Black Monday typically brings forth the firing of several coaches who underachieved or just plain stunk. That is why the New York Jets fired Rex Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons parted ways with Mike Smith and the Chicago Bears dumped Marc Trestman. All of those teams failed to meet expectations this year, so it's only natural that they are looking for new head coaches.
But what about a coach who has had success? Could he be in danger if certain benchmarks aren't reached?
"One I'm keeping an eye on is Denver, just because if they fail to make it past the divisional round this year; if they would lose at home that first weekend they play after the bye, somebody's got to be responsible for the failure of this team to live up to its potential," Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said Monday on "The Dan Patrick Show."
"Will it be a coordinator? Will it be the head coach? It won't be the GM, because the GM runs the football operations, too, and is essentially the de factor owner at this point, in John Elway.
"You'd have to wonder whether or not John Fox will be in trouble."
Offensive coordinator Adam Gase is expected to receive several calls for NFL head coaching vacancies this offseason. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has improved the defense every year he's been in Denver. That doesn't leave a whole lot of options for a scapegoat. Fox may end up as the fall guy by default.
It may not be fair, but any Peyton Manning-led team has to have a championship-or-bust mindset. Elway has spent a lot of money to maximize Manning's remaining Super Bowl window. For the team to fall short for the third consecutive year would definitely merit a significant change.
