With Brad Friedel's firing on Wednesday, the bottom three teams in MLS so far this year have all made a change at the top since the calendar turned to May. The New England Revolution joined the Colorado Rapids and FC Cincinnati, who had relieved Anthony Hudson and Alan Koch over the past week, as all three teams have fallen well short of expectations so far in 2019.

In recent weeks, those three managers had their jobs mostly scrutinized, not only by their teams' poor performances on the field but also by some of the remarks each of them made to the media. After a recent loss to Atlanta United, Hudson threw his entire team under the bus, calling his side "a bottom group of players." He was fired a few days later before he had a chance to manage the Rapids again.

None of the remaining coaches in the league have made any similar disparaging remarks about their own teams, and they'll likely keep any of those thoughts to themselves going forward. But the question remains: Who is left on the hot seat within the league? 

There is no clear frontrunner right now; the three most likely to be gone at the start of the month are all out of jobs now. So in no particular order, here's a list of three managers who might start to feel their seat getting a bit toasty, especially if results don't improve over the next couple of weeks. 

1. Mike Petke | Real Salt Lake

It's a bit weird to put Petke here, given that he made the playoffs last year, beat Bob Bradley's Los Angeles FC in the knockout round, and then gave Sporting Kansas City a good run over two legs. But recall that it was only because the LA Galaxy threw away a lead at home on the final day of the regular season that RSL even made the playoffs. RSL missing the playoffs in 2017 was excusable for the former New York Red Bull head coach, given that he was an early-season replacement for Jeff Cassar.

This year has been tougher for Petke, though, as his side has won just three of the first 10 games of the season. After picking up four points in the first two games of 2019, Petke's side has lost six of their last eight games. Real aren't far off from a playoff spot, and there's plenty of reason to think that Petke can turn the current run of form around.

But if things were to continue on a downward trend and RSL looked unlikely to make the playoffs by the middle of the season, then there could be a change at the helm in the Wasatch Range.

2. James O'Connor | Orlando City

O'Connor became the third permanent manager of the Florida side since their inaugural 2015 MLS campaign, hoping to accomplish something that neither Adrian Heath nor Jason Kreis could: make the playoffs. There wasn't much hope for that last year, as O'Connor took over a team at the start of July that had lost eight games in a row. That streak ran to nine before O'Connor got a win, but the Lions only collected three points one more time in 2018, in the penultimate game of the season.

It would be tough to hold too much of 2018's catastrophe of a season on O'Connor, but there hasn't necessarily been a drastic change in results this year so far. City made a splash by bringing in Portuguese winger Nani just before the start of the season. And while the World Cup veteran has brought plenty of experience and skill to Orlando, the results just haven't been there yet. 

Orlando's form has improved, but with a team that has yet to make the playoffs, has it improved enough? In the seasons in which they were fired, neither Heath nor Kreis made it past July 6. With as many weapons as he has at his disposable, can O'Connor last later into the year if he can't guide the Lions above the red line?

3. Veljko Paunovic | Chicago Fire

Paunovic's Fire side dealt the final blow to Friedel last night, demolishing the Revs 5-0. But the Serbian has been under some pressure given the wealth of talent he has available to him in the Windy City. The overall vibe surrounding the Fire hasn't been great recently, with the team reportedly looking to buy out of their obligation of playing at SeatGeek Stadium to move back closer to the heart of Chicago. 

To exasperate that — and some of the issues between supporters and the front office — was last year's poor play on the field. After missing the playoffs in his first season, Pauno's side surprised MLS, with the help of Bastian Schweinsteiger, to make the playoffs in 2017. With a similar team at his behest in 2018, though, the Fire regressed, finishing 18 points off of a playoff spot.

There have been some similar issues this year, as the Fire won only one of their first six games. The recently-added Nico Gaitan should help the Fire improve, but if they can't turn their talent into a playoff spot, then Paunovic might be looking for a new job sooner rather than later.