Head Coaching Positions: Who Stays and Who Goes
Posted by boom on January 25th, 2010
The off-season has begun for 30 out of the 32 NFL teams and although it may be early for this, the prospect of many foreseeable head coaching moves has been on my mind. At the moment there are no positions open, however with a free agent pool of many notable coaches one should figure that positions will soon be open.
Coach still most likely to get fired: Raheem Morris
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Raheem Morris has not gotten it done in his first season after taking over for a fired Jon Gruden. Gruden a fan favorite led the Bucs to a 57-55 record and there only Super Bowl win. The difference between Morris and Gruden is that Gruden found a way to win with average- mediocre players, while Morris has not. Look for the Bucs to keep Morris for at least one more season to aid the development of Josh Freeman; that is if they cannot persuade Bill Cowher out of retirement.
Coach who should get fired: Wade Phillips
The Dallas Cowboys have posted a .681 winning percentage with Phillips as coach, which is best all time among coaches for the storied franchise. However it is Phillip’s “awe shucks” attitude and lack of post season wins that sends him packing. In this league regular season wins will not keep you around for long. It was in 2007 that Bill Parcells took over as general manager and hired Phillips to follow his orders. Parcells is now two seasons removed from the Cowboys organization, which is way too long of a timeframe for Phillips to not be following any orders. He must go immediately.
Coach who should not get fired: Eric Mangini
Let’s face it; besides Shaun Rogers who suffered a season ending injury the Cleveland Browns had no one noteworthy player on there roster during the season. (note: Joshua Cribbs made a name for himself during the season with spectacular special teams play). Surprisingly with a roster half full of New York Jet second stringers Mangini guided them to 5 total wins and capped the season off with four straight. This is impressive considering at the start of the season I had picked Cleveland to go winless. With that said Mangini is owed at least one more season with this group, to further develop some while replace others with better talent.
What do you guys think about the free agent pool of NFL head coaches? Will any of the above coaches be fired? Were my predictions way off on each and every pick?
Let me hear what you have to say…
January 25th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
I think we will eventually see Bill Cowher coaching the Giants. Maybe next year..?
Overall, I agree with your assessment of coaches who have not already been axed. Some of the most likely to get fired have already been removed. I am surprised Wade Phillips is staying, and am not surprised that Holmgren is keeping Mangini. I think overall, your choices are about right..
January 25th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Very nice article I must say but I think that a few of your predictions are a little off. Raheem Morris deserves another chance it was his first year and i think you can blame the qb situation because once they put in Josh Freeman they did better. Eric Mangini needs to go and Wade Philips deserves another chance. But thats just what I think but like I said before good article.
January 27th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Morris, from the looks of it will stay, mainly from the player support (aka Ronde Barber). >http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=nfl&id=257<
If he has a good year (at least 8-8) this upcoming season, they will undoubtedly keep him for the next few seasons.
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