Black Monday

[RiverDog]

Starts tomorrow. I've often made a suggestion that the league parlay this event into a money making venture like they have with the combine and the announcing of the regular season schedule. Insist that all teams withhold their firing of their head coach, only allow one head coach firing per day for the week. That way, they can have 5 or 6 headlines.

This season, we've already had three HC's fired, Whisenhunt with the Titans, Philbin at Miami, and Chippy in Philly.

It's a near certainty that Chuck Pagano is on his way out in Indy. Tomsula at Santa Clara may be out after just one season but the real turd in the punchbowl, Trent Baalke probably stays as GM. Johnny Football racks up his first coach killing in Cleveland.

From there, it gets interesting. Two SB winning coaches could be without their teams. Tom Coughlin could either be fired or retire. There's a rumor that the Saints could trade Sean Payton, and Jerry Jones is known to have been interested in Payton in the past. And two teams reportedly on the move, the Rams and the Chargers, could decide that they owe themselves a new HC.

Am I missing anyone?

[EmeraldBullet]

I thought it was called boxing day.

[Seahawks4Ever]

I heard that Indy was going to fire Pagono last year but then they made the play offs so they kept him. I understand the one year extension they offered would have made him the lowest paid coach in the NFL. He had to know he was history when Luck went down. It makes you wonder if they wish they had kept the guy who now coaches the Cards. Awfully hard to fire a guy fighting cancer though.

[NorthHawk]

As expected Pettine was fired along with GM Farmer of the Browns.

[Seahawks4Ever]

On Fox Sunday this morning Jay Glazer reported that Petine asked the owner straight up if he was going to be around next season. The owner told him "we will talk about it on Monday". Glazer said that meant Petine was going to be fired Sunday after the game. It turns out Glazer was dead on.

On a different track, I hate to see a winner like Tom Couphlin forced in to retirement. It is another scenario of "what have you done for me lately?"

I am glad Dan Quinn survived. I am glad that Gus Bradley survived, but he must produce next season or it will be his last.

I had never heard of the guy that York hired last year to take the place of Hairball in SF. I am curious whom he comes up with next. That team has never been the same since Edward DeBartolo was forced to sell the team to his sister. I believe he sold the team to her for one dollar and his intent was to buy it back when he was reinstated but his sister stabbed him in the back and reneged. WOW! Some family, steal an NFL team from your brother just because you could get away with it.

I am so glad we have not had to worry about who are next coach was going to be and if they were going to build a winner. I remember wondering if Pete was the right hire, but he proved right away that he was.

[Hawk Sista]

Tomsula is gone too... Who woulda guessed that after his introductory interview?

I heard DQ and Garrett are safe (though the latter confuses me, haven't heard about Gus. I'm sensing that while they aren't winning, that they are improving and that is good enough.)

Jeopardized HCs not yet been fired:
Mullarky
McCoy
Campbell - (does he count?)
Pagano
Coughlin- respectful parting of ways
Peyton
Rex??
Lovie??

[NorthHawk]

Payton is a real wild card of the bunch. I read a comment that he might end up in SF if he departs from New Orleans.
They would have to work out a trade, though.

[RiverDog]

Tomsula is gone too... Who woulda guessed that after his introductory interview?

I heard DQ and Garrett are safe (though the latter confuses me, haven't heard about Gus. I'm sensing that while they aren't winning, that they are improving and that is good enough.)

Jeopardized HCs not yet been fired:
Mullarky
McCoy
Campbell - (does he count?)
Pagano
Coughlin- respectful parting of ways
Peyton
Rex??
Lovie??

Tomsula was set up to fail, not unlike Jim Zorn was a few years back. I actually feel sorry for him. The Niners might be interested in Payton, but he'd be a fool to take that job as there's better jobs out there and he'd be at the top of everyone's wish list if he doesn't return to the Saints. Payton meets with ownership Monday, and I'll bet that Jerry Jones is filling up gallon drool buckets at the thought of hiring him.

Pagano is a goner, but he'll re-surface somewhere. There's going to be a lot of jobs opening up. I heard one talking head say that no less than 8 teams will fire their HC this season. We're already at 5 and we haven't even made it to Black Monday.

Rex is safe, especially after today. Rumor was that Kelly would go to the Titans to be reunited with Mariota, but all that dirt that came out about him last week has poisoned the well. He'll go back to the colleges.

Coughlin is out. Look for a face saving joint announcement tomorrow. IMO the G-Men could be Payton's landing place as he'd already have a franchise QB and the best receiver in football plus playing in the weakest division could mean immediate success.

I heard a rumor today that Nick Saban could be returning to the NFL. If he does, he ought to have his head examined, as would the GM/owner that hires him.

I hadn't thought about Lovie, but he could be on the hot seat. I can't see how Jeff Fisher keeps his job. He walked into a gold mine in the form of the RG3 trade and he hasn't even sniffed at the playoffs.

Will Jerry Jones ever admit that he's a horrible GM? The Cowboys are the world's most expensive play toy.

[Hawk Sista]

Great points on Fisher & Jones. Garrett must have pictures of Jones or something... It's ahead scratcher. And Fish seems to ALWAYS be on the brink of success. They beat us more than they should and they upset power houses, but have the been above 8&8 this decade? Time to take a hike. I used to really like him, he's seeming more n more like a bully. We shall see.

[obiken]

Great points on Fisher & Jones. Garrett must have pictures of Jones or something... It's ahead scratcher. And Fish seems to ALWAYS be on the brink of success. They beat us more than they should and they upset power houses, but have the been above 8&8 this decade? Time to take a hike. I used to really like him, he's seeming more n more like a bully. We shall see.

The are just one good QB away from going all the way, that's all they need.

[RiverDog]

They (Rams) are just one good QB away from going all the way, that's all they need.

Truth.

The Rams and Fischer are odd. They do very well within the division, especially against us, but outside the division they're horrible. I could see this oddity happening if it were a weak division, but not the way the division has been the past 4 years or so.

Heads should start rolling soon. Payton and Pagano will both have new jobs within two weeks. I heard Nick Saban's name being mentioned again. I can't believe he's serious about coming back to the NFL. He has the sweetest job in CFB.

[obiken]

Oh no kidding he is on a gravy train at Bama! I don't see it. Maybe IF he wins another title he goes to a place like Texas where all they lack is a good HC and he goes there as a challenge, but to come back to the NFL, no way.

[RiverDog]

Oh no kidding he is on a gravy train at Bama! I don't see it. Maybe IF he wins another title he goes to a place like Texas where all they lack is a good HC and he goes there as a challenge, but to come back to the NFL, no way.

Stranger things have happened. I never thought in a million years that an individualist egotistical coach like Bill Parcells would ever work for a meddlesome owner/GM like Jerry Jones, but he did.

[Zorn76]

And then there's this:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14505 ... -extension

Pretty surprising. bot coach and GM get extensions.

[obiken]

And then there's this:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14505 ... -extension

Pretty surprising. bot coach and GM get extensions.

Surprising its a shock, all year long he was the walking dead according Adam Shefler and the other experts and Irsay keeps them both! I cannot believe this one!

[RiverDog]

A 4 year deal, no less. Without a doubt the biggest surprise of the Black Monday drama so far.

But as expected, Tom Coughlin resigned as the Giants HC:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14502 ... 12-seasons

No word yet out of the Big Easy. Jerry Jones said that Jason Garrett is safe. The Chargers appear to be standing pat with McCoy.

Mike Shannahan is interviewing with the Dolphins plus they're reportedly interested in both New England coordinators. Chip Kelly is reaching out to the Niners. Santa Clara is reportedly interested in Payton should he depart from the Saints. No word on Jeff Fisher with the Rams.

http://nfl.nbcsports.com/2016/01/04/bla ... h-firings/

[Hawktawk]

Word is that none of the owners are too impressed with Kelley openly pandering for interviews.He isn't high on the list with the mess he made in Philly. In related news It has surfaced that Kelley squabbled with Lurie over his traditional Monday evening Christmas party. Lurie apparently takes great pride in his employee party but it interfered with Kelley preparations schedule so he had basically declined to attend unless it was moved.Lurie moved the date and fired Chip a few days later anyway. You want this anal retentive controlling guy coaching your team?

I'm happy for Pagano, not so much Grigson. They wont coexist for 4 years unless they win it all next year. I think we may see a little bit of Jay Gruden vs RGIII in Pagano next year holding Lucks feet to the fire. He had already started before Luck got hurt, with comments like "hes been doing this for three years now,it isn't trigonometry" to address another dumb ass interception or fumble by Luck. I do think Irsay got that right with his coach.

Why does Shanahan get another chance? Hes won exactly one playoff game since Elway retired. He destroyed RGIIIs knee to try to save his career. His players hated him in Washington and called him the "Red Lobster". Miami would do something like that though. Thats where Holmy belongs. Nice and warm, mellow fan base, low pressure, young QB. Keep Campbell as assistant HC. Show him the ropes for 5 years and ride off into Canton.

I wish Fisher would get fired. If he got to play us 16 weeks in a row he'd win it all

[Seahawks4Ever]

I am glad that Irsay decided not to blow up his team and gave a new contract to Chuck Pagano and the GM. If we didn't have so much depth on our team this season could have been a disaster. I would have hated for Paul Allen to have had a knee jerk reaction to such a situation and decided to clean house.

Losing Luck really hurt the Colts although Hass did not perform badly he too got injured. I believe the Colts also had several other players miss significant time.

Depth, that is the key to keeping a team consistently competing for the play offs and beyond.

Depth was one of the first areas of the team that Pete and John Schneider addressed when Carroll took over the team. We all remember how many players were cut and how many players were brought in and then some times just as quickly let go the first couple of seasons in the Pete Carroll era. It may have seemed erratic to many of the so called "experts" but I know there were many of us that applauded all of the roster moves at the time and the way that Pete didn't waste time and didn't keep a player for sentimental reasons.

I remember when Shaun Alexander got hurt the tear after our first Super Bowl. We went in to Chicago and I believe were defeated by what IMHO was an inferior team. They went to the Super Bowl to be sacrificial lambs for Peyton & Co. and we went down hill.

Any way, I digress and since I am NOT trying to hijack this thread I will just wish Chuck Pagano all of the best and I hope he and his boss can right the ship because I want to see many more battles between our Russell Wilson and Indy's Andrew Luck with Wilson coming out on top and proving once again that he is indeed an ELITE QB in the NFL.

[Seahawks4Ever]

Al Davis toward the end made some very bizarre moves that hindered his team regaining the top of their division. But, Al was old and that was HUIS excuse. Mark Davis on the other hand has no such excuses. The last coach Al hired was a great coach, an assistant that many other teams are now pursuing to their new HC. What was Mark's first move after his dad passed? He fired the guy!

Now Davis is emulating daddy and trying to move back to L.A.. I can understand, to a point, the Raiders wanting to move since they have been in need of a new stadium for a long long time and the city of Oakland just has not had the money nor the political will to get something done. It would have been helpful if the people of Oakland would have supported their MLB team the A's but they have not. The A's could be in the play offs and/or the World Series and they couldn't fill all of the seats. A new stadium for the Raiders would have meant a new stadium for the A's and the people of Oakland just do not deserve a two for one deal.

I remember Roger Goodell saying that the NFL was going to help teams in smaller markets upgrade and/or build new venues but so far I cannot think of even one city Goody Two Face has ever helped. It would have been great to help the city of Oakland build a new venue for the loyal Raider fans but some how I just don't see the NFL EVER helping them as long as a Davis is the Managing General Partner of the franchise. The NFL seems will always bear a grudge because of the many law suits Al won against the NFL over the years.

Now, Mark Davis wants the NFL to approve their move to L.A.

Lots of LUCK on that one Marky Mark.

The situation for the Chargers is different. First of all, the AFL Chargers started in L.A. and only moved so that they didn't have to compete for fans with the Rams.

The people of San Diego just do not support the Chargers, even when they have had very good seasons. They don't support the Padres either, it is very sad, actually, so I would be very surprised if the NFL doesn't approve their move from San Diego to the L.A. area.

That leaves the Rams. Once they were the Cleveland Rams but moved to L.A. many many moons ago. There the Rams played in the cavernous L.A. Colosium, it was a venue that was very hard to fill. If I remember right they did move to Anaheim for a few seasons but when they couldn't get a new stadium deal they left for St. Louis which had lost the Cardinals a few years earlier when that city wouldn't build a new stadium for Bill Bidwill. So, no new stadium for Bidwill but a new stadium for Georgia Rosenbloom/ Frontier. There they have been, and now, they want a brand new stadium and a new owner with the bucks to build it him self, in California.

I don't know if L.A. can support two NFL teams when they didn't support the Rams before or the Raiders after the Rams left the first time. I mean, that was one of the reasons Al Davis moved the Raisers back to Oakland in the first place.

It has been said that cities like L.A. and San Diego just cannot support professional sports teams because there is so much other things to do, like participation sports rather than spectator sports. The same has been said for Florida too.

I know, I know, the NFL cannot just ignore such a huge lucrative market as the L.A. area. But, if you can't sell out and can't get people to tune in how are they going to generate revenue??? Why would advertisers pour money buying time when no one is watching???

[NorthHawk]

I remember Roger Goodell saying that the NFL was going to help teams in smaller markets upgrade and/or build new venues but so far I cannot think of even one city Goody Two Face has ever helped.

I believe they gave Minnesota something like $100,000,000 for their stadium and I read they offered St. Louis the same.
That's not much for a multi-billion dollar stadium, but it's still a lot of money taxpayers wouldn't have to pay.

[RiverDog]

I believe they gave Minnesota something like $100,000,000 for their stadium and I read they offered St. Louis the same.
That's not much for a multi-billion dollar stadium, but it's still a lot of money taxpayers wouldn't have to pay.

I read where the league contribution for a new Rams stadium in StL would be $2M.

The plan (Rams StL Stadium) is predicated on the league providing a $300-million loan — $100 million more than has been approved by owners. In a recent letter to the task force, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the premise that $300 million will be available is “fundamentally inconsistent” with the league's program of stadium financing.

Goodell said no proposal has been presented to increase the league's contribution beyond the current $200 million maximum, and “there can be no assurance that such a proposal would achieve the necessary support” from the 32 league owners.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp ... story.html

[Hawktawk]

The Rams are gone. The owner Stan Kroneke is going to build a world class stadium in LA whether he is approved to move or not. Thats a message to the league he has the jack to do it right without dipping into their coffers. I'm betting on them leaving St Lois. What it does to the rivalry I dont know but it does cut down on flying time doesn't it?

[RiverDog]

The Rams are gone. The owner Stan Kroneke is going to build a world class stadium in LA whether he is approved to move or not. Thats a message to the league he has the jack to do it right without dipping into their coffers. I'm betting on them leaving St Lois. What it does to the rivalry I dont know but it does cut down on flying time doesn't it?

I doubt that Kroneke moves without league approval. That's a pretty tight knit bunch we're talking about, unless you want to argue that Kroneke is the reincarnation of Al Davis.

But I'd love it if the Rams were to move back to LA. More important than the flying time would be the fact that they'd be in the same time zone. No more 10:00 am PT starts.

Plus LA is more of a natural rival for us. In their eyes, we are their little step sister. Nothing resonates more with a person from the Northwest than sticking it to a team from California.

[c_hawkbob]

Besides, as far as I know Kroenke's stadium design has ran afoul of the FAA for being too high profile too close to a runway or some such thing (I've linked it before in another discussion).

[Hawktawk]

Kroneke has stated that he is going to build a stadium whether the team is allowed to play in it or not. In other words hes willing to take a billion dollar plus gamble. The FAA thing is out there but I cant imagine it wouldn't be able to be worked around with that type of money flying around.

From a traditional standpoint the Rams make the most sense. They of the 3 teams WERE the LA RAMS originally. Raiders, been there done that, saw the movie. Chargers never were there, NFL would be removing a team from a large geographical area in far So Cal and moving them far enough north to alienate the traditional fan base.Look what has happened to the Santa Clara 9ers just moving their stadium as far as they did. Yeah the team tanked but I cant imagine seeing a Hawks game with maybe 20'000 fans in the seats of a 2 year old stadium no matter what type of year they were having.

I'm really not sure what the NFL is doing anyway. They had 2 teams in LA and neither one survived due to the 24 hr entertainment cycle in LA and that was 20 years ago!!!!!. Now they want 2, maybe 3 back? I guess it makes more sense than London but working with a couple of these cities to keep their teams there makes more sense than either.

[Hawk Sista]

The LA market is an interesting beast. I keep hearing the talking heads referring about it being the second biggest market, yet teams haven't been supported down there....San Diego either. I have literally Heard a SD fan tell my Bills fan friends "we win no matter what...if we win, we win. If we lose, you still have to go back to Buffalo!" They really just don't care that much about football to support two teams. And if we have to move divisions again and again while they spend tax payer money to prove that LA fans are more interested in brunch at Gladstone's than football, that'll suck for us.

We just returned from 4 days down there. It doesn't "feel" like one team would fly, let alone 2.

[NorthHawk]

Bucks fired Lovie Smith.
A surprise for some as they seemed to be on the rise.

[RiverDog]

As I recall, the FAA themselves did state that their concerns with Kroenke's planned stadium could be mitigated with just some relatively minor design changes. It's not a deal breaker.

Lovie Smith's getting fired was a bit of a surprise.

I wouldn't mind moving back into the AFC West. We could become the first franchise to win a Lombardi in two different conferences. I have a hunch that since we were the only team moved against our will in the last realignment that they'd give us a choice this time around.

[Zorn76]

While I'm not a big fan Lovie Smith, this was a dumb move by the Bucs.
From 2-14 to 6-10 is improvement, especially when it's being done with a rook at QB, who did very well all things considered.

He did not lose the locker room it looks like, and this decision by the Glazer almost seems impulsive.

It's also very poor timing, because there are several franchises already looking for new HC's.

Ownership would've been much better off giving him another season, at least, then maybe pull the trigger if he didn't improve to an 8-8 record or so for 2017.

It is an attractive opening for prospective coaches, if for no other reason it looks like they have their franchise QB in place. But to cut Smith after only 2 years makes little sense. They'll be more to this story, I'm sure, but I doubt it amounts to his dismissal being a good decision.

[c_hawkbob]

the Bucs are morons. Lovie had to completely gut that team before last year and had them on definite upswing posting 6 wins after only two last year. They're extremely young and talented now and had they stuck with him I think smith would have had them in the playoffs in another year or two ...

He was doing exactly what they hired him to do and they were on the right track and right on schedule.

What are they going to tell the next candidate about expectations?

I bet Winston's furious.

[mykc14]

Yeah, the Lovie Firing is a big time head scratcher to me. Nothing but improvement and upside for them. Winning 6 games with a rookie QB puts them on a nice trajectory. Doesn't make any sense.

[RiverDog]

The firing of Lovie did seem pretty Snyder-ish. But then again, we don't know everything that went on behind closed doors.

Payton looks like he's staying with Who Dat, the Chargers announced that they're sticking with McCoy. The Jags, Cowpukes, and Bills have all indicated they're sticking with their current HC's, and Detroit appears unlikely to fire Jim Caldwell. Unless the Rams can Jeff Fisher, I think we're about done with the firings.

So the next drama will be the coaching hires. Here's a summary of the open jobs so far:

Tampa Bay
NY Giants
Cleveland
Santa Clara
Philly
Miami
Tennessee

Any guesses as to who might fill those vacancies?

[obiken]

Its a butchery this year and I am shocked its not more!

[Hawktawk]

Tampa Bay reportedly moved now because teams were pursuing OC Dirk Koetter and they didn't want to lose him. He has been with them all of one year and has never been a head coach. Hence they are Tamp Bay.