Posted in: NFL, Sports | Tagged: Chuck Pagano, entertainment, Jack Del Rio, Jim Caldwell, John Fox, nfl, sports

The Axes Start to Fall as NFL's Black Monday Begins (Updated)

Published Mon, 01 Jan 2018 10:47:14 -0600

Last updated Mon, 01 Jan 2018 12:59:01 -0600

There was no reprieve for the holiday. The annual culling of head coaches began in earnest following yesterday's earlier games and are continuing this morning. Though the first coach to go was earlier this month as the New York Giants cut ties with second year leader Bob McAdoo. Going into the weekend rumors were already flying about who was on the chopping block. Black Monday, the day after the regular season ends, always has its victims. Some times as small as a half dozen coach while others its been up in the double digits. The NFL is not a forgiving league and if you don't turn things around quickly, even the most beloved coach can be shown the door.

After their early game victory over the Houston Texans, the Indianapolis Colts fired Chuck Pagano after six season as head coach. He's had a 53-45 record with the team but has missed the playoffs for a third year in a row. This is a team that is used to winning having had Peyton Manning for years and the drafting Andrew Luck. Not making the playoffs is not acceptable.

The next domino to fall is likely just that, a domino. The Oakland Raiders fired Jack Del Rio after three seasons, something the insiders are sure they wouldn't do unless they had something big planned. Like luring John Gruden back to team. That is the speculation and part of the report from ESPN's Adam Schefter is that the deal would include partial ownership of the team. That would be a ground breaking move. With the team's plan to move to Las Vegas, having Gruden as the head coach would get a lot of people excited.

With the new year now fully in motion, more firing started happening as well. The Detroit Lions have fired Jim Caldwell at four seasons with the team, just one year after having signed a contract extension. This is an interesting job opening as most of the components for a winning team are in place, but they've just underachieved. They've had enough success over the last few years that they don't need a drastic culture change, just someone who can get the most out of the players.

And John Fox got shown the door by the Chicago Bears. He is the most intriguing name on the list so far in that he's been a head coach on a team for 16 seasons straight, but with three different teams. When the Carolina Panthers let him go, the Denver Broncos immediately grabbed him. When the Broncos let him go, the Bears immediately grabbed him. It would not surprise me at all to see him at least interviewing for some of these openings if not getting the job. He made the playoff 3 of his 9 years in Carolina, all 4 of his years in Denver and made it to the Superbowl twice. He had losing records in Chicago, but he Jay Cutler at quarterback the first two seasons then rookie Mitchell Trubisky the third. Give Fox someone like Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford or Eli Manning and he's going to put some wins on the board.

Those are likely not the only teams that will be looking for new head coaches. There are some questions about Bruce Arians coming back for the Arizona Cardinals and its unclear what the Cincinnati Bengals will do with Marvin Lewis.

Other teams that might end up making a change could be the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and even though the owner said they won't, Cleveland Browns could still make a chance once new GM John Dorsey gets settled in.

Update – Bruce Arians has made it official and has retired from coaching. The 65 year old goes out as the winningest coach in Arizona Cardinals history and has two Super Bowl rings from his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His 30 year career will best be remembered as a quarterback guru getting great play out of Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck and Carson Palmer.

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