While you might think of coaches like Tom Coughlin of the Giants and Romeo Crennel of Cleveland on the hot seat, one would never think of Scott Linehan as being a coach that could be shown the door soon. Would you? That is where the Rams stand after Sunday’s 17-16 loss to the 49′ers as Linehan might just find himself looking for work if he cannot rally the troops and get the team playing better after two home losses to start the season.

The team has been beaten up badly with injuries, and Sunday had to play with a number of offensive linemen hurt, and a secondary that is so banged up that they are going to have to force Tye Hill back as soon as possible from a back injury. Linehan is 8-10 in his season plus two games as Rams coach, and right now he is at a critical part of his coaching tenure. Last year the Rams started 4-1, then tanked it before winning the last three games of the season. Now at 0-2 though, all the high hopes that took place in February through August seem to be out the window.

Give Linehan credit, he is not shying away from taking blame from the issues that currently face the Rams. “We haven’t been able to finish games for two weeks in a row and that falls on the head coach,” he said during his post-game news conference Sunday. “We have to find ways to win. When we lead at halftime and lead in the third quarter, we have to find a way to sustain it and finish out games. It is my responsibility and it falls on my shoulders, period.”

St.Louis has to play better on both sides of the ball. Steven Jackson has not run well, Marc Bulger has not had a lot of time to throw, and Sunday the defense gave up just enough points to allow the 49′ers to escape with a win. “We will stay positive, we will work hard daily,” Linehan said. “We will continue to work on the solutions to problems and not focus on the negative. For every negative thing that comes out of a loss, you have to deal with it. That is what professional sports is all about. You are happy when you win and miserable when you lose.”

For Linehan, the winning better start soon, or he may stay miserable when he is out of a job.