San Diego Chargers: Mike McCoy Likeliest To Get Fired

At the start of every NFL season people ask the question. Which head coach has the hottest seat? It’s hard to argue against Mike McCoy of the San Diego Chargers?

It was a big surprise that he survived the ax last year. After making the playoffs his first season, and going 9-7 the next, to collapse like they did in 2015 was hard to watch and well beneath the expectations of team ownership and management. However, the appalling list of injuries the team suffered could not be totally ignored. It was something McCoy had zero control over, and it seems the reasoning came through that he deserved another chance to get it right.

Nothing wrong with that, but unfortunately the deck certainly seems stacked against him. So much in fact that Florida Times-Union columnist Hays Carlson believes McCoy is on borrowed time and the likeliest head coach to get fired before next season.

"“Reason for skepticism: Many Chargers observers believed McCoy would be fired after last season (4-12), but the franchise’s uncertainty in San Diego saved him. How will San Diego escape the AFC West cellar with Kansas City, Oakland and Denver all holding a sizable edge?Odds he makes it to 2017: 15 percent.”"

This isn’t exactly an unpopular view. Several Chargers media and social media outlets struggle to believe that McCoy can somehow navigate this team to at least a winning record this year.

Yes, he still has Philip Rivers but time has shown that won’t be enough to do the job in that division. They need to run the ball and play defense at a much higher level than they did in 2015. Can the offensive line open any holes for Melvin Gordon? Will the surprising pick of Joey Bosa pay off for the pass rush? How much will they miss Eric Weddle? These are all questions that could have a direct impact on whether McCoy keeps his job. To say nothing of the lingering distraction over whether the San Diego Chargers will even be the San Diego Chargers beyond 2016.

Not good.