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Originally Posted by 12thMan

Yes, let's continue with the theme of fives. Here's my short list of 5 coaches who, aren't neccessarily on the hot seat, but they have something to prove this year.

Jon Gruden. Training camp couldn't have started soon enough for Gruden; He's been chomping at the bit and drawing new diagrams since January. Gruden was once considered one of the darling coaches of the NFL, but has seen his teams decline since becoming the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl. I don't care who's in the starting line-up for Tampa Bay this year, you'll see a different team. Gruden is itching to return to his winning ways, and look for that intensity to tranfer to the field.

Marvin Lewis. Still considered one of the brightest defensive minds in the game, when he arrived in Cincy, Lewis thought he was signing up for the NFL not JV football. Lewis is now faced with the task of taking a talented team and keeping them focused on football, and more importantly winning. If anyone can do it, Marvin Lewis can. Look for Lewis to have the Bengals in the thick of things this year.

Joe Gibbs. The pundits are already chomping at the bit with their annual "Gibbs has lost it" rhetoric. If the Redskins can keep their budding star quarterback, Jason Campbell, healthy this could very well be the year Joe Gibbs blows the whole thing open in Washington. Coach Gibbs adheres to a quiet intensity, and his players will be focused and ready to compete for the 2007 campaign. Joe Gibbs has a special attachment to the city of Washington, D.C. and more than anything, he wants to bring the Vince Lombardi trophy back to what Gibbs calls,"The greates fans anywhere."

Bill Belichik. If anyone thinks Belichik isn't pissed about not going all the way last year, think again. The bar is high in New England, and with all the off-season additions, Belichik will expect even more from the Pats in '07. Another Super Bowl run by Belichik could cement his legacy as the greatest coach of all time. Don't think for a minute that it's not in the back of his mind either.

Norv Turner. Norv Turner is an average NFL coach.

There now, quote corrected. I'd delete Norval, and insert Reid. At least he's been to the dance and lost, as has Lovie Smith.