Black Monday is now upon us, and most NFL head coaches who are currently squatting on hot seats didn’t do much to help their cases to stay during Week 17’s games.
But hey, at least Browns fans don’t have to spend their mornings refreshing Web browsers on their computers and phones. The team’s brass met with former HC Rob Chudzinski on Sunday night, and Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported the team fired him during that time. A brutal firing, indeed, as Chud was let go after just one season, with a young, inexperienced team that fought hard this year. Not a great message sent by Banner, Lombardi and Haslam.
So with Gary Kubiak and Chudzinski now fired, how many more teams will follow suit?
From a numbers perspective, I think it’s going to be a busy week and we’re looking at six more teams that will fire its head honchos in the near future.
Without further ado, here are the updated hot seat rankings:
[SCORCHING] —These coaches will almost certainly be fired in the next 48-72 hours, and we can say this with a very high level of confidence.
- Mike Shanahan (Hot seat score: 10/10):
As we speak, owner Dan Snyder is preparing to fling the Red Lobster back out to sea, where he’ll likely remain for the rest of his coaching career. The game has passed him by, and Shanahan’s authoritative demeanor coupled with a lack of accountability on the field and in the locker room doesn’t resonate well with players.
Shanahan’s track record speaks for itself, as he went 24-40 and finished with 10 or more losses in three of his four years spent in Washington. He’s won one playoff game with a QB not named Elway, and has been out-coached in second halves of games many times this season. His lack of adjustments cannot be overlooked.
It’s been evident for a while now that Shanahan and Robert Griffin III cannot coexist. The team gave up two first-rounders and a second-rounder for the young QB, and he provides a hell of a lot more upside for the future than Shanny does.
I’d be shocked if Shanahan isn’t fired by noon today. Expect it to happen during the morning meeting which is reportedly taking place in the next hour or two between him and Snyder.
- Jim Schwartz (Hot seat score: 10/10):
Everything set up perfectly for the Lions to finally win the NFC North this year for the first time since 1993. QB Aaron Rodgers suffered an injury that caused him to miss half the season, the Bears had a new head coach and were hit with a ton of injuries on defense, and the Vikings are rebuilding without a franchise QB.
All they had to do was focus on the task at hand, and execute week in, week out.
But instead, they went on to lose six of their last seven games, and only two of their opponents finished with a winning record.
Not only do the Lions consistently play down to the level of their competition, but they also have issues with game management/adjustments, turnovers, player discipline (penalties, legal troubles, etc.) and players are not executing in the current (questionable) scheme Schwartz is running on offense. This all falls on the coaching staff.
This team is far too talented on both sides of the ball to finish with a losing record, and Schwartz’s 29-47 career record in Motown isn’t going to get it done.
When I predicted Schwartz would be fired last week, it seemed like a bold prediction. Now, looking back on his 5-year tenure, in which the Lions didn’t win a single playoff game, it looks inevitable.
- Leslie Frazier (Hot seat score: 9/10):
You’d never know Frazier comes from such a strong defensive background, being that his team ranks dead-last in points allowed (30), and second-to-last in yards allowed (398.3).
And with just one year remaining on his contract, a 20-32-1 record doesn’t spell good news for Frazier’s future.
The team may be in rebuilding mode, but the passion that Frazier had when he first took over for former HC Brad Childress seems to have died down a bit, and his players are not executing/playing at the level they should be at. And while GM Rick Spielman deserves a lot of that blame, too, he still hasn’t been given the opportunity to pick his own coach. And now is the time.
Vikings are getting a new football stadium, so why not go the extra mile and shop around for a new head coach, too?
[Warm]— These coaches will likely be fired in the near future; but nothing is set in stone, and cases can be made for both sides.
- Greg Schiano (Hot seat score: 8/10):
The Schiano experiment has been one big epic fail. It probably wasn’t a good idea to hire a guy whose only NFL coaching experience dates back 15 years to the Chicago Bears, where he served as a defensive assistant and DB coach. And the Josh Freeman fiasco couldn’t have been handled more poorly.
His authoritative, hard-nosed coaching style is better suited for college athletes, and it’s become clear Schiano can’t hang with the big boys in the NFL. The game is too big for him, and it’s time to find a better candidate with more experience to coach up this young team.
He needs to to return to the college ranks where he excels. NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport reported he’ll be the top candidate for Penn State University if Bill O’Brien leaves, which he likely will.
The Glazers are very private people, and it’s hard to gauge exactly what they’ll do. But the 0-6 start and locker room issues may spell doom for Schiano, and this could be the last time we see him in the NFL as a head coach.
- Dennis Allen (Hot seat score: 8/10):
It’s been a long, arduous season for the NFL’s youngest current head coach (39), and his lack of experience has shown at times in games. The team’s offense lacks an identity and has looked completely out of sync; his in-game decisions have been puzzling; and his lack of adjustments have made fans skeptical of his future. He’s young and needs to study up on the offensive side of the ball to become a more well-rounded head coach.
The Raiders brass does deserve a good chunk of the blame as well, as they’re still recovering from the 2008 spending spree by former owner Al Davis. During the start of the GM Reggie McKenzie regime, the team had already overpaid for a mediocre group of free agents, and were roughly $30 million over the salary cap. Now, they finally have freed up big money to spend this offseason.
And maybe they can finally buy themselves a head coach that will succeed. The head coaching carousel is always operating in Oakland, as the team has had eight head coaches since 2000.
At times, this team hasn’t even resembled an NFL-caliber team on both sides of the ball. QB Nick Foles torched them for seven touchdowns earlier in the season, and QB Peyton Manning threw four in the first half of yesterday’s game. And the offensive playcalling is all over the place. It’s time to try something new, because this team can’t get any worse at the current time.
- Mike Munchak (Hot seat score: 7/10):
Munchak’s 3-year stint in Tennessee has been filled with mediocrity. The team plays in the weakest division in football, with an easy schedule, but has shown no signs of improvement on either side of the ball. And QB Jake Locker has shown little progression, and now continues to battle injuries.
The Titans current head coach had little experience outside of being the team’s offensive line coach for 14 seasons, and it shows. His team lacks consistency and looks completely different from week to week. They look like a team that doesn’t have a set identity, and instead just “wings it”.
And after reading about the impasse between Munchak and the team’s brass, I now believe it.
Two weeks ago NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport broke the news that there were philosophical differences between Titans coaches and brass. Rapoport said the team was built to be a run-first team but is now operating as a pass-first team. And that’s never a good thing.
The Tennessean’s Jim Wyatt did, however, tweet “All indications are a decision on Mike Munchak’s fate won’t be made until late in wk” last night. This could be good for Munchak’s future, as the “wait and see” approach may buy the head coach some time. If Monday and Tuesday are filled with firings, it’d limit the talent pool for potential head coaches the team could look to hire.
[Tepid]— These coaches will likely return next season, but we won’t be completely shocked if one of them is let go.
- Jason Garrett (Hot seat score: 6/10):
Three straight 8-8 seasons with a talented group of players isn’t going to cut it in this league. The Cowboys have now lost three straight elimination games—a brutal way to end each season. And Cowboys fans are now beginning to accept mediocrity as the norm.
Garrett’s team went 5-1 in divisional games this season, but his reluctance to run the football at critical junctures makes it difficult for the offense to consistently sustain long drives. In last night’s game, his decision to roll backup QB Kyle Orton out and throw to RB DeMarco Murray on 4th-and-1 from near midfield, rather than running the ball (or punting, even), was a critical mistake and a potential turning point in the game. And having Orton drop back to pass 46 times, with just 17 designed runs in an elimination game at home which was close throughout, is just plain stupid.
Both owner Jerry Jones and QB Tony Romo seem to like Garrett and believe in what he’s doing. Jones has even said Garrett’s job is safe in 2014.
But who really trusts Jones’ word? Mediocrity may be okay for Garrett, but Jones sets the bar high and the team’s postseason drought and inability to finish games late may spell doom for the team’s current head coach.
His lack of commitment to a run-game and unbalanced offense have cost the team at least two wins this season, and, most importantly, a NFC East title win, when it was their division to lose in a “down” year.
- Joe Philbin (Hot seat score: 6/10):
The Dolphins head coach wasn’t previously on the hot seat, but after a pair of embarrassing losses against division rivals, games the team scored a combined seven points in, he is now.
It doesn’t help that GM Jeff Ireland is one of football’s worst at team-building, and this could, very well, be the year owner Stephen Ross finally cans him. Maybe he shouldn’t have traded away WR Brandon Marshall for a pair of third-round picks, and maybe he shouldn’t have signed one-dimensional WR Mike Wallace to a $60 million contract to replace the void left by Marshall. And his free agency spending spree this past offseason didn’t yield the immediate results he promised.
Some of the Jonathan Martin saga blame falls on Philbin for not policing the locker room, but at the same time, he did do an excellent job moving on and not allowing his team to fall into a tailspin, as the Dolphins won four of six games immediately following the incident.
While it may be easy to blame Philbin, the offensive playcalling has been awful, and the personnel decisions even worse. So maybe it’s Ireland and OC Mike Sherman who need to be canned, and Philbin should be given another year or two to attempt to lead the team.
This team has had seven different head coaches since 2000. It’s the front office that deserves most of the blame here. I’m predicting Sherman and Ireland will be gone, but Philbin stays.
- Tom Coughlin (Hot seat score: 6/10):
When the Giants started the season 0-6, it appeared the 67-year-old head coach’s tenure in NY was finally ending.
As the league’s oldest current active head coach, with a team that needs to completely rebuild its offensive line, receiving corps and linebackers, it made sense that Coughlin would retire. He’s won two Super Bowl rings while with the organization, and maybe it’s best to quit while you’re ahead.
But the team responded in a big way and rose to the occasion on Sunday, even with WR Jerrel Jernigan and RB Peyton Hillis as the team’s “playmakers” on offense. The defense played with a level of tenacity and aggressiveness we haven’t seen in some time, and it’s clear they want their coach to return.
Coughlin won’t be fired, so it will ultimately come down to if he’s ready to retire and leave the game of football for good, or not. Either way, a Hall of Fame bid is likely in his future.
- Mike Smith (Hot seat score: 5/10):
The Falcons (along with the Texans) proved how much the league can change from year to year. Last season, they accumulated 13 wins and were one first-down away from probably playing in the Super Bowl. But in 2013 they won just four games.
To Smith’s credit, the team suffered a barrage of injuries to its top playmakers on offense—at one time team was forced to play without WR Roddy White, WR Julio Jones and RB Steven Jackson, along with injuries on the offensive line—but the playcalling on offense has been predictable and renders the Falcons one-dimensional at times.
But the team’s lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball isn’t Smith’s fault. And GM Thomas Dimitroff, known as one of the best young execs in sports, needs to do a better job bringing in players that fit the scheme. The team will likely use the majority of its 2014 draft picks to do just that.
Smith makes some puzzling decisions from time to time, but he’s the best candidate to lead this team next season. And he deserves another year at the helm, given his success in the past. And the players really seem to buy into and trust his system.
- Rex Ryan (Hot seat score: 5/10):
Let’s be frank: No one predicted the Jets to go 8-8. I’m an avid follower of the team, and I had them at 6-10 before the season began. In a rebuilding year and the beginning of GM John Idzik’s regime, a .500 record with a tough schedule is a victory for gang green.
This young defensive front has the talent, explosiveness and athleticism to be one of the league’s best for years to come. Ryan has an extensive history as DC and has coached some elite defensive squads over the years, and the Jets would be silly to let him go with all the young playmakers on that side of the ball.
The team lacks more weapons on offense than any team in the NFL, and it’s up to Idzik and Co. to rectify that issue. But Ryan and OC Marty Mornhinweg have done a good job getting the most out of a subpar group of guys.
After the victory in Miami, the Jets may have added fuel to the “Fire Joe Philbin” fire. But Ryan’s seat has cooled off, especially after owner Woody Johnson announced he’d be back next season, which seemed to really elevate the mood of locker room.
Let the fireworks begin! Mike Shanahan will (likely) be the first to go.
UPDATE: Frazier was the first head coach to be fired (at 9 a.m. ET), with Shanahan roughly 30 minutes behind him.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
