For Eastern alums coaching in the National Football League, the lockout is probably a nightmare. For Tony Romo, he has just been working on his golf game.

The NFL is in the midst of its longest work stoppage ever. Coaches are unable to hold organized team activities, stage off-season workout programs for their players, host mini-camps, or sign free agents.

It’s unclear if there will even be football this September. Basically, every NFL head coach is forced to sit on his hands and wait for the lockout to end. This has to be driving Mike Shanahan and Sean Payton nuts.

Already Shanahan has not had an easy time in Washington, D.C. Shanahan has locked horns with the $100 million spoiled brat known as Albert Haynesworth, dealt with the questionable signing decisions of billionaire owner Dan Snyder, and has had to deal with a growing quarterback controversy between Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman (of all people).

On top of all of that, he has to sit back and watch the grass grow, unable to do anything to improve his team that finished 6-10 last season.

Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, is much better off. The 2010 Super Bowl-winning coach presides over a team that finished 11-5 last year.

While other coaches are worried about their players being unsupervised, Payton has little cause for concern.

Quarterback Drew Brees has taken the initiative and organized players-only workouts for his teammates, since coaches aren’t allowed to have any contact with their players.

I’d bet that Payton is still smarting over his team’s early playoff exit against the Seattle Seahawks and is antsy to be coaching again.

Payton’s special teams coordinator and Eastern alum, Greg McMahon, is also probably eager to get back to work.

Brad Childress and Mike Heimerdinger are on shaky ground, especially Heimerdinger. Childress was fired in the middle of the season, after he traded for Randy Moss just to release him only a few weeks later when the star criticized his coach. It’s unclear if Childress will be a head coach again in the NFL.

Mike Heimerdinger’s situation is a frightening one. The former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator took an indefinite leave of absence last season to undergo chemotherapy treatments for cancer.

When Titans head coach Jeff Fisher was replaced by Mike Munchak this past February, Heimerdinger was cut loose. Not only does Heimerdinger have to deal with ongoing cancer treatments, he does not have a job to return to when he is healthy again.

Record-setting Panthers signal-caller Tony Romo is probably having a blast. Romo, like Brees, has organized workouts for his teammates, but has been spending lots of time playing golf, even trying to qualify for the U.S. Open.

It’s not often that an NFL quarterback gets to take a break from the grind of preparing for an NFL season and spend his time trying to qualify for PGA events instead.

While getting some down time has to be nice to a degree, I bet that Romo, Shanahan, Payton and the bunch are like most Americans and cannot wait for this surreal work stoppage to come to an end.

Joe Long is a junior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com.