Winter is fast approaching, but the heat you feel around certain parts of the country is the temperature rising for several NFL head coaches whose futures are fading fast.
In Philadelphia, where Andy Reid has been coaching the Eagles for the past 14 years, speculation is growing rapidly this might be his final season, and that the franchise is in need of a fresh face and new voice.
In Dallas, with news of Saints currently suspended head coach Sean Payton being a free agent with his extension voided by the NFL, there has been a lot of talk that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones might make a run at him. Because Payton has won a Super Bowl with the Saints, is a former Cowboys assistant and has a home in Dallas, the Payton-to-Dallas talk has gained significant momentum as Jason Garrett continues to struggle at 16-16 as the Cowboys head coach.
Reid, the longest tenured coach in the NFL, has a 139-95-1 career record in Philadelphia, where he has led the Eagles to the playoffs nine times with seven NFC East titles, but is just 10-9 in the playoffs — including a loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Reid and Garrett continue to conduct business as usual while the rumors swirl around them like a bad storm heading into to today’s clash between the 3-5 division rivals in Philadelphia.
Reid’s fate is tied to his quarterback, Michael Vick, who seems to have regressed this season, becoming a turnover machine. Plus, Reid’s contract runs through the end of next season, leaving him in a lame-duck circumstance, which is an easy excuse for the Eagles to part ways.
Garrett’s situation is a little different in that he has been coaching the Cowboys for fewer than three seasons and he is Jones’ hand-picked guy, whom the owner desperately wants to succeed.
The Cowboys, who appear headed to a third consecutive season out of the playoffs, enter today’s game having scored fewer than 20 points in five of their eight games despite having the No. 5 defense in the NFL.
One coach who is not in the immediate trouble Reid and Garrett appear to be is fellow NFC East head coach Mike Shanahan, who delivered some highly curious comments after his Redskins lost to the Panthers last Sunday, sounding as if he was giving up on this season.
Shanahan, whose Redskins are 3-6, making him 14-27 overall with Washington, likely will not be fired this season barring a total collapse or more erratic comments. The Redskins just mortgaged their future (a 2012 second-round pick and two future first-rounders) to trade up with the Rams to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III, who has the look of a rising star.
So Shanahan, whose team has lost nine of its past 10 home games at FedEx Field, almost surely will get next season to try to progress with Griffin.
Still, he ruffled some feathers after the Carolina loss when he said, “When you lose a game like that, now you’re playing to see who is going to be on your football team for years to come.’’
The following day, Shanahan backtracked, telling ESPN, “To insinuate that I was giving up on the season is completely ridiculous.’’
If things keep going the way they have been going, the Giants’ Tom Coughlin soon might be the only head coach standing in the NFC East.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com