GM Fired
Bill Ryan - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Time's up in Tampa Bay for Bill -- well, most likely. The team has already let him know of their intentions to part with him, but if no other suitors step forward to take over the reigns down in Tampa, they may give him one more shot at it, similar to how the Giants did with GM Romeo Mendez last year (and that worked out!).
On the Hot Seat in 2010
Brad Barber - Jacksonville Jaguars
It's fair to say that Brad Barber has had his fair share of bad luck with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Injuries have plagued the team and despite building a pretty decent roster, it just hasn't worked. He's still got a good window and a solid shot at 6 wins next year. I doubt he goes anywhere, but ownership will be watching.
Ian Coyle - Indianapolis Colts
The post-Peyton Manning era did not get off to a good start in week one where the new franchise quarterback, Mark Sanchez, went down with a season ending injury. It's got GM Coyle on the hot seat in 2010 and people wondering if Sanchez can save his job.
Peter Fenger - San Francisco 49ers
This one stings. GM Peter Fenger has said he will live or die by his quarterback, Kyle Orton. In 2009, Orton followed through and the 49ers pushed for a playoff spot, despite a couple bad losses among some big wins. They came up just short and ownership will likely demand a playoff bid next year in order for Fenger to keep his job. It's a tough division, but San Francisco looks heavily cemented as the 2nd best team. It's more if they can beat out other tough teams in a stacked NFC for a wild card spot.
Romeo Mendez - New York Giants
GM Mendez was given an emergency extension after a premature firing last season and it worked out -- the Giants improved dramatically. However, ownership wants to see more, and in a tough division, it's looking like a winning record and playoff berth might be all that saves Romeo in 2010.
Olivier Ratajczak - Denver Broncos
Things looked really good early, then the Big Ben injury hit. Then Caleb Hanie impressed, but it still wasn't enough. The Broncos will likely need to make a playoff run in 2010 to save their GM's job -- something that seems quite likely with their current roster and the state of their division.
Fighting to Stay Off the Hot Seat
Tim Miller - Pittsburgh Steelers
The Michael Vick injury may haunt GM Tim Miller as he knows as well as the rest of us that this season may be difficult to replicate. A win, or a Jets loss will put Pittsburgh in the playoffs (with Vince Young) and get the heat off. A loss and Pittsburgh sitting at home for the playoffs will have ownership wondering how dependent the team is on a gimmick quarterback.
