NFL coaching changes in the air

Five NFL coaches have already lost their jobs, and a whole lot more could be looking for new positions in the next few days.

Start with the state of Ohio, where Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis and Cleveland's Eric Mangini are scheduled to meet with club executives Monday to decide their future.

Lewis no longer is under contract and is expected to move on after the Bengals lost to the Ravens 13-7 to finish the season 4-12.

"All I know is, officially today I'm no longer employed," Lewis said.

Mangini meets with Browns president Mike Holmgren, who could make a change after a 5-11 season, giving Mangini a 10-22 record in his two years.

"It's a really disappointing way to end the season," Mangini said. "There are not many positives to talk about."

Other coaches who could be in trouble include Miami's Tony Sparano, Houston's Gary Kubiak, Tennessee's Jeff Fisher and Oakland's Tom Cable.

Interim coaches Jason Garrett of Dallas and Leslie Frazier of Minnesota could soon get their jobs permanently.

John Fox coached his last game for the Carolina Panthers, a 31-10 loss to the Falcons, two days after it was announced he wouldn't be back. He was the fifth coach to lose his job before the end of the season — the others were Wade Phillips (Cowboys); Brad Childress (Vikings), Josh McDaniels (Broncos); and Mike Singletary (49ers).

"It's been a heck of a run," Fox said. "A lot of good memories. I know I didn't finish like anybody wanted. I would have never expected to have a nine-year run. If I was given the chance to do it all over again, I would."

Some coaches have been told they'll be back, among them the Giants' Tom Coughlin. New York beat the Redskins 17-14 to finish 10-6 but missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Co-owner John Mara said there was "never any doubt" Coughlin would be back.

There's also been speculation Kubiak would return and fire many of his defensive assistants. The Texans lost eight of their final 10 games and had the league's worst pass defense.

Kubiak said he would meet with owner Bob McNair on Monday.

Though Fisher's 16 full seasons in Tennessee rank as the league's longest tenure, he plans to meet with owner Bud Adams shortly. The owner isn't happy after the Titans started 5-2 and finished 6-10.

"I'm under contract for another year, so we'll see," Fisher said. "We're going to come back and have wrap-up physicals tomorrow and we'll start our evaluation process."

There have been rumblings that Cable's job could be on the line even though Oakland (8-8) closed out its best season since 2002 with a 31-10 win over the AFC West champion Chiefs.

Asked if he was coming back, Cable wouldn't give a direct answer.

"We're not losers anymore. We're 8-8," he said. "That's not what we wanted. We wanted to be a playoff team. We came here to get the sixth win, which means we went 6-0 in the division and most importantly, we are done with that losing. We are not losers anymore."

The Dolphins (7-9) finished their season with a 38-7 loss to the Patriots. Sparano has one year left on his contract and is 14-18 since leading the team to the playoffs in 2008 — his first season as an NFL coach.

Both Garrett and Frazier are optimistic about their chances.

"Nothing has been solidified," Frazier said of his job status after the Vikings were beaten by the Lions 20-13.

After the Cowboys beat the Eagles 14-13, owner Jerry Jones said he expected to decide within days if he'd remove Garrett's interim head coach tag and give him the job.

"Days, days. Not a week," Jones said.

Said Garrett: "I would absolutely love to be this team's coach."

Stay tuned.