The first couple of weeks of the post-season is the best time of the NFL year, but it always has an ominous beginning. Black Monday, right after the final Sunday of the season is when all the under-performing coaches are usually fired. This is the big news for a few days before the actual post-season games start. The timing of the firings was actually slightly better this year for their families since it happened after the new year. Sometimes, black monday falls right in the middle of the holidays. Much like black Friday after Thanksgiving, black Monday is starting earlier and earlier these days. Few coaches got fired Sunday night, not to mention Chip Kelly losing his job a week earlier. All in all, 6 coaches have left the building so far this year.
The teams looking for a new coach now are Cleveland (whats new?), San Francisco (again), Tennessee (after firing Whisenhunt mid-season), Miami, Philadelphia, and the New York Giants (after Tom Coughlin's "resignation"). The surprisingly smart decision came from the usually dumb Jim Irsay, the Colts owner. Common sense seems to have prevailed in Indy as they decided to re-sign and extend coach Chuck Pagano despite reports all Sunday claiming he will not be back. Apparently Chuck and general manager Ryan Grigson have agreed to settle their differences and work towards a common goal, which is to use Andrew Luck's immense talents to win a Super Bowl instead of wasting his prime away.
Ironically, San Francisco is looking for a new coach again in less than a year. If only they had brokered a working relationship between Jim Harbaugh and Trent Balke much like the Colts did this week, they might be in a much better position than where they are now. Out of all these teams, the Niner search might be the most intriguing only because they are looking for an upgrade in less than a year and have to make a splash to justify all that has happened in the last year. Many interesting names - some old and some new, are in the running for all these jobs including Sean Payton, who will cost some draft picks, and Mike Shanahan. Even Mike Holmgren's name is back in the mix for the Niners' job. For some of these rebuilding teams, the hiring of the coach may be the high point of their off-season. Good luck to them!
I can't believe the 2015 NFL season is already over. I took a break from blogging after last year's Super Bowl and the next thing you know, we are staring at the 2016 Super Bowl in a few weeks. I missed writing about a lot of interesting things in the sports world including the Golden State Warriors winning a NBA championship. That was the least likely event when I stopped blogging in Feb 2015. May be I should stop again next year and hope my Phoenix Suns win the championship.
The teams looking for a new coach now are Cleveland (whats new?), San Francisco (again), Tennessee (after firing Whisenhunt mid-season), Miami, Philadelphia, and the New York Giants (after Tom Coughlin's "resignation"). The surprisingly smart decision came from the usually dumb Jim Irsay, the Colts owner. Common sense seems to have prevailed in Indy as they decided to re-sign and extend coach Chuck Pagano despite reports all Sunday claiming he will not be back. Apparently Chuck and general manager Ryan Grigson have agreed to settle their differences and work towards a common goal, which is to use Andrew Luck's immense talents to win a Super Bowl instead of wasting his prime away.
Ironically, San Francisco is looking for a new coach again in less than a year. If only they had brokered a working relationship between Jim Harbaugh and Trent Balke much like the Colts did this week, they might be in a much better position than where they are now. Out of all these teams, the Niner search might be the most intriguing only because they are looking for an upgrade in less than a year and have to make a splash to justify all that has happened in the last year. Many interesting names - some old and some new, are in the running for all these jobs including Sean Payton, who will cost some draft picks, and Mike Shanahan. Even Mike Holmgren's name is back in the mix for the Niners' job. For some of these rebuilding teams, the hiring of the coach may be the high point of their off-season. Good luck to them!
I can't believe the 2015 NFL season is already over. I took a break from blogging after last year's Super Bowl and the next thing you know, we are staring at the 2016 Super Bowl in a few weeks. I missed writing about a lot of interesting things in the sports world including the Golden State Warriors winning a NBA championship. That was the least likely event when I stopped blogging in Feb 2015. May be I should stop again next year and hope my Phoenix Suns win the championship.
2 comments:
Long overdue, Aravind! ;-) Glad to see you blogging again! :-)
Coaching in the NFL does seem like a revolving door sometimes. But at least they're being paid well (if I'm not mistaken). One has to feel for the assistant coaches, coordinators and other staff though (who probably aren't being paid as well). They also tend to lose their jobs and perhaps have to uproot their families and move to new locations (if they're lucky). But I guess that's what they sign up for.
This NFL season has been weird -- lots more backup QBs than usual. The NFC is a real toss-up -- no idea if Carolina, Arizona or Seattle will emerge as the best team. The defending champion Patriots seemed like the team to beat in the AFC for a while up until injuries happened and they sputtered to the finish line. Are you going to make a pick for the Super Bowl? I'm expecting a Seahawks-Patriots rematch but Carolina and Pittsburgh might have something to say about that. Let's see who gets to play in our backyard for Super Bowl 50!
Thanks Magesh. You are absolutely right, I feel for the assistant coaches and the non-millionaires in the staff who also lose their jobs during the holiday season.
I like the Cards to win it all this season :-)
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