There were some surprise losses in the NFL in Week 6 from the 49ers losing to the Browns to the Eagles falling to the Jets. But the difference between teams that just tripped up and teams that have fatal flaws is getting clearer and clearer by the week.
Kyle Shanahan and Nick Sirianni don't have to worry about their job security after losses. Not all head coaches or coordinators in the NFL are so lucky.
Which coaches should be looking over their shoulder right about now?
3. Mike Vrabel, Titans
The Titans had a tough road trip in Week 6, traveling to London to face the Ravens.
Ryan Tannehill getting injured theoretically didn't help Tennessee. But he's been playing as poorly as any quarterback in the NFL this season, so expecting him to have made the difference between winning and losing is weak logic.
No the Titans simply haven't been an impressive team this year and with the Texans showing serious improvement this year, they're sitting more firmly at the bottom of the AFC South than ever.
But it's not necessarily the loss that has Mike Vrabel on the hot seat, it's the vibes.
It's Week 6 and Vrabel is talking about how some things "probably" can't be fixed.
He could start by making sure the Titans have Derrick Henry on the field when they're at the one-yard line and need a touchdown to tie the game with under 90 seconds remaining in the game.
2. Dennis Allen and Pete Carmichael, Saints
The Saints hired Dennis Allen as their head coach despite knowledge of his 8-28 record as the head coach of the Raiders from 2012 to 2014. And to his credit, he already has 10 wins in a season and change as the head coach in New Orleans. So that's an improvement.
But he finished third in the NFC South last year with a losing record and the expectation for 2023 was to contend for a playoff spot.
Six games into the season, the Saints are 3-3 against one of the weakest schedules in the league. NO's three wins are against three teams with three wins between them. On Sunday, they lost to the Texans, 20-13, in a game that didn't even feature CJ Stroud at his best.
Allen hasn't been on the job long enough for his seat to be burning up just yet, but his offensive coordinator is certainly expendable. If Allen doesn't face the consequences of subpar performance this season, Pete Carmichael will.
Carmichael's offense wasn't anything special last year, but he had Andy Dalton running the show. Expectations weren't high. But this year he's got Derek Carr and things were supposed to get better. They haven't.
The Saints have time to turn this around and the division figures to be wide open to the end. If Allen and Carmichael don't keep them in the race, someone's head needs to roll.
1. Luke Getsy, Bears
What more is there to say about the Bears? They were on cloud nine after a Thursday Night Football masterclass against the Commanders. But a week later, it's clear that was a false dawn, particularly on offense.
No, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy hasn't figured it out. The 40 points against a good Washington defense were a fluke. Justin Fields and company managed just 13 against the Vikings on Sunday.
Losing Fields to an injury in the third quarter didn't help the Bears, but even before the quarterback was knocked out of the game with a dislocated thumb Chicago's offense was toothless. They kicked two field goals in the first half and got a too-little-too-late touchdown from Tyson Bagent in the fourth quarter.
The frustrating thing is that was a winnable game. Kirk Cousins and the Vikings didn't have much going themselves. The winning score was a 42-yard scoop-and-score. Minnesota was there to be had if the Bears attack could have just gotten something going.
Getsy doesn't seem to have anything in his bag of tricks to elevate the Bears' offense. He ran the same bubble screens over and over expecting a different result. That one sequence alone was fireable.
The buck stops with head coach Matt Eberflus but it's undeniable that Getsy can and should be the scapegoat for another failed Bears season.
