Careers Wilt When Temperature Rises

This town goes 10 years with only one major sports championship, it figures that a lot of coaches need to be checking the temperature of their chairs.

An updated occupancy list for The Hot Seat:

BOILING: Del Harris.

OK, so the Laker boss doesn’t even use a seat. Why let that ruin a perfectly good cliche?

Besides, he really is in trouble. Lately, the Lakers have not only been the league’s most talented team, but also its most directionless.

Players seem to be freezing each other out of plays, forgetting to help each other on defense, acting as if every game is the All-Star game.

And you know how often they change head coaches in the All-Star game.

Harris is a good man and a hard worker. But to take this high-maintenance team to the championship, more may be needed.

Yes, the Lakers have been stymied because of injuries. But even the sound players don’t seem to be listening.

It would be absurd to fire Harris before he has a chance to take the Lakers beyond last year’s second-round playoff failure.

But if he doesn’t, it would be surprising if he stayed.

SIZZLING: John Robinson.

Oops, sorry. Force of habit.

HOT: Bill Russell.

He has acknowledged his rookie mistakes and is expected to learn from them.

But can anybody win a championship with a Dodger roster whose nucleus has failed in September or October for three consecutive years?

And will Rupert Murdoch have the patience to let Russell try?

Probably not. If the Dodgers finish near the bottom of what probably will be baseball’s toughest division, Russell could be dropped faster than a sitcom about two crazy bachelors.

In the past, Russell would have been given a longer look because he was part of the family.

As of mid-March, when Murdoch is expected to take over, there is no more family.

WARM: Bill Fitch.

Some folks think he should be fired right now. That probably includes the entire Clipper roster, which bristles at his unique style of making them prove themselves every day like the rest of us working stiffs.

There are also those in the organization who blame Fitch for ruining Brent Barry’s career here while driving away the likes of Bo Outlaw and Brian Williams.

When Charles Barkley recently ripped the Clippers for being a “disgrace,” could it be he was trying to help his buddies get Fitch canned?

Sorry Charles. It won’t work, at least not yet.

The only opinion that counts, Donald Sterling’s, was registered last summer in the form of a contract that pays Fitch for two more seasons after this one, at a total of $4 million.

At the time, Fitch had just taken a team of little talent to the playoffs. Discounting this year’s injury- and defection-plagued nightmare, he probably will be given one more chance to do it again.

ROOM TEMPERATURE: Henry Bibby and Steve Lavin.

Both coaches of our major college basketball programs are safe for at least another full season, but judgment is being withheld on both.

Folks want to see what USC’s Bibby can do with a good recruiting class. Next year, they’ll find out.

Folks want to see what Lavin can do without distractions. They might never find out. But he needs to show that a young man can bring a historic program not merely inspiration, but stability.

He could start, this off-season, by hiring a veteran assistant to help spot the fires and put them out before they spread.

WHO KNOWS? Terry Collins and Pierre Page.

The problem with Collins is, the Angels could win the division. And Collins could become more popular than Disney’s new baseball theme park. And you know what happens when that happens.

As for Page, he has been steady and quiet and might get this three-player team into the playoffs. Which could either get him a raise, or get him fired, or both.

ONLY WAY THEY’RE LEAVING IS FOR A BETTER JOB: Bob Toledo, Larry Robinson.

Toledo taught the UCLA football team an important lesson about survival, overcoming questionable decisions against Washington State and Tennessee to end the season as one of the most popular coaches in the country.

The players love him, the fans love him, the alumni should love him.

If he shows improved game management skills next year, the NFL will also love him, and that will be that.

Robinson is teaching the renewed Kings about winning games with discipline and will. If this continues, if they actually make the playoffs with only two or three players you’ve ever heard of, Robinson should be considered for the Jack Adams Award.

That’s coach of the year. I just looked it up.

STILL HONEYMOONING: Paul Hackett.

There is only one person at USC whose seat is hot. And if Hackett’s Trojan football team struggles this year, Athletic Director Mike Garrett will be smoking.