Rich Kotite is gone, Tom Flores probably is going, Dick Vermeil and Dennis Erickson may be coming and Sam Wyche could get a reprieve.
That's the situation among NFL coaches today after Kotite was fired yesterday by Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Kotite's departure became a foregone conclusion as the team faded, losing its last seven games after a 7-2 start.
But it might have taken a Super Bowl victory to save Kotite's job once Lurie bought the team from Norman Braman for a record $185 million last spring. Lurie is a hands-on owner who wants to put his stamp on the team.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know a new owner is going to evaluate everything about a franchise when you come in," Lurie said. "I don't care if it's Vince Lombardi coaching or Rich Kotite or somebody else. Our record over the last seven games pointed to a downward spiral in terms of performance. That had a great deal to do with my thinking."
Kotite was 37-29 in four seasons with the Eagles, his best season being 1992, when Philadelphia went 11-5 and won a wild-card playoff game. He was gracious about the firing and even attended the news conference when Lurie announced it.
Kotite said the two men had "very good discussions" and added, "I think we both feel comfortable with this. This was two friends and two gentlemen dealing with one another."
Lurie has met with former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, who cited burnout when he quit at the end of the 1982 season.
Lurie said Vermeil hasn't been offered the job, although he said he had talked to the former coach in an "advisory capacity" since before the start of the season.
"In the course of those discussions, Dick has become more excited about returning to the NFL," said Lurie, who added that it would be "at least a few weeks" before he hired a new coach.
"There would be no reason to make any quick decisions," Lurie said. "Now is the time to do the legwork and research."
Lurie said the future of quarterback Randall Cunningham, benched for the final two games of the season, would be decided by the new coach.
Kotite's future had been in doubt since it was revealed Lurie had talked to former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson in the off-season.
Lurie said that Johnson was never offered a job and that he was just getting advice from men who had built championship teams. But that did nothing to stop the speculation that Kotite was a lame duck.
Kotite is rumored to be a candidate to become the first coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers.
Meanwhile, in Seattle, Flores is expected to learn his fate today when he meets with Seahawks owner Ken Behring.
"I don't have any reports to give you on what's going to happen. . . . Let it happen and then I'll talk to you," Flores said. "I'm not defending myself. I haven't done anything wrong. I'm not on trial."
There is widespread speculation that Flores will be replaced by Erickson, the University of Miami coach, after the Orange Bowl next week.
When Flores was asked whether he thought his job was in jeopardy, he said, "Yeah, it probably is."
Erickson did nothing to dampen that speculation when he walked out of a news conference yesterday after he was asked about the Seattle job.
Wyche, who is likely to be replaced as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coach if the team is sold, now appears to have a chance to stay for another year.
Stephen Story, one of the trustees in charge of the team's sale, said he and his wife will spend the New Year's weekend in the Bahamas with Wyche and his wife.
Story also said there's a chance the team won't be sold this year and that Wyche would return.
In another matter, Dick Steinberg said he'll remain as the general manager of the New York Jets while he gets treatment for stomach cancer.
"I'm not looking for a lot of sympathy or anything like that," said Steinberg, who has been criticized for failing to turn the team into a winner after five years on the job.
"Life will go on. I don't anticipate totally stepping aside. . . . I think I can still contribute a thing or two and know a little bit about the game."