The early buzz on NFL coaching carousel with six jobs open
The traditional Black Monday for NFL head coaches became Bloody Sunday with the firings of Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke in San Francisco, Mike McCoy in San Diego, and the resignation of Gary Kubiak for health reasons in Denver.
Those axings followed pre-Week 17 ousters by the Jaguars (Gus Bradley), Rams (Jeff Fisher) and Bills (Rex Ryan).
Baalke’s success as a GM with the 49ers, it’s now clear, was dependent on how Jim Harbaugh molded and improved the players Baalke gave him. Baalke won a power struggle with Harbaugh, who headed to Michigan. The Niners became historically bad without him, and Baalke’s choice of Kelly to work with such a weak roster looks worse than hiring caretaker Jim Tomsula after Harbaugh left. At least Tomsula went 5-11, three more victories than Kelly managed.
“Despite my feelings for Trent and Chip, I felt the decision to change our football leadership was absolutely necessary,” 49ers CEO Jed York said in a statement. “The performance of this team has not lived up to my expectations or those of our fans, and that is truly disappointing. We all expected to see this team progress and develop as the season went on, but unfortunately that did not happen. That is why now is the time to find a new direction for this team.”
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who flopped in his previous head coaching try with the Broncos, will be interviewed for several of the open jobs during his team’s playoff bye week.
The new direction for the Chargers looks like it will be north, as a tenant of the Rams in the new Inglewood, Calif., palace that will open in a few years. McCoy’s team lost its last five games and finished in last place for two straight seasons in the tough AFC West. Injuries tore it apart, too, but apparently Chargers chairman Dean Spanos wants a totally fresh start when the club abandons its longtime home.
Which means both of the new teams in Los Angeles will be riding the coaching carousel. The Rams are looking at interim Jaguars coach Doug Marrone and a number of coordinators including Matt Patricia, McDaniels’ defensive counterpart with the Patriots.
The saddest news comes from Denver. Never was there a question about Gary Kubiak returning after leading the Broncos to their Super Bowl win last February. But Kubiak’s health issues forced him to step aside, disappointing fans, players and John Elway alike.
“As I told our team last night, this is an extremely difficult decision to step down as head coach,” Kubiak said in a statement released Monday morning. “I love to work and I love football, but ultimately the demands of the job are no longer a good fit for me. I gave everything I had to this team the last two seasons, but this year, in particular, has been tough on me.”
Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib said: “We love Kube, we love how he treated us. We pray he gets healthy.”
Denver won’t have any trouble filling Kubiak’s spot. One of the hot candidates, for example, is Atlanta offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, son of Mike Shanahan, who coached Elway to two Super Bowl championships. Such a hire makes a lot of sense.
Shanahan has an interview scheduled with the Jaguars, The MMQB reported.
More moves could be coming, too. Is Chuck Pagano safe in Indianapolis? Might the Saints do something with Sean Payton? What about Bears coach John Fox?
With AP