Ken Whisenhunt was one of several NFL coaches to be fired on Monday. (Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports)
Many have dubbed it “Black Monday,” the day after the end of the NFL regular season when league owners or general managers get caught up in tidal waves of emotion and begin mass firings of coaches they themselves thought enough of in the first place to hire.
A better name for it might be “Moronic Monday.” Now, some might deem that a tad harsh, but what better word is there for a process that eats up and spits out coaches, which then starts a mad dash to hire a replacement with not even close to a guarantee that the new guy that will be hired will be as good as much less better than the one just shown the door.
The coach the Cleveland Browns hire will be their sixth since 2000 and the fourth since 2008. Want a recipe for having a roster with a hodge-podge of players acquired for different systems? Then, do what the Browns have done. Or, the Kansas City Chiefs, who will also hire their sixth coach since 2000 and the fourth since 2008. Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen is the team’s eighth since 2000.
Consider these sobering numbers: Since 2000, there have been 108 head coaches employed in the NFL (not including interim coaches). Of those 108, a staggering 43 failed to last past their third season. There were 20 that lasted three seasons (some of whom were fired before the third season had ended), 15 lasted two seasons and eight didn’t even last past one season.
And yet, these harbingers of change somehow believe instability will breed stability. If a team doesn’t begin winning very quickly with the new blood, the coaches and/or general managers will soon be looking for work and the carousel begins spinning again.
The firing of Andy Reid in Philadelphia left Patriots coach Bill Belichick as the longest-tenured coach with one team at 13 seasons. Now second behind Belichick shockingly is Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis, who has been with the Bengals since 2003. After that, it’s Tom Coughlin of the Giants (2004) and Gary Kubiak, Houston; Mike McCarthy, Green Bay and Sean Payton, New Orleans, who all started with those teams in 2006. That’s a total of six coaches that have been with their current teams for seven seasons. In this league, that’s a lifetime.
Lovie Smith’s Bears went 10-6, and he was fired. Had the Packers defeated the Vikings on the final Sunday of the regular season, the Bears would have been in the playoffs. Not good enough.
Typical of the mindset that exists is what happened to Tony Dungy in 2001. He had helped lift the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the NFL dungeon. In the 13 seasons prior to Dungy’s arrival in 1996, the Bucs had double-digit losses in 12 of those seasons and had a combined record of 58-149.
In his first season, the Bucs were 6-10, then made the playoffs in four of the next five seasons, advancing to the NFC Championship game in the 1999 season. However, a regular-season record of 54-42 wasn’t good enough, and Dungy was jettisoned after a 9-7 record in 2001 even though the Bucs were in the playoffs.
We know what happened next. Jon Gruden led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title the next season, but what happened after that? The Bucs made two playoff appearances in Gruden’s last six seasons before being fired after the 2008 season with a regular-season record of 57-55. And yet, Gruden is talked about whenever coaching openings occur as if he is the incarnation of Vince Lombardi.
When Rams coach Jeff Fisher was asked at his season-ending press conference about the carnage around the league, he said, “It’s not an easy day. You’re talking about head coaches, but as it’s well noted, you’re also talking about 15 to 20 other assistants and families that are affected. It’s unfortunate. It’s a part of our business. You’d like to see a little more stability in places and we don’t have all the answers.
“We don’t know what goes on behind the scenes and people making decisions. You just hope those guys that, obviously, were victims of Black Monday land on their feet. You’ve got guys that have been to Super Bowls and won championship games and now all of a sudden they forgot how to coach, I guess.”
Exactly. With the Bears, Smith had two losing seasons and a regular-season record of 84-66. Yet, second-year general manager Phil Emery made the decision to fire Smith so he can go “in a different direction.”
In due course, we’ll see what that direction is.
Meanwhile, fired coaches like Smith, Reid and Ken Whisenhunt were busy being interviewed for some of the other openings.
The reality is it’s a way of life in the NFL, even though it often doesn’t make sense.
Think of what one head coach said about the firings: “I think it’s disgusting. Some of the better coaches in the NFL got fired today. I know we’re highly paid. But it’s a shame when coaches’ jobs are dependent on injuries, skyboxes, people in the stands and officiating calls. It doesn’t give me a good feeling about our profession when I see things like I saw this morning.”
Oh, that was said by then-Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson on the day after the 1998 regular season ended. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Johnson coached just one more season in the NFL.
They Said It
Kansas City Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt on Romeo Crennel: “I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Romeo, both personally and professionally. He is an accomplished coach, a man of great character and he helped guide our football team through some extremely challenging circumstances this season.”
Oh, and Romeo, you’re fired.
Then there’s this beauty from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie: “We’re going to be saying goodbye to the winningest coach in the history of the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s the main point. That’s not said lightly. There is only one coach who can be the winningest coach in the history of an NFL franchise, especially one that goes that far back as the Philadelphia Eagles, and that’s Andy Reid. Andy, I don’t want to understate it or overstate it, (is) not only an outstanding coach but an outstanding person. You have no idea because he many times didn’t want to share himself with the press or in a way in which he had to protect his own players (and) protect the way he was as a coach. Having worked side by side with him for 14 years, this is a gem of a person and incredibly dedicated to making the Eagles the franchise we have been. It was no easy task, he left no stone unturned, and his dedication was incredible. His work ethic was incredible and his ability to work with others was incredible.
“He had the love and respect of every individual in this organization. And I don’t say that lightly because I think if you were to interview owners and other franchise operators around the league, not everybody could say that. This man is amazing to work with, smart and dedicated himself, and the record will speak for itself. History will focus on exactly what he’s been able to accomplish and what the team has been able to accomplish. I look forward to the day we all welcome him back and introduce him as a member of the Eagles Hall of Fame, because that’s inevitable.”
Yes, Andy, you’re fired, too.
Startling Numbers
We all know how breathtaking the 2012 season was for Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. He started the season with just 499 yards in his first six games, then rolled up 1,598 yards in his final 10 games. Much of it was fashioned on long runs. For the season, if his three top runs in each game are extrapolated out, they totaled 1,226 yards (25.5 per attempt). That would have been good enough to rank ninth in the league in rushing yards. His other 300 carries averaged just 2.9 yards per attempt. He had 861 yards in five December games, and 14 NFL teams didn’t have a running back with that many yards for the season.
Since 2002, the Packers have played seven playoff games at home, but their overall record is just 2-5. One of the losses was in the wild-card round in 2004 to the Vikings.
