Not even 12 hours since the final game of the NFL’s 2013 regular season, the firing of NFL Head Coaches has already begun, with more expected.
According to the Washington Post, Mike Shanahan and the entire rest of the coaching staff have been fired from their positions with the Redskins. The team earned just three victories on the season, one year removed from making the playoffs by winning the NFC East. For the third time in the four year stint, Shanahan’s Redskins finished last in the NFC East, with a record of 14-34 in those seasons. When Mike joined the team for the 2010 campaign, the plan appeared to be for this to pave way for his son, Kyle Shanahan, to make the move up from Offensive Coordinator of the squad once his dad retired from the top spot.
Owner Dan Snyder was likely hearing the clock ticking. None of the coaches for his Washington Redskins have spent more the four seasons with the team. Norv Turner had the helm for just two seasons once Snyder got the team. Marty Schottenheimer got just one season despite his system resulting in 8 wins over the final 11 weeks of his lone season with the team. Steve Spurrier rightly only got two seasons as the “ball coach” in DC before Joe Gibbs returned for four seasons. Shanahan’s predecessor, Jim Zorn, also only got two seasons.
After four seasons at the helm in Minnesota, Leslie Frazier is no longer the head coach of the Vikings. For the third time in four years, the Vikings finished at the bottom of the NFC North division. The five wins amassed by the team was the second highest season-ending total during Frazier’s tenure. Last season’s 10-6 finish was the only winning season in the bunch, and was one win shy of matching the number of win total from the other three seasons combined (3 wins twice, 5 wins this season). During the 2012 campaign, Frazier’s Vikings qualified for the post season, but lost to the Green Bay Packers during their first playoff game. Frazier had been with Minnesota since 2007, when he started as the Defensive Coordinator. He has two Super Bowl rings, one as a player with the Chicago Bears, and the other as a coach with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cleveland Browns have parted ways with their Head Coach, Rob Chudzinski, who served in the role for just one season. During that campaign, Chudzinski coached the team to just 4 victories, but the season was marked with further turns on the QB carousel and the departure of a young runningback taken near the top of the draft. Three QBs started games for Cleveland this season: Brian Hoyer, Jason Campbell and 2012 first-round draft pick Brandon Weeden. The team traded away Trent Richardson, the RB they drafted with the third overall pick in 2012, was traded to the Colts on September 18th, 2013. He played just two games for Chudzinski’s Browns, who amassed just 4 rushing touchdowns the rest of the season.
Other coaches who might lose their job this week include Jim Schwartz of the Detroit Lions, Greg Schiano of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dennis Allen with the Oakland Raiders and Mike Munchak of the Tennessee Titans. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones remains steadfast in his support of Jason Garrett, and the New York Jets are apparently keeping Rex Ryan for at least one more season.
