NFL round-up: Buccaneers' win piles on the misery in Miami while the quarterback turntable keeps spinning

Which coaches could soon be out the door?

Ben Soro-Perez
Tuesday 12 November 2013 15:18 GMT
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Head coach Joe Philbin of the Miami Dolphins
Head coach Joe Philbin of the Miami Dolphins

With eight previous attempts under their belts, both Jacksonville and Tampa Bay managed to emerge from this week’s action with their first wins of the season safely secured.

Taking down the struggling Miami Dolphins, the Buccaneers' unenviable streak of futility came to an end and while no one is suggesting Greg Schiano's job is safe, questions are beginning to swirl around the Dolphins' Joe Philbin.

Already under scrutiny because of the Jonathan Martin situation, Philbin will find himself under even more pressure courtesy of an offense that has managed to score more than 28 points once in his 25 game span as head coach.

Comparatively, Marc Trestman, the Chicago Bears head coach, is averaging 28.8 points per game highlighting the chasm is the two teams offensive production. A point rammed home with the realisation that the Dolphins only managed 2 yards on 14 fourteen rushing attempts on Monday night.

In addition to his team's offensive malaise, Philbin is feeling additional heart courtesy of a report in the Sun Sentinel that suggests Richie Incognito was acting on his coaches request when he tried to "toughen up" Martin with a series of threats and dubiously worded answerphone messages.

The scandal, which has seen the NFL move to conduct its own investigation, is beginning to snowball and the investigators will have taken on board Incognito's comments, or lack of, in his recent interview as he sidestepped a damning question.

Asked if he was told to toughen up Martin, the veteran guard, due $4 million next season, refused to answer the questions clearly - revealing he was unable to answer due to the ongoing legal situation.

For a player in his position, admitting he was acting on his coaches behest would probably be beneficial to his case so it remains to be seen if he was merely playing up, or carrying out orders from a coaching staff that's unlikely to remain in Miami for much longer.

Hot seats in the NFL are commonplace though, here are another few coaches who may find themselves unemployed relatively soon:

Greg Schiano - Heavy losses and rumours of locker room discontent may speed up proceedings, but Schiano is in trouble and remains many peoples favourite in the sack race.

Leslie Frazier - The likeable Minnesota Vikings coach is facing an uphill battle courtesy of his team's nightmare quarterback situation. The Vikings 2-7 record this term is indicative of where the franchise is although their 2012 playoff season, in only his second year in charge, should see him catch on somewhere else in some capacity.

Jason Garrett - If the Dallas Cowboys miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, someone will have to pay. Owner Jerry Jones has a penchant for swinging the axe and surprisingly fired Rob Ryan, their defensive co-ordinator, last year. This week Ryan came back to haunt them, orchestrating a superb New Orleans Saints performance over a Cowboys team in trouble.

Flynn's back with the Pack

When Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone and Seneca Wallace injured his groin against the Philadelphia Eagles, many suggested Matt Flynn as the next alternative.

However, despite enjoying his greatest performance to date in a Packer uniform (see his 2011 game against the Detroit Lions where he threw for 490 yards and six touchdowns) it's safe to assume that Flynn -who's on the verge of re-signing with his former employers - isn't the player he once was.

Since he initially left Green Bay, Flynn has lost starting jobs to Russell Wilson, in Seattle, and third round supplemental draft pick, Terrelle Pryor in Oakland.

Then following his stint in Oakland, he was released by the Raiders and picked up by the Buffalo Bills, briefly.

Preferring to press on with Jeff Tuel, an undrafted free agent, the Bills effectively signalled the end of Flynn's brief spell as an NFL starter and Mike McCarthy's admission that the veteran is only backing up Scott Tolzien (the Packers' third string quarterback) tells you everything you need to know about how far his star has fallen.

Trading places

NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday that Ben Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh quarterback, was looking to ply his trade elsewhere after becoming frustrated with the organization, before the story was firmly shot down in a series of statements.

Reportedly concerned with the majority of their offensive staff, including Todd Haley, and the current state of the franchise, it was believed that the Pittsburgh staff were expecting 'Big Ben' to hand in a trade request in the offseason.

However - despite receiving plenty of trade enquiries last season - both the organization and the player himself have been quick to distance themselves from the story, issuing statements yesterday.

Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, was quick to defend his client saying, "Ben has always said he wants to play his entire career for the Steelers, and his roots are firmly set in Pittsburgh.

"He has a lot left in the tank and is 100 percent committed to winning more championship with the Steelers."

Art Rooney II, the Steelers president, also weighed in to the rumours revealing the team had "absolutely no plans" to trade their star man.

It would be a stunning reversal if the trade ever happened, but we only need to look back to the Peyton Manning saga to remind ourselves of how quickly storied careers can change.

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