NFL Black Monday 2014 edition

[KoryMac5]

Several coaches will be fired most notably Rex Ryan, Mike Smith, and Jim Harbaugh. Also reports have Bill Polian going back to Buffalo, should be a fun couple of days!

[JaxRed]

I heard rumors that Bears will fire their guys... and if I was Mike Smith in Atlanta I wouldn't answer my phone in the morning.

[dabvu2498]

Won't Coughlin get the ax as well?

Also rumors Jay Gruden might not survive Hurricane Dan.

[Razor Shines]

Won't Coughlin get the ax as well?

Also rumors Jay Gruden might not survive Hurricane Dan.

I can't remember who it was but there was someone reporting that Odell Beckham Jr. basically gave Coughlin another year. I'm not exactly sure why.

[dabvu2498]

I can't remember who it was but there was someone reporting that Odell Beckham Jr. basically gave Coughlin another year. I'm not exactly sure why.

That may be the dumbest thing I've ever read. I want my 5 seconds back, Razor.

[Tom Servo]

No real smoke and thus fire about Coughlin getting the axe here in NYC, I think he stays even though I think the Giants should move on. Conversely despite the fact that it seems likely, I think the Jets should keep Rex. He's a good head coach and I don't think the rumored names (Jim Mora, Hue Jackson) are an improvement.

One thing I don't get why people are saying the Niners need to hire an offensive minded head coach. I mean, I get it in theory because offense is their problem, but you can promote defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to head coach, keep the majority of the staff the same, and make a sexy hire at Offensive Coordinator to run and improve the offense.

[KoryMac5]

That was fast, Harbaugh fired by the 49ers.

http://www.49ers.com/news/article-2/49ers-Jim-Harbaugh-Mutually-Agree-to-Part-Ways/7a9cb3ac-bd21-4eb0-827e-527f0b78a529

[Tom Servo]

Rex fired in New York.
Mike Smith fired in Atlanta.
Trestman fired in Chicago.

[KoryMac5]

Rex Ryan flying to Atlanta

[Kingspoint]

Too much to post here, but a synopsis of all of the 2015 Coaching Carousel up to now...

http://bengalsjungle.com/forum/showthread.php?5142-Coaching-Carousel-2015&p=90213#post90213

[KoryMac5]

Haslett parts ways with Washington.

[Tom Servo]

Doug Marrone has the option to opt out of his contract with Buffalo but today is the last day to do it. Sounds like there is a chance it could happen.

http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/16700/sharing-thoughts-on-doug-marrones-contract-situation

[Tom Servo]

Doug Marrone has the option to opt out of his contract with Buffalo but today is the last day to do it. Sounds like there is a chance it could happen.

http://espn.go.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/16700/sharing-thoughts-on-doug-marrones-contract-situation
Wow, he did it.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12104824/doug-marrone-opts-contract-buffalo-bills

[Kingspoint]

It is dysfunctional there and he goes to the top of Coaching options. Still can't believe he did it.

[Tom Servo]

I'm guessing Marrone is the next coach of the New York Jets. Not a real upgrade over Rex but he fits a variety of checklists.

[KoryMac5]

Marrone asked the Pegulas for an extension and was told no. He asked for his assistants to be granted an extension and was told no as well. So he opted out. Many within the organization are glad he is gone, living close to Buffalo I have heard rumors he was a pretty miserable guy.

Bill Polian will also take over as football czar once his contract with ESPN is up next month.

Frank Reich has to be top of the list for Buffalo.

[KoryMac5]

Marrone also walks away with his 2015 salary as well... Wow, not a bad way to go out. Supposedly Marrone was unsure if he would mesh with Polian so he decided to leave while he was a commodity.

[KoryMac5]

Jim Schwartz is the number #1 candidate for the Bills job. Poor Buffalo.

[Sea Ray]

Marrone asked the Pegulas for an extension and was told no. He asked for his assistants to be granted an extension and was told no as well. So he opted out. Many within the organization are glad he is gone, living close to Buffalo I have heard rumors he was a pretty miserable guy.

Bill Polian will also take over as football czar once his contract with ESPN is up next month.

Frank Reich has to be top of the list for Buffalo.

If that's true then he was shown the door. It's pretty obvious that he wasn't wanted. Thanks for the inside scoop!

[Sea Ray]

Marrone also walks away with his 2015 salary as well... Wow, not a bad way to go out. Supposedly Marrone was unsure if he would mesh with Polian so he decided to leave while he was a commodity.

How'd he manage that? By definition I'd say he was fired, then.

[KoryMac5]

How'd he manage that? By definition I'd say he was fired, then.

It was part of the contract he negotiated with the Bills. He was most likely going to Cleveland without the clause and had the Bills put it in there if they wanted him badly enough. The Bills caved and he became Buffalo's coach.

[KoryMac5]

Bill Polian now staying with ESPN per Mort. Looks like he wanted Marrone to stay as coach. Felt the Buffalo job would be more involved then just a mentoring role. Buffalo looking very dysfunctional.

[Kingspoint]

I'm guessing Marrone is the next coach of the New York Jets. Not a real upgrade over Rex but he fits a variety of checklists.

I wouldn't want to work for Woody Johnson, IV. His dad, yeah. But, not him. There's better options. Too much of a circus.

[RichRed]

This just in: Dan Snyder is still the owner in Washington and probably will be for the next 30 years. In a related story, I loathe Dan Snyder for ruining my life during virtually every football season.

[Sea Ray]

It was part of the contract he negotiated with the Bills. He was most likely going to Cleveland without the clause and had the Bills put it in there if they wanted him badly enough. The Bills caved and he became Buffalo's coach.

It's amazing that any contract would include a line that one would get paid even if you quit...especially for a coach with little track record. He's not Bill Parcells

[Tom Servo]

This just in: Dan Snyder is still the owner in Washington and probably will be for the next 30 years. In a related story, I loathe Dan Snyder for ruining my life during virtually every football season.
The Skins probably would have had a lot more success over the last 10+ years if Snyder had simply never fired Marty Schottenheimer. 9 losing seasons since 2001, Marty only had 2 losing seasons in his 20 seasons as an NFL head coach.

[RichRed]

The Skins probably would have had a lot more success over the last 10+ years if Snyder had simply never fired Marty Schottenheimer. 9 losing seasons since 2001, Marty only had 2 losing seasons in his 20 seasons as an NFL head coach.

Don't get me started. Of course, Marty probably wouldn't have put up with Danny's meddling for very long anyway. Marty started the 2001 season 0-5, then went 8-3 the rest of the way, only to get the boot. Exactly 20 years earlier, Joe Gibbs (who Danny idolized) started the first season of what would become a HOF career 0-5, then went 8-3 the rest of the way. Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.

[Tom Servo]

Mike Shanahan interviewed with the Raiders. I guess hell has officially frozen over.

[Tom Servo]

Alex Marvez
‏@alexmarvez
Source tells @NFLonFOX that @Browns are parting ways with OC Kyle Shanahan after 1 season. Announcement is imminent

[Kingspoint]

Alex Marvez
‏@alexmarvez
Source tells @NFLonFOX that @Browns are parting ways with OC Kyle Shanahan after 1 season. Announcement is imminent

Shanahan didn't want to be any part of that circus and once he was told to start the joke that is Manziel, that was it for him. He asked for his release and was given it. He's going to get a lot of offers.

Here's his first:

Kyle Shanahan is interviewing for the Bills' head coaching vacancy Thursday.

Shanahan, who had his power over personnel decisions stripped in Cleveland, asked for his release from the team and was granted it. He knows he'll have teams beating down the door to interview him about both head coaching and offensive coordinator positions. The massive quarterback hole in Buffalo is a concern, but they do have plenty of talent everywhere else.

Source: Albert Breer on Twitter

[Kingspoint]

Todd Bowles and the 49er's seems like a good match.

[Joseph]

Still haven't fired Marvin yet have they?

[Kingspoint]

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

Bucs hired Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator.

It's an excellent hiring for a team that got left in a 2014 lurch when OC Jeff Tedford was diagnosed with a heart condition before the season even began. Tedford ended up coaching zero games before being released from his contract, and inexperienced QBs coach Marcus Arroyo left much to be desired as interim play-caller. Koetter oversaw consistently explosive units during his three-year tenure in Atlanta, though the cupboard was obviously well stocked. That's not the case in Tampa, but the Bucs do have a building-block talent in Mike Evans, and are likely to use the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft on a signal caller. Even with a rookie quarterback, the Bucs will be a lock to improve upon their 2014 point total of 277.

Related: Falcons


Personally, I don't think much of Dirk Koetter's ability to run an Offense. His four-headed-monster runningback committee was a poor use of talent, in my opinion. He failed to develop a TE to take over for Tony Gonzalez, even though the writing was on the wall for a long time. There's a number of other issues, but much of that is on the Hawks' management and not Koetter's fault. A Coordinator doesn't have much say in personnel.

[Chip R]

Mike Shanahan interviewed with the Raiders. I guess hell has officially frozen over.

Al probably told his son that they would hire Shanahan over his dead body.

[Tom Servo]

Personally, I don't think much of Dirk Koetter's ability to run an Offense. His four-headed-monster runningback committee was a poor use of talent, in my opinion. He failed to develop a TE to take over for Tony Gonzalez, even though the writing was on the wall for a long time. There's a number of other issues, but much of that is on the Hawks' management and not Koetter's fault. A Coordinator doesn't have much say in personnel.
I think Koetter is pretty good hire. He's overseen some overachieving offenses and Lovie needs all the help he can get when it comes to building an offense. I also think it's always a plus to have a coordinator or assistant coach on staff with some head coaching experience, and Koetter was a solid head coach at some good college programs.

I think it's kind of inexact science determining which coordinators and which coaches are truly good or bad, and how much of it is talent around them and how much of it is the coach themselves. I remember thinking it was crazy almost a decade ago when the Packers hired the 49ers Offensive Coordinator who had overseen San Francisco perform as the worst offense in the league as their head coach. And yet Mike McCarthy has a Super Bowl championship and .656 winning percentage under his belt. So who really knows anything?

[Kingspoint]

I think Koetter is pretty good hire. He's overseen some overachieving offenses and Lovie needs all the help he can get when it comes to building an offense. I also think it's always a plus to have a coordinator or assistant coach on staff with some head coaching experience, and Koetter was a solid head coach at some good college programs.

I think it's kind of inexact science determining which coordinators and which coaches are truly good or bad, and how much of it is talent around them and how much of it is the coach themselves. I remember thinking it was crazy almost a decade ago when the Packers hired the 49ers Offensive Coordinator who had overseen San Francisco perform as the worst offense in the league as their head coach. And yet Mike McCarthy has a Super Bowl championship and .656 winning percentage under his belt. So who really knows anything?

Favre and Rodgers can make anyone look really good.

But, that aside, I was only commenting from what I've seen from Koetter in Atlanta. I know nothing about him from before. One of the major issues in Atlanta was a pure lack of talent on both sides of the ball. Other than Ryan, Jones, White and Gonzalez, they had very little talent...especially on the Lines. They also completely changed their philosophy twice on blocking. That required revamping the entire Offensive Lines. They didn't recover after losing a quality Center. They again had major issues on the O-line this season, despite bringing in Mike Tice specifically to put some fire into that unit. I hope Koetter does well in Tampa Bay. I like Lovie Smith and he does need help. With what you've said about Koetter in his previous stints, I'll reserve judgement until I see what he does in Tampa Bay (not in one season). I've been surprised before by Coordinators whom I thought were done based on their past performances (see Pete Carroll's previous NFL stints before the Seahawks, and Norv Turner's results in Minnesota this season).

But, like Hue Jackson's usage of Dalton, you have to know what strength's you have and what weaknesses you have and take advantage of the one while trying to avoid the other. I didn't see that in Koetter. But, then I see about a handful any given year from Offensive Coordinators proper usage of their assets. That's because the league is too much of a copycat league and ingenuity is an asset that's believed will get you fired and labeled as naive or "college level" if it doesn't work. In the end, the opposite is true, as the copycat coaches are easily stopped defensively despite most of the rules favoring the Offense. You get a Chip Kelly and Pete Carroll (who came into Seattle with a completely different philosophy than he had at New England and New York...as I'm sure you remember very well) who go against the grain and they make it look easy despite both taking over rosters that were below par in talent.

[Tom Servo]

Interestingly, NFL media types are pointing out that Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich coached under Koetter at Boise State and Arizona State, serving as his QB coach and overall being close. Leads to the belief that Tampa could take Mariota #1.

[Kingspoint]

Interestingly, NFL media types are pointing out that Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich coached under Koetter at Boise State and Arizona State, serving as his QB coach and overall being close. Leads to the belief that Tampa could take Mariota #1.

They'd be foolish to consider anything else. Running is a just a side benefit of Mariota's game. He's right now a better pocket passer than Andy Dalton. That's not exactly saying much, but it's true, and that can't be said about any other Quarterback in the NCAA.

[KoryMac5]

Rex Ryan to get a 2nd interview with the Bills.

[KoryMac5]

Doug Marrone looks to be out of the running for a head coaching job, he may end up with the Texans as a consultant.

Looks like he bet on himself and lost.

[blumj]

Doug Marrone looks to be out of the running for a head coaching job, he may end up with the Texans as a consultant.

Looks like he bet on himself and lost.
I don't know, is it really a bad thing to get paid like the HC of the Bills without having to continue living in Buffalo?

[dabvu2498]

The Browns are loony.

http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-browns/post/_/id/11153/browns-text-message-issue-with-nfl-a-bad-look


Clearly more information is necessary to make a full judgment on whose cell phones were blowing up and why, but one thing is certain -- colleague Pat McManamon's report that the NFL is investigating Cleveland over the issue is a bad look for everyone involved, from coaching to personnel to ownership.

Earlier this week, a Cleveland.com report about former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan included a sentence about how Shanahan was disenchanted by a non-coaching Browns employee suggesting play calls to the sideline via text. If that's remotely true, that's pretty shameful. How an organization even has an outlet for something like that undercuts the coaching staff big-time. If I were Shanahan, I'd be upset, too. Simply can't let some exec try to call plays.

[Tom Servo]

Doug Marrone looks to be out of the running for a head coaching job, he may end up with the Texans as a consultant.

Looks like he bet on himself and lost.
Not really surprised if that's the case, same thing happened to Mularkey when he willing left Buffalo's head coaching position. I did think there was a chance he would get a HC job, likely with NYJ, because of all the talk about how 'respected' he is around the league.

Rex in Buffalo would be interesting. Same problems on offense the Jets, but the rumor is that Trestman will be his offensive coordinator wherever he winds up. I'm also not sure if the towel should be thrown in yet on EJ Manuel, despite popular opinion.

[KoryMac5]

Rex Ryan to Buffalo. Heard rumblings about it yesterday, Pegula must have made a good offer. Looks like a nice trio in Buffalo between Roman, Schwartz, and Rex. I wonder if any of them can play QB

[Chip R]

Rex Ryan to Buffalo. Heard rumblings about it yesterday, Pegula must have made a good offer. Looks like a nice trio in Buffalo between Roman, Schwartz, and Rex. I wonder if any of them can play QB

Problem is with Rex, all his QBs regress.

[Tom Servo]

John Fox out in Denver. Always wish him the best as a Panthers fan.

[Kingspoint]

John Fox out in Denver. Always wish him the best as a Panthers fan.

So, the rumor that wasn't a rumor, turned out to be true.

[Tom Servo]

I wonder if Elway would want to bring back his Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shanahan to Denver?

[Kingspoint]

I wonder if Elway would want to bring back his Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shanahan to Denver?

He's a lot smarter than that.

[KoryMac5]

Del Rio to the Raiders and Bowles to the Jets. San Fran stays in house with Tomsula.

[Kingspoint]

From Rotoworld w/ Rotoworld comments:

Bears hired John Fox as head coach.

It's a four-year deal. Fox is the 15th head coach in franchise history. Fox enters Chicago on the back of a gaudy 46-18 record he compiled over four years in Denver, but that was built largely on the back of Peyton Manning. Fox was fired in Denver because GM John Elway didn't believe he could take the team to the next level. Now instead of Manning Fox will be working with Jay Cutler, a quarterback who is looking more and more like a coach killer. Fox coordinates neither his offense nor defense, and is extremely conservative in the way he manages games. Fox keeps the trains on time, but doesn't make much of an impact beyond "leadership." That's important, of course, but it's an underwhelming hire for a franchise coming off a disastrous season. If the Bears are realistic, they'll be banking on Fox restoring order, not taking them to the Super Bowl.

Source: Mike Klis on Twitter