For coaches of non-playoff teams, the end of the season frequently means answering questions about job security. Several coaches on the hot seat began that process Sunday after their teams' final games.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris made no secret of his intention to continue coaching his team despite lingering disappointment following Sunday's 45-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
"If I was in the business of worrying about my future, I wouldn't be coaching," Morris said. "I'm going to go to work tomorrow. It's not the time to talk about that type of stuff. That's for mental midgets. For us, we've got to go out and play football and do what we have to do."
Sunday's loss was the Bucs' 10th in a row, marking a sharp turn from last year's surprising 10-6 season. But Morris said he wouldn't let speculation of his ouster affect his preparation.
"There will be a 10 a.m. meeting, there'll be another one at 11 and there will be a noon press conference, and I'll see you there," Morris said. "I'll go to the Outback Bowl in the afternoon. I'll come back and do a radio show and be ready to deal, ready for this offseason and get back and attack it."
Morris then was asked if he expects to coach the 2012 Bucs.
"That's like asking you if you expect to be a work tomorrow," he said. "Correct."
San Diego Chargers coach Norv Turner ended his season on a high note with a 38-26 victory over the Oakland Raiders, but he now faces the possibility of being fired. Having dealt with talk of his job security throughout the season, Turner refused to discuss his feelings about his standing in San Diego.
"I don't need to answer that. There's going to be a decision made, and you'll all know what it is," Turner said. "And what my opinion is right now probably doesn't have a lot of effect. I'll leave it at that."
The Chargers won four of their last five games but were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16 with a loss to the Detroit Lions.
"We had great guys, and they've never backed down from what we've asked them to do," Turner said. "I know it's hard for everyone else on the outside, but they know what they've been through and they know the situations that we've had to handle. And I think that makes it even more special, the fact that we've finished and played well and beat a good team that was fighting to make it to the playoffs."
St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo found few reasons to be happy after his team finished with the second-worst record in the NFL. But Spagnuolo did manage to find a silver lining despite his future with the team being up in the air.
"We certainly think we should be better than 2-14. But I do think there was tremendous growth," Spagnuolo said. "You grow more in a situation like this than you do when it's all going easy, and you find out a lot about people in a situation like this.
The Rams rallied against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday but couldn't finish the job, losing 34-27.
"When you're going to build something, it's good to have the right people," Spagnulo said. "We've got a lot of the right people."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
