NFL Head Coaches On the Hot Seat
by Josh Branco on Nov 19, 2009 1:00 PM PST
in National Preview/Review
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PrintBeing an NFL head coach is a tenuous job to say the least. In a league where most owners are only concerned with what you've done for them lately, head coaches are routinely fired after every season and sometimes even during it. Most likely you have already heard that Dick Jauron has been let go from his position as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. After going 7-9 in his first three seasons, and an embarrassing loss to Tennessee last week, Jauron is the first head coach to be fired this season.
Buffalo had hoped to improve their offensive production after signing wide receiver Terrell Owens to a one year contract. But after spending the entire offseason installing a no huddle offense, Jauron fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert on the eve of the regular season, and promoted quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt to the position. The results have been unsatisfactory to everyone, as the Bills rank 29th in total offense. Jauron's failures on the offensive side of the ball most likely doomed him to this fate.
He finishes his stay in Buffalo 60-82 as a head coach, and after signing an extension before the season he still has $6 Million remaining on his contract. The fact that he still has so much money left on his deal will probably prevent Buffalo from going after one of the big name coaches to replace him. The Bills have shown a tendency in the past to give former coordinators an opportunity as a head coach, and that is the most likely move for them in this scenario.
In the interim they have promoted defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to head coach for the remainder of the regular season. Fewell has been the team's defensive coordinator since 2006, and now becomes Buffalo's first African American head coach. The 47 year old has never been a head coach on any level, and he will make his debut this week when the Bills travel to Jacksonville.
While Jauron was the first head coach to get the axe this year, he is certainly not the last. With six Super Bowl winning coaches (Gruden, Dungy, Shanahan, Holmgren, Cowher, and Billick) available for hire, many other coaches around the league are on the hot seat as well, including: Jim Zorn, Tom Cable, and Eric Mangini.
Jim Zorn initially came to Washington to be the Redskins new offensive coordinator, but when Joe Gibbs decided to retire in January of 2008 he was promoted to head coach. Many analysts were skeptical of the move from the outset as Zorn had never even been an offensive coordinator in the NFL, let alone a head coach.
Since being hired, Zorn has gone 11-14 during his up and down tenure as Washington's head coach and he is now sitting on the hot seat of all hot seats after being relieved of his play calling duties in Week 4. Owner Dan Snyder has proven that he's not afraid to make drastic changes, or spend a lot of money. Zorn appears to be in over his head and unless the Redskins win out you have to think that he will be gone at the end of this season. Money is not an issue for Snyder, so he will most likely be replaced by one of the aforementioned Super Bowl champion coaches.
Tom Cable is another example of a coach getting a chance to be a head coach before serving as a coordinator. So far the results have been less than stellar, a 6-15 record and numerous rumors of physical abuse off the field. On the field the Raiders have gone from the NFL's 6th best rushing attack in 2007, when Cable was the offensive line coach, to now being ranked 20th. Basically, the Raiders have gone from being a team that's good at one thing (rushing), to a team that's good at nothing with Cable at the helm. Oakland is ranked 31st in Total DVOA, and they show no signs of improving anytime soon.
In addition to his team's struggles on the field, Cable has come under fire for events in his personal life. In August of 2009, he was accused of punching assistant coach Randy Hanson and fracturing his jaw. While the charges were eventually dropped, surely the bad press could not have endeared Cable to his boss Al Davis. The problems continue to mount for Cable as he has recently been accused of abusing two ex-wives and an ex-girlfriend. While I certainly wish him all the best in his personal life, it has becoming clear that Cable just doesn't have what it takes to be a head coach in the NFL, and the swirling allegations against him are not doing the Raiders any favors. However if Oakland does decide to part ways with Cable, who would really want that job? I just can't see Cowher or any of the other marquee names going to work for Davis.
Since taking over as head coach of the Browns, Eric Mangini has been under constant criticism. Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnaski even went so far as calling Mangini, "The worst NFL head coach hire in 25 years." After being let go by the Jets the day after the season ended last year, Cleveland inexplicably rushed out to hire Mangini just nine days later, before they had even hired a General Manager. In New York he alienated just about every person associated with the team with his haughty smarter-than-thou attitude, and he already seems to be doing the same in Cleveland.
Fans have responded to the Browns' constant losing by attempting to organize a boycott of Monday night's opening kickoff against the Ravens. While estranging the fan base, it seems that he is also starting to lose his players. Ten year veteran Jamal Lewis recently fanned the flames by publically stating that he believes the team may be underperforming on Sundays because they are overworked in practice. Mangini's "opportunity period", voluntary workouts conducted after practice, have been especially criticized after defensive end Keith Grennan suffered a season ending injury last week. Grennan is the second Browns player to be lost for the season as a result of the drills.
Mangini stands by his practice regimen, and the one thing working in his favor is that he still has three years left on his contract. It is unclear if the Browns would be willing to buy out his contract and then shell out the additional money necessary to bring in a new coach. However Cleveland has reportedly met with Mike Holmgren, so perhaps "Mangenius" really will be fired from a head coaching job for the second time in as many years.
Who would you include on this list of coaches on the hot seat? Which one of the available coaches do you think as the best chance to be back in the NFL as a head coach next year? Do you think Coach Singletary could be in trouble if the 49ers do not perform well in the second half of the season?
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Despite a pending mediocre record..
Singletary isn’t going anywhere. The 49ers need a marquee name to market the team, thus the silly tiresome promos all over the Bay Area and on KNBR. Funny how 2 of the HC in your article mention no coordinator experience. Sing is another HC with no experience either.
The real person on the Hot Seat is ScotM. The 49ers either need to hire someone to keep him in check, or clean house altogether. They need to finally rid the stink of the Nolan regime, even though Singletary is a remnant of it.
Well, we're waiting....
Singletary
has a 9-9 record thus far which for a first year coach is pretty good. (Especially given what he had to work with). I do think we need to get a new GM, but I don’t see that happening (especially if we end up with a winning record this year).
I don't count..
Last season. A real measure is how an HC takes a team into camp, utilizes his first round draft picks, and set’s the tone (in this case, offensively) with his chosen assistants. The assistant he didn’t choose was Manusky, who really deserves a lot of credit despite the HC’s. Martz deserves credit as well last season for adapting, even though it was more of Hill checking down instead of playing Martz’s offense wide open. The LOLine is still horrid, and that’s a carry over from the past few years. Sinlgetary and his Magic Wooden Cross can’t fix that one.
In my book Singletary is 4-5. If you wanna count in last season’s close wins against bad teams (one of which had a HC who was Jauron), go ahead. The QB that was behind center then isn’t behind center now, and neither is his OC.
Well, we're waiting....
Sinlgetary and his Magic Wooden Cross can’t fix that one
I agree with your points but don’t attack someone’s beliefs… That’s not cool.
I'm not attacking Sing's belief..
I’m commenting on one of the fan’s belief’s on a Sinlgetary coaching myth.
Well, we're waiting....
If you're looking at a coach's career
You look at his entire record. Sing’s entire record is 9-9.
To only look at one year to evaluate him as a coach is kind of silly.
Was he the one who was in..
The Draft War Room in 2008? Was he the HC who hired Martz? Heck, was he the “trigger man” during the whole time he was in SF prior to this past off-season?
Well?
Well, we're waiting....
QB
I can see the point you’re making for the most part. However, the QB comment shouldn’t really factor in since the guy Singletary moved into the starting lineup for most of his time as head coach last year, was also the starting QB at the beginning of this season. Otherwise I can definitely understand your point.
by David Fucillo on Nov 19, 2009 2:29 PM PST up reply actions
You're correct..
and who really knows of Smith’s thumb injury played a part in Hill starting, but outside of that, one key is how Sing’s offensive philosophy, combined with Hill, was more effective than what he had with Martz and Hill. To me, it was very ineffective to the point that now the offense is more dynamic in possibilities with it being spread out a little more. So why the change to Raye? Was it due to Davis? Gore? I’m sure in the offseason that Martz could have drawn up plays for them (Gore in a Faulk like role and Davis lined up anywhere and everywhere) had Sing trusted him. The bottom line is that the NFL is a passing League, and the 49ers last season were a passing team. This season under Sing’s total philosophy has them at 4-5. With Martz against crappy teams, he was 5-4. The 49ers won 4 games despite the offense this season. Take away a Nolan hire in Manusky, and well…..
Well, we're waiting....
Lovie Smith
I think is on the hot seat in Chicago, although it’s hardly his fault the team is doing so poorly, or is it? Mostly inconsistent play generally lands on the HC’s shoulders, but Jay Cutler just stinks at times. That’s not Lovie’s fault.
Jack Del Rio should be on the hot seat in Jacksonville as well, yeah the Jaguars are at 5-4, but I think if they fail to finish the season with 9 or 10 wins, he’ll be gone. They went 5-11 last season, and I don’t think they can win more than 8 this season.
Jeff Fisher is also likely on the hot seat, but if Tennessee can complete the turn around, he sticks around for one more season. I think his willingness to go to Vince Young as the starter earned him some points with ownership, but this team is much better than 3-6.
I also think John Fox is on the hot seat in Carolina. Yes, they are bouncing back from a poor start, but I think the times are a changin’ in Carolina, and I think Fox will be out of the door in the offseason should Carolina miss the playoffs. Bill Cowher will be coaching the Panthers in 2010, you can write that one down.
I also disagree with the Bills not going out and spending cash on a new HC, I think Mike Shannahan is their man. I could see Mike Holmgren going to Oakland if he’s given the keys to the house, and brings in his own personnel. Maybe in a Bill Parcells to Miami type of way, or maybe as a HC that hires his own GM kind of way. Regardless, Holmgren won’t end up in Oakland unless he has final say over key personnel decisions. In other words, it will likely be another no-name HC in Oakland, that struggles to make it through a season.
by Andrew Davidson on Nov 19, 2009 1:45 PM PST reply actions
intriguing
Bill Cowher will be coaching the Panthers in 2010, you can write that one down.
"Pat is still just scratching the surface." - Coach Singletary on LB Patrick Willis
I really enjoyed that SI article link. Not sure if that criteria for worst NFL Coaching Hire is correct but he gave it a shot. Best quote of the entire article:
3. What had he ever done to convince anyone he could be a head coach in the first place? Why, because he was a defensive coordinator for the Patriots under Belichick for one season? The Browns had JUST HIRED Romeo Crennel, who was ALSO defensive coordinator under Belichick. Attention Cleveland Browns owners, here’s a good hint: BILL BELICHICK IS HIS OWN DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/09/29/mangini/index.html#ixzz0XLt42KKS
Get a free NFL Team Jacket and Tee with SI Subscription
Singletary is actually over-performing
when you consider what he has had to work on and overcome. He inherited a bad offensive line on the offense and a suspect secondary on the defense. To his credit (and not unexpectedly) he has taken the defense and already started making it into a tough opponent that gives the other team a very hard time…the fact that there have been very few blowouts this season is testimony to that along with the fact that we are performing at a very high level especially against the run and playing well against the pass.
The real mess he inherited was on offense….OC after OC after OC after OC, system after system after (no system…aka Hostler) after system….QB, no QB, maybe QB, can’t throw long (Hill), can’t throw short (Alex?), turnovers, etc. it is no wonder the offense sort of came off the tracks a bit. I think if the niners are struggling offensively at this same time next year then we have a real problem. The key will be next year as Sing will have some new players to mold on the O-Line, plus everyone will finally have some consistency. Motivation is not an issue…getting players who can out-play other defenses and execute plays as a unit is the issue.
Sing is doing a fine job and I think the team will play better in the second half. Heck, for the last several years we have ALWAYS played horrible in the first half of the season and then played well in the second half so no reason to expect that to change.
I am quite optimistic.
If that's overperforming..
than I wouldn’t want to see what under performing is.
Well, we're waiting....
if peeing your pants is cool
then consider me Miles Davis.
Lady, that’s the grossest thing I ever heard.
by Andrew Davidson on Nov 19, 2009 4:45 PM PST up reply actions
Here is one that could come as a surprise….. Andy Reid.
I am a Browns fan, so don’t think I am an Eagles guy with a knee jerk reaction to anything. I will give you some clues to back it up:
1) Extension – Eagles owner discussed another extension in regards to Reid being in the works as far back as the draft. Reid is still in his current contract.
2) Another fast start ending into a losing streak. His teams start fast, get bumpy in the middle, then end just strong enough to get to the Playoffs and lose. It has been and ongoing situation.
3) His drafting, on the defensive side of the ball, has been less than stellar. His playcalling is baffling at times, especially when they pass heavy against bad run defenses.
4) Some may think that if Reid were fired, the whole organization would be up in smoke due to his job title of GM/HC. But, Tom Heckert is patiently waiting in the wings for something to happen to Reid. Heckert is more than qualified to run the organization.
5) Harbaugh has shown the Eagles organization that a Special Teams Coordinator can be a HC. Andy Reid has given a good blessing to former Eagles Asst. Dave Toub, who is the current and most consistent coordinator on the Bears staff.
6) Like with Dungy, it sometimes take a firing to make a good coach great. The Eagles have been less than stellar since their Super Bowl loss to the Pats.
Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Reid were let go, though I honestly expect him to get an extension. It is, however, something to keep in mind if your team is looking at a new Head Coach
Can any one Browns Employee be competent?
You make a pretty good point here. It would be very interesting to see what would happen in Philadelphia if Reid were let go. Maybe it’s one of those situations where the owner thinks the team needs a new voice/direction. Still, even if he is let go he won’t be unemployed for long. Maybe he would come to SF as a coordinator? Probably not but that would a nice storyline.
so as a Browns fan
what do you think of Mangini? Do you think he may be gone after the season as well and who would you like to see come in and take over?
"Pat is still just scratching the surface." - Coach Singletary on LB Patrick Willis
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