The NFL Coach's Firing Line...Deservedly or Not?

We have reached the end of the 2008 NFL regular season and the talk around the watercoolers, on sports talk radio and between friends and family will center around the upcoming playoffs and who will be the new faces on the sidelines next season. Today, I would like to go through the annual 'head coach firing bloodbath' that has become an end of the season ritual in the NFL.

As a New England Patriots fan, I am proud of the manner in which the team carried itself throughout the season despite all of the injuries and tough, close losses. It highlighted the reason why this organization has been so good for so long. They have coaches that are teachers first; when in that teaching capacity, the players are instructed about situations of every kind so they will not be unprepared for what losing teams would call 'unforeseen'. The players that are drafted or brought in via trades or free agency have high football IQ, put football first and have no problem being a part of a machine rather than be 'the man' (listening, T.O.?). Living in Boston, MA over the years and looking not so much as the wins and losses but the manner in which the organization operates (Spygate, Shmygate), I look at other organizations with an intense amount of scrutiny and can understand why they lose. Another interesting tidbit of information is that they don't beat themselves, setting the record for fewest penalties in NFL history for a 16-game schedule. Please keep in mind that I was a huge Pats fan even back in the early 1990's during the 1-15 and 2-14 years, so believe me when say that I can feel a Lions, Chiefs, Bengals, and Raiders fan's pain.

Gone:

Romeo Crennel (Cleveland Browns): A good man who had to learn the hard way that there is a difference between head coach and coordinator. He was also tied to a General Manager in Phil Savage, who was rightgfully dumped shortly after their season ending 31-0 loss to the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Crennel is a great defensive mind, but he was plauged by the issues on the offensive side of the ball. Whether it was the quarterback issues between Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn or the diva-like behavior between receivers Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow and awful free agent signings such as Donte Stallworth (did they get the hint that he wasn't justified in receiving a $35 million contract when Jabar Gaffney beat him out late in 2007 with the Patriots?). Remember folks, there is a reason why Jim Johnson in Philadelphia and Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay have been coordinators for so long...they know their role.

The defense was competent but they were always on the field due to the ineptitude of the offense; this team did not score an offensive touchdown for final five weeks of the season and was shut out twice. This type of performance on offense is indicative of a team that could not convert third downs and turned the ball over often. My big off-season mistake for them (pre-blog life) was trading Leigh Bodden to the Lions for a 4th round pick before the season. Bodden was a integral part of the defense last season and I figured he deserved a chance to grow in the system; as we all know, you can NEVER have too many good defensive backs in the NFL. Oh yeah, can't forget about paying Shaun Rogers, a notorious career underacheiver, big money to man anchor the defensive line.

The final stake in the proverbial coffin was the stupid and asinine move by Savage to angrily reply to a fan's critical email. There is a level of professionalism expected from a check out counter at a fast food restaurant to the boardroom of a multinational corporation that people in any business capacity are expected to adhere to. In the microscope world of professional sports, Savage should have known better and realized that he, as a figurehead of an NFL would cast a negative shadow on the organization as whole. That alone, if I am an owner gives me due cause to fire him. Lastly, look at how the team finished (all losses): 16-6, 10-6, 28-9, 30-10, 14-0, and 31-0. No coach can survives these results...in the words of of Jim Mora's famous rant 'I don't care who you play...'

Rod Marinelli (Detroit Lions): Hate to see this guy get the hatchet. My co-workers at my old job would notice that I would put Marinelli quotes on my desk cubicle and they would always ask me, 'who is that?' I would feel so proud they didn't know who the author of my hidden gem of football quotes was but now I know they know who he is. Put simply, there is no recovery for going 0-16 in an NFL season. The team played hard, they competed, but they just could not get out of their own way...even when they winning, they would find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The architect of this mess was Matt 'from the booth to GM' Millen, he who drafted wide receivers four drafts in a row in the first round earlier this decade. I really can't say too much about this but that this is the official bottoming out of this franchise. They do however, have the building blocks to turn it around as they did have a solid 2008 NFL Draft, getting a franchise running back and offensive lineman. They also have Calvin Johnson(first round, 2007) who is a superstar in the making...if allowed to.

The Lions demise sits at the foot of the ownership who failed to realize that the organization was was not being run correctly despite the poor records, team chemistry, coaching and attendance. Millen was allowed to hire and fire coaches at a rate that was unfair to the players, particularly on offense. The influx of systems, players and differing terminology, stunted the growth of players they relied on and rendered them useless. The fans were alienated by ownership's obstinatance in staying with Millen and revolted; the anti-Millen websites cropped up by the dozens and this reflected onto the product on the field. This then transformed the Lions into a national media laughingstock. The Lions officially became a bad team when they refused to develop their own quarterback; Jon Kitna and Daunte Culpepper are washed up players who's best days are well behind them, yet they stuck with them. I sat back week after week thinking 'they drafted Drew Stanton in the 2nd round in 2006, why not let him develop? You can go 0-fer the season with him much less Culpepper, while Stanton at least develops.'

Lastly, this organization was woeful at best in personnel decision making. Their best defensive player, Dre' Bly was traded to the Denver Broncos in 2006 for running back Tatum Bell. Guess who was the starting running back for the Broncos yesterday? Tatum Bell. What a waste. They did the right thing in trading wide receiver Roy Williams soon after Millen was disposed of. They gained first and third round picks for him and should be able to parlay these picks into pieces to be added to the new direction for this once proud franchise and deprived fans.

Eric Mangini (New York Jets): Wow, all of the former Patriots coordinators are being fired up today...however, unlike the Crennel move, I firmly believe the Jets made the wrong move here. It all starts with why he was hired in the first place: To be another Belichick. Ownership failed to realize in the aftermath of firing the once named 'Man-genius', two factors that I will touch upon:

1) If Mangini was hired to be the next Belichick, why not give him a better chance to develop than Belichick himself got when he coached the Cleveland Browns back in the 1990's? Three years is not enough time (at least in my opinion) for a coach who took the team to the playoffs in his first season. Granted there was some drop-off in the second year, he still won 9 games this season. I firmly believe that he really did not get the proper amount of time to put his stamp on the team and present a finished product.

2) The organization tied themselves to Mangini based on the free agent shopping spree of 2008, the (now ill-fated) trade of Brett Favre and draft picks over the past three seasons. There is a philosophy that was not allowed to absorb into the players and I think back to 2006 when they made the playoffs how so much trust was earned and put into him. Why pull the plug two seasons after?

*The defensive players will now need to learn a new system and there is no telling how the financial investments made in players such as Kerry Rhodes, Vernon Gholston, David Harris, Bryan Thomas and Kris Jenkins will play out if they are now going to be asked to play a different style or position next season. Alan Faneca, Damien Woody and Brett Favre came with a high cost that will impact the salary cap in a large manner. Laverneus Coles and Chris Baker argued themselves into contract extension in successive years. The team was built to make a run for the trophy, but wilted under the rigors of the late season pressure pot of the AFC East; does the team not deserve a chance to correct the mistakes and make another run?

The biggest dagger in Mangini's fate was Chad Pennington, a player who was under contract whom they let go for nothing during training camp, came back to haunt them in the final week of the season with the playoffs on the line. Favre was brought in to replace Pennington, a player who was about class and character from the start; the players believed in him, but the coaching staff did not. So he goes to the Miami Dolphins and not only wins the AFC East, but he wins it in Giants Stadium in front of Mangini. The Jets clearly miscalculated the value of Pennington as his efficiency, leadership and intangibles cannot be measured by salary caps or depth charts. Conversly with Favre, you will see chance taking, too many mistakes (22 ints this season) and was so selfish, he hindered an entire organization (Packers) from proceeding into the off-season of 2008. Reading the lips of Mangini after yet another Favre interception last evening ('what are we doing?') tells the whole story about whether the quarterback and coach were on the same page.

The money spent by Mangini and Mike Tannenbaum (Christmas tree), will be an issue that will affect their salary cap for years to come; if the Jets make the wrong hire, they will be in last place in the AFC East for a while. This is the reason why they may have been better off keeping Mangini for at least one more season. There may have been concerns about Mangini's personality and how it affected others on the team or within the organization...well, in light of what he did to his long time mentor, (Spygate) character may have been an issue.

Maybe: Herman Edwards (Kansas City Chiefs)

Herman 'Miracle in the Meadowlands' Edwards was thrust into a tough situation when he agreed to coach an aging and rapidly declining team. He had no choice but to rebuild the team and do moderately well through the draft; the positive results in the standings however are missing. With long time General Manager Carl Peterson 'resigning' two weeks ago, there is no protection for Edwards as Peterson brought him in via a trade with the Jets. Ownership has stated that they will let the new GM pick the new head coach in light of the fact that Edwards has one year left on his contract. Ownership is not sure if they want to eat the final year if they do not necessarily have to. There are some good pieces in place for this team as Dwayne Bowe continues to develop, Larry Johnson has a backfield mate in Jamal Charles and Tony Gonzalez is still effective. In addition, they may have accidently found their QB of the future in Tyler Thigpen.

I say Edwards will be gone. There is a need for a culture change on the team and since Edwards was Peterson's guy, it will be the wise choice to begin anew. The players seem to have the skills needed to be successful in a West Coast offense, but we will see.

Maybe: Wade Phillips (Dallas Cowboys):

If a man coaches a team that has a chance to get into the playoffs just by winning one game and lays down against a bitter rival, to the tune of 44-6 nothing is guaranteed. Phillips was given a vote of confidence before the game, but now, nothing is a sure thing. Jerry Jones put together a poisonous collection of personalities in the locker room in hopes of returning to football glory. It amazes me how all of titles Jones won as Cowboys owner came with a certain manner of conducting the program, yet he believes in this new way of acquiring the quest for another championship. However, like Hank Steinbrenner will realize, after his recent free agent superstar spending spree, Jerry Jones is reaping the rewards of playing a collection of individuals against a team. Talent alone gets some wins, but teams excel when times get tough. I believe the laydown job by the players can be attributed to the coaching to some degree, but the balance of the collapse is because of Jones. Jones can take responsibility and hire someone to run the show (and thus step out of the spotlight) or continue to be glory hound like most of the players he brings in and suffer late season losses amid undeserved high expectations. Not many coaches can thrive in this environment.

Maybe: Jim Haslett (St. Louis Rams):

This organization is in deep trouble. The head coach Scott Linehan was fired 5 weeks into the season. The President has recently resigned. The players have written a letter to ownership endorsing interim coach Haslett. Nobody knows who is running things here and the entire organization needs to be revamped from top to bottom. I say he is gone. This team has pretty much bottomed out as well. Running back Stephen Jackson is a bright spot as is rookie wide receiver Donnie Avery. However, there are no defensive players of note that can be mentioned on this team and the quarterback situation must be addressed. It is evident that the organization thinks improvements are in order too; they wrote a letter to the fans on their website: http://www.stlouisrams.com/splash/

Maybe: Marvin Lewis (Cincinnatti Bengals):

Maybe the three game winning streak to end the season saved his job. This team has been beset with injuries and poor personnel decisions from the front office. Bringing back Chris Henry (thus undercutting the coach's authority), signing Cedric Benson, allowing Chad Johnson to bad mouth the organization and still letting him back in the locker room; these things doom organizations. The least the front office can do is give Lewis one more year after all of the bonehead draft picks that gave him (Henry, A.J. Nicholson, Odell Thurman, Reggie McNeal, Jonathan Joseph, and Chris Perry) to rely on. Marvin Lewis stays.

Bubble guys:

-Sean Payton, New Orlean Saints (still can't stop anyone on defense and the offense disappeared at the wrong times of the season)

-Norv Turner, San Diego Chargers (so what he made the playoffs!!)

-Dick Jauron, Buffalo Bills (there may be no other choice as an adequate replacement)

-Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars (victim of front office mistakes that screwed up the chemistry of the team)

-Tom Cable, Oakland Raiders (who else would want to work for Al Davis at this point?)

-John Gruden, Tampa Bay Buccanneers (how long can one's reputation help them keep a job?)

Good Call of the Week: San Francisco 49ers. Hiring Mike Singletary as the head coach. He changed as the team changed around him. Positively. Classic situation where Singletary is a coach that the players will play for...with pride. We'll see how long the honeymoon lasts, but I have a good feeling about this hire.