Happy New Year, Wayniac Nation! Dunton is opening up 2016 with the first article of the year. Today he takes a look at 10 coaches that are on the hot seat this coming Monday. Who will survive? Dunton has his full analysis below, so take a read to find out what he thinks!
Hard to believe that Black Monday is only a few days away. This is the day that many coaches and their staffs receive their walking papers, as those teams that are out of the playoffs begin their retooling for next year. With that in mind let’s take a look at the potential coaching changes this coming Monday.
5 coaches who are already hitting up liquor stores for empty boxes:
Tom Coughlin:
No, I doubt the Giants are going to actually “fire” Coughlin per se, but can you picture Coughlin back on the sidelines at MetLife Stadium next year? Me neither.
The Giants will give Tommy some of the respect he deserves, after all the man did win them two Super Bowls. Expect to hear things like mutually parting ways, or Tom Coughlin has retired. Either way there is going to be a new head coach for Eli, Odell and the rest of the G-Men next year.
McCoy won’t have to worry about the team’s potential move to Los Angeles as all signs point to him being out as head coach. The Chargers were a huge disappointment this year after two 9-7 seasons. McCoy has led Rivers and these injury-plagued Chargers to a 4-11 record with one last game being against a Denver team in a must-win situation for the AFC West and first round of the playoffs. It just seems that this team should be a lot better and because of this McCoy will be sending out resumes come late Monday early Tuesday.
Mike Pettine:
The Cleveland Browns are once again a dumpster fire. Personally I don’t blame Pettine for this as much as I blame the front office for the personnel hand that Pettine was dealt. He wanted nothing to do — and seemingly still doesn’t — with Johnny Manziel and at the onset of the season had him on the bench. Injuries pushed Johnny into the starting roll and then Johnny Football being Johnny Football put him back on the bench.
Regardless of this Pettine will take the fall and the Browns leadership will once again be looking for a head coach, their 8th in the last 15 years. Side note: do you know how many coaches the Steelers have had since 1969? Three. Hey Cleveland, there might be something to be said about finding the right guy and sticking with them.
Jim Caldwell:
It’s amazing to me that Caldwell has lasted this long. The entire front office was let go in November. The offensive coordinator was fired and replaced and yet Caldwell still remains. Come Monday it’s probably a safe bet that Jim’s run in Detroit will end and he will once again be looking for a head coaching job or offensive coordinator position. There are rumors that Caldwell may have saved his job with the late run the Lions had. I think the Rodgers to Rodgers Hail Mary was enough evidence for Caldwell to start packing those boxes.
Chuck Pagano:
This one is apparently set in stone, and Pagano is getting a bum deal.
It’s no secret that the Colts and Pagano have not seen eye-to-eye this season so this will not come as a shock to many. Pagano may be the hottest coach on the interview cycle once he is let go of his duties from Indianapolis. Personally I think he deserves a shot with a team that is built for the future and not a bunch of castoffs and retreaded tires like he had this season.
Yes, the Luck injury was not in the cards but were the Colts a real threat when Luck was playing?
Pagano may find himself at one of the above mentioned jobs, because this is a situation like Cleveland. Pagano is a capable head coach. The front office has some serious personnel issues.
3 coaches that may survive Black Monday, but they will be spending much of the day looking over their shoulder and dreading their phones ringing:
Rex Ryan:
They say he’s safe. They’re also telling me there is going to be a Spaceballs 2, but I will believe it when I see it.
Here is the thing with Rex. He was gift wrapped a top 10 defense when he took the job in Buffalo. Do you know what Rex — the defensive specialist mind you — did? Turned them into the No. 20 ranked defense in the league. Not very sexy, Rexy.
The Bills have actually surprised people with their offense but it’s the defense that has let them down. Rex spoke of the Playoffs returning to Buffalo. This week we hear the Bills players calling the game against the Jets their Super Bowl. Not exactly the playoffs Buffalo fans were hoping for. My how things have changed since late August.
More concerning to Bills Nation is the constant murmurs of players not being happy and Rex losing the team. This one is intriguing to me. As always stay tuned because we all know Rex is a show within himself.
Can we honestly say that Jer Jones is not going to take a long look at his entire team?
We all know the toll that injuries took on the Cowboys this year but Jason has been there for the past 5 ½ seasons and his overall record is 44-42. Jerry ran Jimmy Johnson out of town after two Super Bowls so it’s amazing Garrett has lasted this long.
Many point to the head coach for the offensive struggles with this team even with the injuries. The fact that Bill O’Brien was able to succeed with Brandon Weeden where the Cowboys weren’t, on top of the fact that they cut Weeden to stick with Matt Cassel is inexplicable. I expect Jason to have a long day on Monday hoping for his phone not to ring.
Jim Tomsula:
The 49ers front office took a team that was in the Super Bowl three seasons ago and ran them straight into the ground. At this point Tomsula should be reading the writing on the wall. Colin Kaepernick is most likely gone and this team is going to undergo a major transition.
Tomsula is probably not going to be the right guy for this job so why keep him on?
If you are going to start from scratch, start with a coach that you can trust to mold young talent and get the winning tradition back to San Francisco. Jim may want to buy a ticket to Super Bowl 50 because he might not have an office to watch it from.
2 very interesting coaches from the same division leading teams heading in opposite directions. I don’t think they will be fired but they are interesting possibilities:
How do the Saints fire Sean Payton you ask? I agree that it’s not easy but the Saints are a team with huge salary cap issues. Drew Brees is owed $20 million next year and may be taking his last snaps as a Saint this Sunday. That may start their rebuilding process and that may mean a new coach.
This can happen with a Bucs-Raiders type trade where a team who believes they are a head coach away from winning (think Giants, Lions, Bills, Colts) are willing to trade for said coach. Hey it worked for Tampa Bay.
In 2002 the Bucs traded first round picks from 2002 and 2003, two second round picks (2002 and 2004) and $8-million cash for Jon Gruden. They won the Super Bowl in Gruden’s first year and the Raiders began their rebuilding process.
Yes that is taking a little longer in Oakland than some expected but that is not the because they received bad picks… it’s because they made bad picks.
What I am saying here is that if the Saints want to rebuild their team, this may not be a bad option to accelerate the process and Payton can leave with his head held high. I don’t think Payton will be fired but I also think the rumors are true and there is a possibility he is walking a new sideline next year.
Lovie Smith:
I told you two teams moving in opposite directions. The Bucs are a team on the rise — I just don’t know if Lovie is the guy to fully get them there. Don’t get me wrong, I was calling for Lovie before Schiano was hired, and after he was fired after his two terrible years. What worries me about the Bucs right now is that they are not as strong defensively as you would think a Lovie Smith team should and could be.
Maybe the Tampa Cover 2 has worn out its welcome, maybe they don’t have the defensive personnel they need to successfully run the Tampa 2. Either way I am interested to see the moves Tampa makes this offseason, and it may start on Monday.
Who comes in to coach this team? Well when Dungy was fired from Tampa he landed in Indianapolis and that seemed to work out okay. Maybe we take a cue from that and reverse it. Send me Chuck! That all changes if Lovie finds a way to beat Carolina this weekend and ruin their chances of home field throughout the playoffs, though.
Stay tuned because the coaching carousel is just getting warmed up. The Chip Kelly where will he land drama is just getting started, and you know that is only the tip of the ice berg.
Wayne Cavadi's Online Portfolio 