With the second half of the NFL season now in full swing, we know who the contenders are, and who were nothing more than pretenders heading into September. 

There are lots of reasons teams fail over the course of the regular season, and injuries play a key role in how things unfold across the league, but every loss suffered by a club can't be excused away with an injury report -- as some of the better coaches usually scheme to adjust for such absences, which includes building a roster and coaching staff that can withstand the inevitable bite of the injury bug itself. Additionally, there are clubs who are faring better than most others in that regard, and yet still find themselves sliding into oblivion as the weeks roll along.

In the end, the onus will always fall back onto the lap of the respective head coach, and several find themselves on the hot seat heading into Week 11, many being familiar to having a heated bottom. There's been movement, however, with some seeing their chair cooled a bit after Week 10, while others simply poured more gasoline on the embers beneath them.

Using the U.S. military DEFCON readiness scale, in honor of NFL's "Salute to Service" and Veteran's Day, let's take a look at it all. 

DEFCON 5: Safe ... for now

12. Mike Tomlin - Steelers

Hear me out.

To be honest, the only reason Tomlin remains on this list is because there's a lot of football left to be played, and that leaves the door at least cracked for potential disaster with Mason Rudolph at the helm. To his credit, and aided in large part by Tomlin, Rudolph has mostly played well over the last three games, and threw no interceptions in the 17-12 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. If he can continue to play mistake-free football, it'll go a long way to continuing an impressive turnaround for the Steelers, who are now on a four-game win streak to land at 5-4, after starting the season with a 1-4 mark. 

Credit to Tomlin for what he's done in the absence of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and in another season without Le'Veon Bell, and especially for helping to orchestrate the trade for safety Minkah FItzpatrick, who has been a man possessed since landing in Pittsburgh. Tomlin is as close as he can be to being removed from this list altogether, but if he can't mount the forces against the lowly Cleveland Browns -- whom they'll play twice in the next four games -- the winless Cincinnati Bengals and the confused Arizona Cardinals, you'll know why I kept him here.

If the wins keep coming, however, he'll effectively be seated atop an iceberg and won't make another appearance on this list.

11. Jason Garrett - Cowboys

Faced with a 3-3 start after dropping three straight games that included a loss to the hapless New York Jets, Garrett's seat was white hot heading into Week 7. He went on to helicopter drop volumes of water onto it when he led the Cowboys to a dismantling of the Philadelphia Eagles, and enjoyed further cooling by climbing back from a slow start to pick apart another rival in the New York Giants, garnering two needed wins in two weeks that also happened to be against division foes. Things seemed back on track, but then came the Minnesota Vikings and, well, here we go again.

Another slow start allowed the Vikings to take a 14-0 lead, and they'd ultimately win a 28-24 nail biter, making for another week of having seen Garrett rally the troops behind the stellar play of Dak Prescott; but also being unable to make necessary adjustments in their utilization of Ezekiel Elliott and on the defensive side of the ball. The near-comeback will only convince owner Jerry Jones that Garrett remains the man for the job, and that execution issues are solely to blame.

It's true that's one major reason the Cowboys are 5-4, but it's not the only. Still, while Garrett slides a bit on this hot seat scale -- previously being the most safe on this list -- he's not getting fired with an above .500 record, tied for the NFC East lead, and with seven games remaining in the regular season.

What he is and should be concerned about, though, is if he's still in Dallas in 2020; and that's what the next several games will tell.

10. Brian Flores - Dolphins

In the previous iteration of this list, Flores was in more danger than he is currently. It wasn't that Flores was in danger of being shoved out of the door in the middle of his first season, because he wasn't, but more so because he can't be eliminated from the list as the Dolphins continued to flounder. The tank has been on for Miami all season, with the evidence including their decision to trade away Minkah Fitzpatrick and a frequent shuffle at the quarterback position. After starting the year 0-7, though? They've now pieced together two consecutive wins, and Flores has the unique distinction of being able to tank for the future, while convincing ownership that he can win games when he puts his mind to it.

It makes for a very intriguing situation in South Florida, because if Flores is indeed the man for the job -- which won't be known for the most part until 2020 -- then what we're watching him pull off is masterful, even if it's to the chagrin of fans and those who demand competitive football week in, week out. If the tank blows up in 2020, ownership will not hesitate to throw him under the bus, and pronto. 

He's safe ... for now.

9. Kliff Kingsbury - Cardinals

Things got fun for a little bit in Arizona, when the team went on a three-game win streak after beginning the year 0-3-1, but they're back to their losing ways and Kingsbury finds himself still fighting to figure out what type of team the Cardinals need to be to become contenders. That won't happen in 2019 though, after losing three straight for the second time this season to fall to 3-6-1 and out of the playoff picture. The Cardinals are struggling to stop anyone defensively, and while they've averaged 26 points per game offensively from Week 9 through Week 10, they've also scored 20 or less at four different points of the season.

That's not what the Cardinals envisioned when they wooed Kingsbury to the NFL and shipped away Josh Rosen to select Kyler Murray with the first-overall pick, and although Kingsbury will likely be given space to make errors in 2019 -- which is why he's safe for now -- a continued collapse could change his fate once the season concludes. It's not like a highly-touted collegiate coach has never been quickly ousted from the NFL before.

Just ask Nick Saban.

DEFCON 4: Danger is present

8. Matt Nagy - Bears 

Nagy can exhale a bit at the moment, with the Bears ending their four-game losing streak with a 20-13 win over the rival Detroit Lions, but he needs to keep a good bit of that carbon dioxide in his lungs, because he's not out of the gas chamber yet. The fact remains the Bears are still below .500 with a 4-5 record, and it took a lot for them to dispatch with a Lions team that didn't have Matthew Stafford on the field. The offense continues to struggle under Mitchell Trubisky, and Nagy continues to hitch his wagon to the former first-round pick, in a tale that may see them both go down in flames.

The next time they face the Lions, it may be against Stafford, and they'll have a real challenge in downing the Rams in Los Angeles in Week 11, along with readying to face a Cowboys team in Week 14 led by a contract-needy Garrett. This was supposed to be a season that saw the Bears make a run at the Super Bowl after a stellar 2018 that ended in field goal heartbreak against the Eagles in the playoffs, but it's instead become something else -- unpleasant entirely. 

As rabid as fans in Chicago are to regain the swagger of their wonder years, Nagy may find himself understanding how Kevin Arnold felt when he got dumped by Winnie Cooper.

Google it.

7. Anthony Lynn - Chargers

Just when you thought the Chargers were ready to mount a run in the second half of the season, they remind you they're not yet ready for such a feat. Lynn has done a great job of overcoming the loss of several star players in recent weeks, going so far as to galvanize the team into defeating the Bears in Chicago and flat out knocking the teeth out of the Packers in Week 9. That's a testament to the grit and leadership of Lynn, which was on full display when he opted to not re-attempt a field goal against Green Bay with the opportunity to extend the lead by three points; but instead deciding to run it down their throats for a touchdown that sealed the coffin closed.

That's NFL football at its finest, but a 26-24 loss to the Raiders has again set them back in their journey to claw back into the AFC playoff picture, and the window is beginning to close on their 4-6 season. Lynn battled back from a 3-5 start in 2017 to finish 9-7, but didn't make the playoffs that year. Even if he can mount another rally and finish above .500, if it doesn't come equipped with a second playoff appearance, the aging Phillip Rivers might lobby for a coaching change.

Lynn is definitely on the clock, and that's why he fired Ken Whisenhunt. 

DEFCON 3: At the ready

6. Vic Fangio - Broncos 

With the Broncos on a bye week, nothing has changed for them and Fangio.

Things have gone from promising before the season, to worrisome at the outset, to an absolute tailspin with only eight regular season games left to play. Fangio was brought in this year to replace Vance Joseph, who himself was fired after a short stint as head coach, and the hiring came attached to a decision by John Elway to trade for Joe Flacco; and that was supposed to finally resolve the ongoing uncertainty at quarterback while providing a steady and fiery hand at the helm in Fangio. Instead, the Broncos are 2-6 and the usually stone-faced Flacco is publicly railing against the coaching staff's decisions on the field, citing them as "being afraid to lose" when that's mostly all the team has done this year.

Call it the timing of his comments, or an actual herniated disc in his neck -- whichever suits you -- but Flacco is now potentially headed to injured reserve with an ailment no one outside of Denver was aware of prior to now. The optics of the situation alone are disconcerting, but now Fangio will hang his hopes on backup Brandon Allen in the immediate, and ultimately give rookie Drew Lock a chance once he returns from IR. As things continue to swirl out of control at Mile High, Fangio may now find himself out the door quicker than Joseph before him.

Coming out of the team's bye week, Fangio better have the Broncos ready to do something -- anything. 

5. Adam Gase - Jets

Apparently all it took was a defeat of the also unimpressive New York Giants to secure Gase's job, with team owner Christopher Johnson stating unequivocally there would be no changes at the head coach position in 2019. Johnson is clear that Gase will return for 2020 and, knowing that, you're now wondering why the first-year Jets head coach is still on my list. Well, it's because owners can say whatever they like on Wednesday, and do the exact opposite on Saturday.

Wade Phillips can certainly attest to that, having been ousted midseason by Jerry Jones in 2010, after Jones stated unequivocally he would never fire a head coach in the middle of a season. All things considered, Phillips was light years beyond Gase as a head coach, and the latter has a 2-7 record on the year with added turmoil in the locker room -- including the fallout from the failed attempt to successfully trade away Jamal Adams, as one example. 

Sam Darnold has regressed mightily in 2019, and Gase even dropped a game to the then-winless Dolphins and Flores, while he leads an offense that struggles to score more than 14 points weekly and a defense that can't consistently stop a team from hanging 30 or more on them.

We hear you, Mr. Johnson, but as a wise Jay-Z once said: "We don't believe you. You need more people."

DEFCON 2: Mobilize the forces

4. Freddie Kitchens - Browns

So you're impressed by the Browns win over the Bills, are you? That's fine, but may I ask why?

There's admittedly something to be said for Cleveland finally landing their third win of the season, but it's just that: their third win of the season. They gutted out a close victory against a Bills team that is either a contender or a pretender -- to be determined -- but it was mostly due to the defense stepping up. Baker Mayfield and the offense scored only 19 points for the second week in a row, and their weekly average of 19.0 ppg is seventh-worst in the NFL. That's unacceptable for a team with one of the most loaded rosters in the entire league, but it's evident the struggles aren't simply on Mayfield. Kitchens' play-calling has been nightmarish at times and, for me, that includes decisions like when to take a timeout and when not to.

It feels like Kitchens is lost on the sideline as a head coach, and that's bad news when considering team exec John Dorsey sent longtime coach Hue Jackson packing to make way for the change. With so much salary and draft capital tied up in this Browns roster, it's incumbent upon the organization to find a coach that can piece it all together, and quickly -- as Odell Beckham, Jr. becomes impatient with the current state of affairs. Kitchens won't receive nearly as much leniency as Jackson once did, with Dorsey learning from his past mistake.

Don't for one second believe landing a third win in nine tries takes Kitchens out of the furnace. 

3. Zac Taylor - Bengals

Another week, another loss for the Bengals, who are now 0-9 and the only winless team in the league. To make matters worse for Taylor, they didn't even put up a fight against the Baltimore Ravens, who roundly trounced them in Week 10 with a 49-13 shellacking that saw Lamar Jackson pull out video game moves on them. There is nothing to be hopeful for in Cincinnati, having now benched a disgruntled Andy Dalton -- who skewered the club for not giving him a chance to find a trade suitor -- and still without All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Green, Taylor is delivering one of the worst seasons in club history as their first-year head coach.

Now sidelined, the losses can't be blamed on Dalton, and Taylor will have to eat the entirety of the mud pie that's seemingly being delivered weekly. Things will likely get worse before they get better, if they ever do, with the Raiders and Steelers coming up next, putting any idea of a potential first win still weeks away.

Taylor's first season with the Bengals has been an unmitigated disaster, and it's hard to imagine the team doesn't simply cut ties in the near future.

DEFCON 1: Fire [him]

2. Dan Quinn - Falcons

Easy there, coach. You're not out of DEFCON 1 just yet, but kudos to the masterpiece performance against the high-powered New Orleans Saints in Week 10. Quinn, who has been calling the defensive plays for the Falcons this season and in unapologetic fashion, leads one of the statistically worse units in the NFL, but that wasn't the case in New Orleans. They sacked Drew Brees like Christmas gifts heading to Santa's sleigh, en route to a stout 26-9 victory. Bravo, indeed, and it was a performance deserving of a bow.

OK, bow's over. Please stand.

While that victory buys Quinn more time atop the Falcons' coaching totem, they're still 2-7 on the season and allow 28.8 points per game -- fifth-worst in the league -- while struggling to score more than 21 points each week. The latter is made that much more unacceptable by the presence of Julio Jones and former league MVP Matt Ryan, former first-round pick Calvin Ridley and a breakout season for tight end Austin Hooper. Owner Arthur Blank will point to the win in Louisiana as evidence Quinn can get the job done going forward, but everything that glitters isn't gold.

There are simply too many signs as of late that Quinn is pyrite, and their remaining schedule might serve as a reminder.

1. Pat Shurmur - Giants

You know it's a bad day when your seat is hotter than Dan Quinn's, but that's precisely the situation Shurmur finds himself in after losing to the Jets. That marks the sixth consecutive loss for the Giants and eighth in 10 games played, as Shurmur can't figure out how to scheme appropriately or rally the troops to a win. It's not simply that they lost to the Jets, although it's that as well, but it's the fact the Giants allowed them to score 34 points -- one more point than the Jets scored in their previous three games, combined.

The decision to bench Eli Manning for Daniel Jones paid off initially, but Jones is now playing very much like a rookie and All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley rushed for a one total yard (seriously) against the Jets, and 29 yards total in the past two games. 

Shurmur took the reins from Ben McAdoo in 2018 and the Giants are now 7-19 in his tenure, with many more losses to seemingly come. For a club that had a lot of success under longtime head coach Tom Coughlin before moving on to McAdoo, who led the Giants to the playoffs in his first year, Shurmur is fumbling an opportunity to truly dig his heels in at the post. New Yorkers are notoriously not the most patient bunch, nor should they be, when the head coach of their favorite team has more than twice the number of losses as wins.

Shurmur, you are the weakest link. Goodbye?