NFL COACH HOT SEAT RANKINGS

ANY SURPRISE FIRINGS ON TAP AT END OF 2018 SEASON?

The 2018 NFL regular season will reach its conclusion Sunday. So will the tenures of probably half-dozen head coaches, maybe as early as that evening given how "Black Monday" has trended toward "Black Sunday Night" in recent years.

We know Baltimore's John Harbaugh is now safe, just weeks after it appeared he was a dead man walking. Elsewhere, the Browns and Packers have initiated their own searches after the midseason firings of Hue Jackson and Mike McCarthy, respectively.

Who else might not be sleeping well Saturday night? Here are nine coaches whose seats are under varying degrees of heat:

SCALDING

TODD BOWLES, JETS: He's 24-39 in four seasons. He's 14-34 since New York folded in the 2015 regular-season finale with a wild-card berth on the line. He's lashed out at his players lately. The officials incurred his wrath after Sunday's overtime loss to Green Bay. A defensive coach by trade, Bowles has seen his unit become steadily worse throughout his term. Ownership has had to debunk rumors it was pursuing Michigan's Jim Harbaugh. Basically ... writing — all over the wall.

VANCE JOSEPH, BRONCOS: A proud organization has been sub-.500 in both of Joseph's seasons, the first time Denver has suffered consecutive losing campaigns since 1972. The Broncos had actually gotten back to 6-6 a few weeks ago courtesy of a three-game winning streak but, with the playoffs seeming like a distinct possibility, somehow lost three straight to San Francisco, Cleveland and Oakland — Monday night's defeat to the Raiders being particularly egregious.

STEVE WILKS, CARDINALS: He took the job in January, assessing it (with far too much optimism) by saying "this is not a rebuild, this is a retool." Now? Arizona is more dumpster fire than rebuild. Wilks tried switching quarterbacks and numerous other lineup changes before firing offensive coordinator Mike McCoy in October — and all that button pushing seems destined to bring this team little more than the draft's No. 1 pick. Rare as it is to see a coach go one-and-done, nothing about Wilks' reign has provided reason for optimism for a roster that appears to add up to far less than the sum of its parts.

HOT

MARVIN LEWIS, BENGALS: He would've been dismissed long ago if he were coaching in any other town. But Cincinnati owner Mike Brown marches to the beat of his own drummer, even when it comes to employing a guy for 16 years who has never won in the playoffs and has lost nine games each of the past three seasons. The return of Hue Jackson, a favorite of Brown's, could change the equation this time.

DIRK KOETTER, BUCCANEERS: He can coach some offense, and Tampa Bay currently ranks third in the league with 414.3 yards per game. Unfortunately, that production doesn't come with requisite points — the Bucs are only 13th in that department at 24.3 per. Holistically, Koetter is 19-28 in three seasons with nary a postseason appearance. Debatable how much blame lies with him, but this club nevertheless looks primed for a teardown that could include the front office, Koetter and even QB Jameis Winston.

SIMMERING

ADAM GASE, DOLPHINS: It sounds like vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum is in far more peril than Gase, per the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero. The Dolphins' 3-0 start misled many given their personnel issues, but they also haven't been competitive the past two games with the playoffs within reach. Several of Gase's former players have expressed joy at having moved on. 

JAY GRUDEN, REDSKINS: After a 6-3 start, it appeared he was heading for his second postseason trip. Washington is 1-5 since, though Gruden — he's already set a record as the longest-tenured coach (5 seasons) under owner Dan Snyder — can hardly be blamed for QB Alex Smith's broken leg or a decimated offensive line. Still, accountability never starts at the top in this town.

RON RIVERA, PANTHERS: A 52-21 defeat in Pittsburgh on Nov. 8 looked like a bad night at the office, not the start of a seven-game slide for a group that started the year 6-2. Rivera has been a good soldier through eight sometimes tumultuous seasons but is 23-26 since winning the 2015 NFC Championship Game. The real unknown here is how new owner David Tepper will view what's turned into a hugely disappointing finish.

MIKE TOMLIN, STEELERS: He's one of three coaches Pittsburgh has employed over the past 50 seasons, and the other two — Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher — left on their terms. But Tomlin maybe shouldn't feel overly comfy given his typically drama-laden locker room and a 1-4 record over the past five weeks that has dropped the Steelers from the AFC North lead to the playoff picture's periphery. Some Steel Curtain-era Steelers like Rocky Bleier are upset. Perhaps far worse, longtime linebacker James Harrison, who played most of his career for Tomlin, just ripped the coach for the team's collapse and even minimized his role in the Super Bowl XLIII victory, suggesting that was really a Cowher crew.