they don't have jobs, Nov. 9 could be a day that will have decided their fate.
Recaps: Titans 31, Dolphins 7 | Jets 27, Raiders 24 | Cowboys 10, Bills 6
Prisco's points
- We know it's a wacky season when all three teams with one victory -- the Jaguars, Chargers and Falcons -- all win and the two Super Bowl teams from last year (Tampa Bay and Oakland) both lose. OK, so maybe the latter two losing isn't such a big deal. The Super Bowl champions are in big, big trouble. They are 4-5 after losing to the Panthers and they have lost back-to-back games for the first time. The Tampa Bay team that won the Super Bowl would never have let the Panthers drive down for the winning points like they did. Carolina now has essentially a four-game lead in the NFC South with seven games to go. If Tampa Bay is going to be a playoff team, they'll have to go the wild-card route. That's if they make it. At least they know Warren Sapp made a catch against the Panthers, which means he had one more catch than he did sacks. Recap: Panthers 27, Buccaneers 24
- It was not a good day for the Barber brothers. Ronde Barber, a cornerback for the Bucs, was beaten for a touchdown; Tiki Barber, a running back for the Giants, fumbled twice in his team's loss to the Falcons. Tiki does so much for the Giants, but his fumbling makes it all a moot point. Recap: Falcons 27, Giants 7
- Congratulations to Falcons coach Dan Reeves on getting his 200th career victory against the Giants. At least he can take that with him when he is let go after the season. Reeves is a good coach who has never received his due. But it's almost a foregone conclusion he will be gone after the season. You know, to make way for Deion Sanders.
- So much for putting the Vikings in the Super Bowl. When your defense gets chewed up three weeks in a row like the Vikings' defense has, that's a bad sign. They have now lost three consecutive games after the Chargers blew them out behind Doug Flutie. It was only a month ago when everyone, here included, was raving about new defensive coordinator George O'Leary. We still believe he's a good coach, but the secondary has given up a lot of big plays the past three games. Like O'Leary said earlier this season, it's all about the players. And his aren't making the plays. Recap: Chargers 42, Vikings 28
- What Flutie did against the Vikings was impressive for any quarterback, but truly impressive for a 41-year-old player. Flutie threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more. He looked like a young buck in there. That's the good news. The bad news is he isn't the long-term answer, and now we have to wonder if Drew Brees is either. The Chargers might be in line to draft Eli Manning, the younger brother of Peyton Manning. Eli Manning is for real, folks.
- If I was Cincinnati running back Corey Dillon, I might want to contact a real estate agent. That house is about to go up for sale. Dillon hasn't exactly won over the new coaching staff, especially coach Marvin Lewis, and now with Rudi Johnson playing well in his place as he sits with an injury, it looks more and more like Dillon will be playing elsewhere next season. Johnson ran for 182 yards on a team-record 43 carries in the Bengals' 34-27 victory over the Texans. Johnson is proving the Bengals can get by without Dillon. If they were to let him walk after the season, they would have to take about a $700,000 cap hit. That's essentially a wash to set free a player that Lewis does not want. Give Lewis credit. It doesn't matter who you are, but if you don't want to be on his team, then go somewhere else. He did it with Takeo Spikes and he'll do it with Dillon. Spikes went to the Bills as a transition free agent when the Bengals didn't match the offer sheet, but now his Buffalo team has the same record as the Bengals at 4-5. The difference is the Bengals are in the race in the AFC North, while the Bills are three games out in the AFC East. Recap: Bengals 34, Texans 27
- Let the hype begin: Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson is already guaranteeing a victory next week at home against the Chiefs. "We will win -- that's a guarantee," Johnson said. "It's no offense to their organization. It's just the way I feel. Some people might not like it, but I'm confident that my teammates won't leave me hanging. It should be the game of the week, the undefeated team against the new-era Bengals." We tend to agree with Johnson. The early pick for next week in Cincinnati: The Chiefs lose for the first time.
- Have you ever seen a defense dominate a game like the Ravens did against the Rams and still lose? They shut down the St. Louis offense, yet were killed by turnovers and St. Louis was still able to score 33 points. They had 122 yards of total offense, the fewest in league history for a team that scored 30 or more points. Baltimore has the makings of a special defense again, with Ray Lewis being the ringleader. Recap: Rams 33, Ravens 22
- Question to ponder: If Kurt Warner had played like Marc Bulger did against the Ravens, would he have been benched? Bulger was awful in the game, even getting booed at times. But he finished out and the Rams saved a potential quarterback controversy by winning the game behind the turnovers. Their offense has been bad two weeks in a row, and it's because they have not been able to handle the blitzes. So, maybe it wasn't Warner who was the problem after all.
- We've done our fair share of ripping of Redskins coach Steve Spurrier in this space, but he deserves credit this week. The fact Spurrier was big enough to give away the play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Hue Jackson against the Seahawks is a clear sign he is willing to do anything to win. Jackson, who planned to give the offense more of a power attack, called enough right plays to keep the Seahawks from sacking Patrick Ramsey. That is a big accomplishment, since Ramsey had taken a beating this year. Spurrier did call a couple of plays. He called the game-winning touchdown play, a fun score that came when receiver Rod Gardner took a lateral and threw a 10-yard pass to a wide-open Trung Canidate for a touchdown. It was the same play the Redskins scored on last year against the Titans. By the way, Gardner was a high-school quarterback. Recap: Redskins 27, Seahawks 20
- It's always fun to see a player talk the talk and then walk the walk. Or in Fred Taylor's case, run the run. Taylor had some not-so-nice things to say about Colts rookie safety Mike Doss heading into his team's game with the Colts. Taylor said Doss pushed his head into the ground when he fumbled in the meeting between the teams earlier this year, and said he would be looking for him this time. He looked for him and then ran all over the Colts. Taylor ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns, the second a game-winning 32-yard run. Take a look at that one closely. The last tackler that had a chance to get him down was Doss, who Taylor brushed aside. Taylor had been running a bit hesitant this season, in part because he seemed to be looking for the big play too much. But he showed again against the Colts, he is one of the premier runners. The Colts fear him as much as any back they face. Recap: Jaguars 28, Colts 23
- When Taylor did score the touchdown to go up 27-23, the Jaguars should have went for 2 to make it a 6-point game. That would have forced the Colts to make the point after if they had scored a touchdown. There's no difference between four and five that late in the game.
- Dante Hall is doing amazing things as a return man in Kansas City, but J.J. Moses did some nice things for the Texans. Moses had seven kickoff returns for 186 yards and had a 47-yard punt return wiped out by penalty. The interesting thing about that is Moses was with the Chiefs before they let him go last year.
- On his way to Canton, Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney was held to three tackles by maligned Jacksonville tackle Mike Pearson. The Jaguars did give Pearson some help -- which the Dolphins didn't do last week when he got three sacks -- but Pearson is playing better and better as he matures. Freeney still should not be held without a sack if he's as good as everyone thinks he is. Let's put it this way: He isn't L.T.
- All those fans that had to sit through the Lions-Bears game deserve to be honored by the league as true fans. That's a definition of torment. It's appropriate the winning team (Detroit) won with four field goals. The Lions have now won two consecutive times for the first time since 2000. Maybe Matt Millen won't be looking for work. Nah, that's not true. Recap: Lions 12, Bears 10
- That was a big-time proving drive for Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme to drive his team to the winning touchdown against the Bucs. To do that with the game on the line says a lot about Delhomme. He threw some bad passes during the game, including having one interception returned for a touchdown, but he should be lauded for what he did in that final drive. Is he still a quarterback who can win a Super Bowl? We still have doubts, but what he did to Tampa Bay might be the impetus for him to believe he can.
- The Bucs got a couple of sacks of Delhomme, which means they are now the all-time leader in consecutive games with a sack. Tampa Bay has sacks in 69 consecutive games, breaking a tie with the Cowboys who had a sack in 68 games from 1976-80.
Player of the week -- Let's jump on the Rudi Johnson bandwagon. When he can go for 182 against the Texans, that's a heck of a day. Wonder what that cut rate will be on those Corey Dillon Bengals jerseys?
Flop of the week -- The Giants have no reason to lose at home to an Atlanta team that had nothing to play for and had Kurt Kittner as its quarterback.
Disappointment of the week -- That Tampa Bay defense is not the same defense from a year ago. When Barber and John Lynch are not making plays, something is wrong. At 4-5, they face a long climb up.
