The day after the NFL season ends is always difficult for head coaches, especially for those whose teams underperformed. Today is that day and five head coaches have already been let go.
First it was Cleveland head coach Rob Chudzinski. After one year, without a consistent starting quarterback, he was let go. The Browns ended the season on a seven game losing streak and only won four games. The Browns have gone through three different coaches in three straight seasons. It is tough to win without a consistent presence at the quarterback position obviously and that is something the Browns have not had all season. They traded running back Trent Richardson to the Colts for a first round draft and will also have a top 5 draft pick. Hopefully they use one of those picks on the quarterback of the future. Some names that have been thrown around has replacement coaches are Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase.
Next to be let go was Washington head coach Mike Shanahan. This came as absolutely no surprise as reports came out that Shanahan was ready to quit last season. After benching quarterback Robert Griffin III for “health” reasons, it was clear no one was happy with the current situation. After a very disappointing season, finishing the year 3-13, the Redskins need a lot of changes. They have problems on offense, defense, and special teams. Most importantly, they need a better year from their starting quarterback. Hopefully in the offseason he can get back to 100 percent and return to the player we saw his first year in the league. It is unclear if offensive coordinator and Mike’s son, Kyle Shanahan, will retain his job.
The Detroit Lions are a team that should be consistently making the playoffs. They have talent on both sides of the ball, but keep falling flat because of bad decisions and undisciplined play. That falls on the head coach, Jim Schwartz, who was also let go today. The beginning of his career looked promising after guiding this team to the playoffs after they wen 0-16. However, four out of the five seasons he was head coach ended in losing records. Schwartz was not happy with his players inability to avoid bad penalties, but never held players accountable. He was even seen yelling at Detroit fans who were heckling him during their overtime loss to the New York Giants that knocked them out of the playoffs.
One year after Adrian Peterson led the Vikings to the playoffs, Minnesota was unable to have a repeat performance. With their inability to making it back to the playoffs and a new stadium for next season, it was time for change. Their next goal, also to find their quarterback of the future. They brought in Josh Freeman and that was a disaster, Matt Cassel could not get it done, and Christian Ponder, the starting day opener, is not going to lead this team to a Super Bowl. It was this inability to develop a quarterback that ultimately led to him being left go. However, the players all have the highest respect for Frazier and will miss him. Minnesota plans on interviewing Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Denver defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
Tampa Bay was a team surrounded by drama. Starting the season 0-8 certainly contributed to head coach Greg Schiano AND general manager Mark Dominik being unemployed. They were expected to be one of the superior teams in the NFL with the acquisitions of Darrelle Revis, Dashon Goldson, and Vincent Jackson over the past two seasons. However, reports started surfacing that players were unhappy with Schiano’s style of coaching. The team did recover somewhat from their awful start, but it was not enough to keep either of their jobs. It is also unclear if Mike Glennon will remain the starting quarterback.
