Fire season might start early with Raiders, Rams

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With far more days remaining in this season than have passed, it's a little odd there already is so much angst in so many places.Yes, we are only a month into this NFL season, and there are two teams poised to fire their coaches, two teams with fingers poised over the switch, two teams tangled in a web of disarray, bad public relations and with little public comment from the people who make the decisions about any of it.Keep your eyes peeled, though, because the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams share the same bye week -- a week from Sunday -- and there are many around the league who believe both team's coaches could be fired within hours of completing their on-field business this Sunday.For the Raiders, the story goes like this:Coach Lane Kiffin, who some in the league say is scheduled to earn $2 million this year and $2 million next year, doesn't want to quit a team that so obviously wants to fire him. If he quits, he surrenders his salary.If he's fired, the Raiders pay. Or at least Kiffin and the Raiders hire attorneys and fight it out for the cash, with both sides waving Kiffin's signed contract around.But owner Al Davis hasn't talked to Kiffin directly during the regular season, and some around the team say the silence stretches back to training camp.Kiffin tried to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan in the offseason and was overruled by Davis. So, Ryan stayed and now those two aren't exactly texting "BFF" back and forth to each other these days.All this from a team that has lost at least 11 games in each of the previous five seasons.This from a team that has used the word "excellence" as part of its calling card for years when, in reality, it has been quite some time since it even reached the level of not too bad.For his part, though, Kiffin is almost in a no-lose position. The team has played hard enough this season that, should Davis finally go public with his displeasure with Kiffin, no other general manager or team owner who might be interested in hiring Kiffin later would ever hold what happened in Oakland against him.Seems that's been true before. Just ask Mike Shanahan.In St. Louis, things are bad enough for coach Scott Linehan that his wife was seen crying after the 37-13 loss Sunday at Seattle.It's unlikely Kristen Linehan knew exactly what her husband was getting into when he took the job, but the Rams have been known for their organizational infighting all over the league since Mike Martz was the team's coach.When Martz was fired, there were people with the Rams who portrayed the mercurial Martz as the problem, but the problems certainly run deeper than that.The Rams are last, or headed that way, in virtually every statistical category the league has to offer. They also are facing more than a little public questioning after the Broncos' 3-0 start over why the Rams were the ones who let the Broncos move up in the 2006 draft so they could take Jay Cutler with the 11th pick.The Rams then took cornerback Tye Hill in their slot. And he just happens to be one of the players Linehan has benched in recent days as he tries to save his job.But Linehan also made the official panic-setting-in move when he benched quarterback Marc Bulger on Tuesday. Bulger hasn't accomplished much behind center this season, other than trying to survive behind an offensive line that has been far more screen door than line so far.Bulger is 31 years old and battered, having been sacked 97 times in his past 31 starts. He's also the guy the Rams signed to a $65 million contract extension that now includes a guaranteed $7 million salary for this season, an atmospheric number for a backup.His replacement? The one Linehan has selected to help turn the epically big tide in all of this? Trent Green, who turned 38 in July and has missed significant time recently with concussions.Linehan also now looks like he's throwing the mess in Bulger's lap since he has benched a quarterback who has indeed had some wobbles this year but also currently has a higher passer rating than Peyton Manning, David Garrard, Derek Anderson, Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Schaub and Carson Palmer.The Raiders (1-2) will face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday before heading into their bye week. The Chargers have won nine consecutive games against the Raiders, dating to the 2003 season, when Bill Callahan was still the Oakland coach.The Rams face 3-0 Buffalo on Sunday before they, too, head into their bye. They haven't won a game since Dec. 2 of last season, haven't won two games in a row since November.They are just two teams who appear poised to be first in at least one thing this year -- firing their coaches before handing the broom to somebody else to clean it all up.(Contact Jeff Legwold of the Rocky Mountain News at legwoldj(at)RockyMountainNews.com.)