NFL “Black Monday” Looming for Under-fire Coaches

With the conclusion of the regular season, teams will be taking stock of their current place in the league’s hierarchy. This inventory-taking usually results in the realization by some front offices that in order for their teams to take the necessary steps to become contenders in 2015, a coaching change will be required. Whether this is due to bowing to external pressure or an actual bad fit between the coach and the team is always going to be a matter of debate. One thing is certain: in a league where parity abounds, head coaches have a shorter leash than ever, and a small window in which to achieve success or at least lead their team(s) to improvement before their owners decide to go in a different direction.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh were included on this list, but at the time of going to press, Harbaugh’s departure was confirmed by the team.

The 2014 Hot Seat list should contain all the following names:

Rex Ryan

Record as head coach: 45-50 regular season; 4-2 playoffs.

Best finish: 2009-10 and 2010-11 AFC Championship game.

Consider this a simmering pot that is finally going to boil over. Ryan’s job has been on the line since………2011, maybe? Through it all, Ryan has somehow managed to emerge unscathed from years of lousy personnel moves, conservative playcalling, and poor records. Time seems to have finally run out, as one of the NFL’s brashest voices has been uncharacteristically quiet this season as his team plodded to a 4-12 record. Even in what appears to be his curtain call, New York would not go quietly into the good night, as the oft-criticized Geno Smith led the team to almost 500 yards of offense and 37 points in winning the season finale over Miami,.

Next stop? Wouldn’t Oakland and Rex Ryan be a match made in heaven?

Mike Smith

Record as head coach: 66-45 regular season; 1-4 playoffs.

Best finish: 2012-13 NFC Championship game.

Somehow, Atlanta remained in contention for the NFC South crown this season, and they stood in first place even as late as Thanksgiving Sunday. Losing 3 out of 4 in December finished off any hopes of the postseason for this team, however, and while Atlanta owner Arthur Blank is well-regarded for being one of the most patient and reasonable owners in the league, it will be hard to justify bringing back a head coach that has gone from an NFC title berth to a 10-22 record immediately after that. Matt Ryan has played well this season but was undone by turnovers, their running game still depends on the dinosaur-like plodding of Steven Jackson, and the defense has been simply horrendous, surrendering over 400 yards per game.

Next stop? An offensive coordinator position with a team that has a dependable running attack.

  Marc Trestman

Record as head coach: 13-18 regular season.

Best finish: 2013-14 NFC North 2nd place.

Though once considered an offensive mastermind during his days in the CFL, Trestman can really have no complaints at this point, following two underwhelming seasons by a Chicago team that had plenty of potential written all over it. There were plenty of options available for even a middle-of-the-road quarterback to take advantage of in players like Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, and even unspectacular but dependable tight end Martellus Bennett. Instead, Trestman’s offense has digressed from a decent 2013 to ranking in the bottom half of most major team offense categories in 2014, and Jay Cutler continues to struggle. To make matters worse, little attention appears to have been paid to improving a defensive unit that was being compared to the Buddy Ryan’s “Monsters of the Midway” not too long ago.

Next stop? Offensive coordinator. He’s waited long enough to be given at least one more chance.

Watch this space……

The following head coaches will more than likely keep their jobs for next season, but their stories may have a different ending by this time next year if they are still unable to motivate their teams to better performances next season.

Ken Whisenhunt

Whisenhunt has only just finished his first season with Tennessee, but he can ill-afford anything close to this season’s 2-14 finish in 2015. Tentative play, an uncertain quarterback situation, and a number of players who have yet to fulfill their potential all scuttled the chances of a team that looked like a decent bet to be one of the league’s most-improved in 2014.

Best hope for success: Free agency. Tennessee has about $34 million in cap room for 2015, with more space potentially coming.

Lovie Smith

The architect of Chicago’s defensive revival in the mid-2000s, Smith struggled mightily upon his return to the league this season. For most other teams that would be considered a work in progress, that might be forgivable, but in Tampa’s case, this was a team that had been tipped by many to make a big improvement this season. Instead, their front office now prepares for the #1 pick in 2015. Maybe the predictions were a season too early. In either case, Smith will need to show some turnaround next season, or he will shoulder the blame.

Best hope for success: Is Marcus Mariota going to be the spark plug here?

Jay Gruden

The mismanagement of Robert Griffin is emblematic of a general dysfunction that has plagued Washington under owner Dan Snyder. The reality is that no owner is going to fire himself, and so Gruden faces an uphill task of justifying both Snyder’s and GM Bruce Allen’s faith in him.

Best hope for success: Solve the Griffin issue. It’s gone way beyond a punchline to sports-talk jokes now.

Joe Philbin

Philbin was given a resounding vote of confidence earlier in December by team owner Stephen Ross, and this was greeted with some surprise by a fanbase that appears to have lost faith in a coach who showed abject cluelessness during the Martin/Incognito scandal last season and a different level of cluelessness pertaining to playcalling with the season on the line this year. To wit: at one point this season, Miami had not just a realistic shot at a playoff berth, which would’ve been their first since 2008, but even had an outside shot at a division crown. Ryan Tannehill seems poised to take the next step, and as long as Mike Wallace‘s attitude can be kept in check, the pieces are in place.

Best hope for success: Playoffs or bust next season. Brady and Belichick can’t dominate the AFC East forever.

Tom Coughlin

If Coughlin is the type of coach to reward key players with gifts, he had better have bought the farm for Odell Beckham, Jr. No offensive player made as big an impact on his team’s fortunes in the 2nd half of the season than Beckham did, and his electrifying performances might have saved Coughlin’s job for at least one more season. If Victor Cruz returns healthy, and once the Rashad Jennings/Andre Williams rotation finds consistency, New York might be in line for a solid bounceback season in 2015.

Best hope for success: Go back to nurturing a fearsome defensive line.

(Featured image: enterthewhirlwind.com)