Wednesday’s question of the day: Who will be the first NFL coach fired, and who should be?

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Reporters from around the Tribune family tackle the question of the day, then you get a chance to chime in and tell them why they are wrong.

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

No matter how cold it gets in Buffalo, Dick Jauron’s chair will keep getting hotter. Last Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Browns didn’t help. Three points against Cleveland was not what Buffalo had in mind when it signed Terrell Owens. Bills owner Ralph Wilson is a patient man, and he said he’s not ready to make a decision on Jauron’s future yet, but that day has to be coming. The fans have already made up their minds. The Buffalo News recently conducted a poll and 90% of the 5,000 participants said they want Jauron out. The NFL coach who should also be shown the door is a guy who used to wear the whistle for the Bills – Wade Phillips in Dallas. He’s a coordinator, not a head coach, and the results show that.

Ken Murray, Baltimore Sun

The line for the NFL’s firing squad is already lengthy. But the drum beat is especially loud in Buffalo, where Dick Jauron is steering a rudderless ship, and Washington, where Jim Zorn never had a chance with his fantasy football roster.

Look for Zorn to go first because owner Dan Snyder can’t help himself. He needs a splash to create some excitement, so expect Zorn through the door very soon. Jauron will follow shortly.

Who should go first is another matter altogether. I think Tom Cable has overstayed his limited shelf life in Oakland. Beating up staff is crossing one too many lines, whether you can coach or not. But he listens to Al Davis, so he stays and the Raiders continue to regress. The other coach who should be looking over his shoulder is Wade Phillips in Dallas.

Ethan Skolnick, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Beware the bye. If you’re a struggling NFL coach, with an itchy owner, that’s the time you might need to start searching for some packing tape. And so that’s why Washington’s Jim Zorn is the coach most likely to be let go first, just ahead of Buffalo’s Dick Jauron. Other teams have been worse than the Redskins and Bills, but both franchises have impatient owners, Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson due to age (he’s 81 next week) and Dan Snyder due to arrogance. And the Redskins’ bye comes a week earlier, right after a likely home loss to Philadelphia. Who should be fired first? The guys who never should have been hired in the first place, starting with Cleveland’s Eric Mangini and Oakland’s Tom Cable.