Once upon a time, NFL owners waited a few days before firing their head coaches and beginning the search for a new field general. But like everything else in the modern world, the coaching carousel spins faster each year. Here’s a look at five coaches who lost their jobs either yesterday or Sunday, and one who will lose his job soon.

MIKE SHERMAN, GREEN BAY

Mike Sherman is an example of the Peter Principle in action. He had never coached in the NFL before Green Bay hired him as tight ends coach in 1997. By 2000 he was head coach. A year later he was general manager as well. He turned out to be good at one of those jobs, and very bad at the other.

Sherman the head coach led the Packers to four straight playoff seasons until a roster decimated by injuries and salary cap problems stumbled to a dismal 4-12 finish in 2005. But the injury and salary cap problems were exacerbated by a lack of depth – particularly on the offensive line and in the secondary – caused by the mistakes of Sherman the general manager.

The Packers had been contenders every year since 1992, but they are ready to enter their next cycle of rebuilding. Sherman could be the right choice to take over a franchise of underperforming veterans, but Green Bay needs a fresh start and someone who can teach young talent.

DOM CAPERS, HOUSTON

This was the right move; the surprise is that GM Charlie Casserly was not also fired. Four years after arriving in expansion, the Texans are back at square one with a 2-14 record and the first pick in the draft. This team is built on a mistaken blueprint that collects flashy “skill players” but treats the offensive line as an afterthought. The front office turned an average defense into the league’s worst with horrible off-season moves like trading two draft picks for antiquated Raiders cornerback Philip Buchanon. Capers looked confused as the team crumbled around him. Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm is often mentioned as head coach material and would be an excellent fit on the Houston sideline.

MIKE TICE, MINNESOTA

When the Vikings were 2-5 at midseason, the popular question was not “Will the Vikings fire Mike Tice” but “Will the Vikings fire Mike Tice tomorrow, or wait until next week?” But new Vikings owner Zygi Wilf decided to wait until the end of the season, and while Tice turned the team around to a remarkable final record of 9-7, Wilf was always planning to clear out the organization and start fresh with a new staff unconnected told owner Red McCombs.

Tice’s teams had a reputation for folding late in the season and despite their midseason turnaround, this year’s Vikings were no exception: on the way to the playoffs at 7-6, they collapsed against the Steelers and Ravens. Tice was never considered head coaching material – he began as an interim coach because his boss Dennis Green was fired – so he’ll need more time as an assistant before he gets another chance. Since Wilf was a longtime Giants fan before buying the Vikings, Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis is a leading candidate to take over in Minnesota.

JIM HASLETT, NEW ORLEANS

Like everything having to do with the Saints, Haslett’s situation is complicated. Technically, Haslett was fired, but he didn’t want to stay with the team anyway. According to rumors, he tried to quit at midseason but team owner Tom Benson talked him into finishing the year.

Haslett can’t be blamed for the collapse of this year’s very distracted Saints, and there is already talk that he’ll get another job for next season. But Haslett never should have had a job this season. The Saints went 10-6 in Haslett’s first season but were trapped in a cycle of mediocrity, inexplicably attached to a number of overrated players during four seasons of seven to nine wins. Any team that hires Haslett now could stagnate just as quickly.

As for the Saints, who in his right mind would want this job? This team boasts almost no young talent – except whichever quarterback it takes with the second overall pick in the draft – and will be playing home games in two different cities next year and a third in 2007.

MIKE MARTZ, ST. LOUIS

No head coach has split public opinion like Mike Martz. Those who don’t like him are adamant that he’s the worst coach in the league. There’s no doubt that Martz is unconventional in his play calling, calls timeouts at inexplicable times, and tends to have personality conflicts with the media and sometimes even his players. But most of the public perception about Martz is completely wrong.

The public believes that Martz teams constantly blow late leads. But since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970,no head coach in the NFL has a better winning percentage when his team led the game at some point in the fourth quarter.

The public believes that Martz wrecked a possible Rams dynasty with bad coaching and bad drafting. But while the average Super Bowl champion averages 2.88 postseason appearances in the five seasons after winning the title, Martz led the Rams to the playoffs in four of five seasons. As for drafting, that’s not handled by Martz, but by general manager Charlie Armey and director of football operations Jay Zygmunt, who are both staying with the team.

The Rams plan on finding a defense oriented coach who can change the direction of the team. Martz, meanwhile, will be in very high demand as an offensive coordinator, but could also get a new head coaching job as soon as next year. Then he can be just as controversial, but in a different city.

JUST A MATTER OF TIME: NORV TURNER, OAKLAND

Turner clung to his job yesterday, but all signs point to his being gone by week’s end after leading the Raiders to a 9-23 record in two seasons. In nine seasons as a head coach, Turner has managed just one playoff appearance; hopefully this is the end of his trip through the old-boy network. Who will replace him? The Raiders will want to bring in a bright young mind with new ideas, but what bright young mind wants to wrestle with owner Al Davis over every aspect of the team?

Mr. Schatz is the editor in chief of FootballOutsiders.com.