Thus far three NFL coaches have been fired (and a fourth severed the relationship himself), and none of the teams (as of Monday night at 10:30 PM EST) were the worst teams in the league. Neither the Tampa Bay Buccaneers nor the Tennessee Titans, both 2-14 this season, parted ways with their coaches. Neither did the Jacksonville Jaguars nor Oakland Raiders, both ending the 2014 campaign at 3-13.
Getting the axe today were the following:
New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik
Back to back AFC Championship Game appearances weren’t enough to overshadow the 2014 campaign which resulted in a 4-12 record. Those two seasons were the only ones in which the Jets made the post season, and now that Rex’s overall regular season record (46-50) dipped below .500 this season, it became time for him to leave.
Signing Eric Decker to be the top wide receiver for the Jets, and then bringing the reportedly-troubled Percy Harvin into the locker room might be the reason Idzik got the boot. Or it might be because of the way the team had been structured to include too many veterans and players who would leave the team prior to the 2014 season.
Atlanta Falcons Coach Mike Smith
Despite making it to the playoffs four of his seven seasons, Mike Smith only won 1 post season game. Smith’s regular season record at the helm in Atlanta was 66-46, but the past two seasons only resulted in 10 wins total after averaging 11 wins in the earlier portion of his contract.
Smith joined the Falcons at a tenuous time for the team. The previous season, Bobby Petrino resigned via note in the locker room halfway through the season, leaving an interim coach to deal with a team starting journeyman Joey Harrington at QB in his final season where he threw a pass in a regular season NFL game.
Chicago Bears Coach Marc Trestman and GM Phil Emery
The former CFL coach was unable to bring the success he had with Montreal. Trestman was 13-19 with the Bears, including a 5-11 record in 2014.
Emery probably lost his job primarily because of signing Jay Cutler to a $120 M, 7-year contract extension. The fact that Bears teams were 23-25 under Emery (who hired Trestman) didn’t help.
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Though there are a number of head coaches who are hoping there’s no need to update this article, if more firings occur, I’ll let you know about it.
