04/20/24
December 29, 2008
Off with their heads!: The NFL's Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets fire Rod Marinelli, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini, respectively, from their head coaching positions. Who's next?
This is one of those times when it seems as though there are more openings than available capable guys to fill them.
Other teams that were considering making a move could be thinking twice. The Oakland, Jax, Dallas, etc. coaches probably look a lot better to management today than they did yesterday.
Cowher says he's not coming back to take a team in 2009. But if he ever started listening to offers, he'd be offered record money in a hurry.
Some club is probably going to wave an ungodly sum in front of Pete Carroll, and as always, he'd be a fool to leave his current situation.
If this were a year from now, someone would try to go get Holmgren.
God forbid Parcells stares at the Lions and thinks he sees a naked woman.
Change of scenery straight swap even up: Marvin Lewis for Jon Gruden.
posted by beaverboard at 04:24 PM on December 29, 2008
This is one of those times when it seems as though there are more openings than available capable guys to fill them.
Why do they have to be big names? Just look at the teams in the playoffs: Atlanta, Arizona, Baltimore, Miami, Minnesota, Pittsburgh...all have pretty inexperienced NFL head-coaches that were relatively unknown (outside of their circles) before they were hired.
posted by bdaddy at 04:35 PM on December 29, 2008
God forbid Parcells stares at the Lions and thinks he sees a naked woman.
Hahahaha. That is great. I mean, not great if it happens...but still great.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:41 PM on December 29, 2008
God forbid Parcells stares at the Lions and thinks he sees a naked woman.
Artist's representation of the Detroit Lions as a nearly naked woman:
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:30 PM on December 29, 2008
Fraze -- you owe me therapy bills and reimbursement for the salve I had to put on my burning eyes.
posted by holden at 06:04 PM on December 29, 2008
The Cowboy coaches should all resign. They are incapable of handling all that talent. One might, also wonder what happened to Romo. What kind of performance was that? Think about all the times he blew it when the chips were down. I'm beginning to think he chokes up when the going gets tough.
posted by Feste at 09:31 PM on December 29, 2008
I was going to post something, but that photo has caused me to lose interest in practically everything. It also caused me to lose my dinner. That couldn't be attractive to man OR woman.
posted by dyams at 10:28 PM on December 29, 2008
Fraze -- you owe me therapy bills and reimbursement for the salve I had to put on my burning eyes.
Just my luck, she is one of my few celebrity encounters. Saw her close-up in the Vegas airport and she looked at me like "I see you recognize me..are you going to come bother me now?" but I had no interest in speaking with that. Why couldn't I run into Jessica Alba?
what happened to Romo. What kind of performance was that?
Not to defend the man, but from what I saw of the game he had someone in his face on nearly every throw and even ones he got off cleanly it looked like the defense knew exactly what was coming. I'm not sure the upper echelon QB's would have done much better with that pressure/playcalling. I'm also not sure he hasn't been playing hurt either as ever since the Pit. game it looks like his passes were sailing on him. Did his thumb ever heal?
posted by bdaddy at 11:41 PM on December 29, 2008
Brutal pic fraze, but completely accurate.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:06 AM on December 30, 2008
Herman Edwards is still employed? Not even a whisper of Pete Carroll speculation. I think that Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino cooled down the NFL's "hire the hot college coach of the moment" obsession.
posted by Newbie Walker at 03:42 AM on December 30, 2008
One would think Wade Phillips would be on that list sooner rather than later...
What is wrong with you people? Didn't you hear what Jerry Jones had to say about that? "The coaching staff is in place"
Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean!
posted by BornIcon at 06:56 AM on December 30, 2008
"Cowher says he's not coming back to take a team in 2009."
So he could still end up in Detroit?
posted by Mr Bismarck at 07:30 AM on December 30, 2008
Bis, technically, the Detroit Lions are a team; they're just not a professional team.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 09:01 AM on December 30, 2008
Now that the disgusting picture is out of viewing distance, I'll attempt to post again. Wow, Bdaddy, Rosie actually said that to you? What a bitch. If I was to bother her at an airport it would only be if I needed a fat ass like her to sit on my suitcase so I could shut it. I remember the baseball playoffs a few years ago at Yankee Stadium when she was sitting behind home plate with a bright yellow jacket on. A comedian the next day asked, "Who parked that school bus back there?"
Back to the topic at hand. The firings so far have been no big surprise. The Browns have been huge disappointments since Crennel took over, and he knew he (and the team) didn't do what was expected.
The Jets story is just so ironic. They thought for so long they couldn't win with Chad Pennington at QB, so they go out and get Lord Brett. Now Chad is headed to the playoffs on the AFC East champions, and the Jets are in turmoil.
The Cowboys need to make a change. Wade Phillips is notorious for having absolutely no control of his players or his locker room. This was apparent when he was the head man in Buffalo, and is apparent now. The reports say the locker room is in chaos, guys do whatever they want, always show up late for meetings, and the team had no discipline on the field either. That game Sunday was the absolute worst performance I've ever seen by a team in a must-win situation. The Cowboys have no team chemistry, and Romo, for a player with talent, is obviously not capable of being a leader. He needs to spend his off-season spending some time learning from guys like Staubach and Aikman instead of posing with overrated stars and being in TV commercials.
And Herm Edwards' time in KC should be over, too. His team absolutely quit (actually, they didn't even show up) Sunday against the Bengals. The only way I gauge coaches with teams who struggle to win games is the effort they give on the field late in the season when they don't seem to be playing for anything. If they give up, I blame that on the head coach.
It would be interesting to see the Jets get Cowher for their head coach, and lure Parcells to New York to try and run the team's operations. That would be what you call a substantial upgrade.
posted by dyams at 10:05 AM on December 30, 2008
Wilson and the Cowboy's D coordinator should be run out of town. How they could go from from a total and complete shutdown of Eli Manning in Week 15 to two 75+ yard first play from scrimmage touchdowns at the end of the next game to 50+ points to the Eagles and keep their jobs is a mystery worthy of a Dateline special.
I was glad to see Mike Singletary get picked up after taking control of the Niners. Still, I wonder who he'll have at QB in September and if the newly anointed Jed York will decide he needs to show Mommy his value from Day 1.
Despite winning the division, I think Norv Turner is gone unless he gets to the Super Bowl or at least makes a strong showing in the AFC Championship game.
@Newbie: Carroll has won the Pac 10 seven years in a row plus two national championships in that time and has been tipped for an NFL return every season, so how the bleep is he the "hot college coach of the moment"?
posted by billsaysthis at 10:38 AM on December 30, 2008
Wow, Bdaddy, Rosie actually said that to you? What a bitch.
No, sorry...that's the LOOK she gave me. She didn't actually say anything
posted by bdaddy at 10:46 AM on December 30, 2008
It would be interesting to see the Jets get Cowher for their head coach, and lure Parcells to New York to try and run the team's operations. That would be what you call a substantial upgrade.
I don't think Cowher would come back unless he had substantial control of football operations. He fought the Rooney's for that during his tenure. I just can't see him coming in to NY and letting someone else pick his groceries while he cooks the dinner, as Parcells always says. Especially someone as strong-willed as Parcells.
posted by bdaddy at 10:50 AM on December 30, 2008
"The Jets story is just so ironic. They thought for so long they couldn't win with Chad Pennington at QB, so they go out and get Lord Brett. Now Chad is headed to the playoffs on the AFC East champions, and the Jets are in turmoil."
Well, yes and no. Before the Favre trade, Chad was clearly the best QB the Jets had, which left everyone, the organization, the media, the fans underwhelmed going into this season, even with all of the other changes the Jets had already made.
No one thought that the Jets could make the playoffs with him at the helm. (and, by the way, I think Chad is a great guy, a class act and deserving of the praise he's gotten) so the Jets took a gamble. It looked good for 11 weeks and then crashed and burned.
And I believe that Chad, who was cut, had much more motivation to prove himself than he would have had he stayed in NY. He also went to a team that surrounded him with a strong running game, the wildcat offense (which regularly took snaps out of his hands) and played to his strength which is his football I.Q. and managing the game. Don't forget, it was Parcells who drafted him for the Jets.
So, while the Jets did not make the playoffs with Favre, I don't believe that they would have with Chad either.
The huge idiotic mistake they did make was allowing him to go to a division rival. That never should have happened.
posted by cjets at 02:52 PM on December 30, 2008
Apparently the Jets are talking to Cowher and the Browns are talking to Mangini. Do si do your partner!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:14 PM on December 30, 2008
I'd love to see the Jets get Cowher as would EVERY media outlet in NY but I've yet to see any indication of Cowher's interest or even that they're talking.
Of course, Woody could throw some of the Johnson family fortune at him. Maybe seven mil a year with a 7 figure playoff bonus?
LBB, do you have any sources you'd care to share?
posted by cjets at 04:56 PM on December 30, 2008
He also went to a team that surrounded him with a strong running game... and played to his strength which is his football I.Q. and managing the game.
Which begs the question, why didn't the Jets do this?
the wildcat offense (which regularly took snaps out of his hands)
Regularly?
posted by bdaddy at 05:01 PM on December 30, 2008
I'd love to see the Jets get Cowher as would EVERY media outlet in NY but I've yet to see any indication of Cowher's interest or even that they're talking.
Couple of quotes from an ESPN article
"Cowher has told friends the Jets job interested him for several reasons. First, Cowher would love to coach in the New York market. Second, two of his daughters are either going to school or working in the New York-New Jersey area."
"the [Jets] official says the Jets would be willing to do "whatever is necessary" to land Cowher if he is truly interested in taking the job."
posted by bdaddy at 05:04 PM on December 30, 2008
"Which begs the question, why didn't the Jets do this?"
I think it's a major reason Mangini was fired. But Pennington's success has as much to do with Parcells and Sparano's complete overhaul of the team, his rededication after being cut, his ability to become a team leader among other factors. Could Pennington have done this with another coach in NY? Maybe? But that other coach would have had a better defense and running game as well.
"Regularly?"
I'd guess 5 snaps a game? It's not a majority of the plays or even close to half. But it seems to be part of an offensive philosophy that minimizes the QB's involvement (and, as a result, his ability to make mistakes).
In the Fins biggest win over the Patriots, 4 of the 5 TDs were scored on a direct snap to the running back. Ronnie Brown even threw for one.
And thanks for the quotes on Cowher. If he really wants to, the Jets ownership/management would be fools not to do this.
Then again, this is the team that hired Rich Kotite (5-27 over 2 years) because, in the immortal words of owner Leon Hess, the Jets wanted to "win now."
posted by cjets at 05:49 PM on December 30, 2008
Dick Jauron's job is safe for 2009.
Here's the AP story. Please note the last 7 words of the story.
"Bills coach Dick Jauron will return next season, team owner Ralph Wilson announced Tuesday.
The decision was released in a three-paragraph statement issued by the Bills, and came shortly after Jauron met with Wilson at the owner's home in suburban Detroit."
If you're Ralph Wilson and you live in Detroit, the thought of your guy going 7-9 in Buffalo suddenly doesn't seem so bad after all.
Plus, Coach Jauron is well-liked north of the border, with his name being more appropriately pronounced up in the provinces. If my name was Jauron, darn right I'd pronounce it the right way, like a French speaking person would.
Especially if I were talking to a female sideline reporter after the game. I'd say the whole name softly and slowly, with muted passion and conviction.
posted by beaverboard at 08:20 PM on December 30, 2008
LBB, do you have any sources you'd care to share?
By now you probably already saw these, but:
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:58 PM on December 30, 2008
I did, thanks. And here's a quote from Rich Cimini with the Daily News.
"Bill Cowher has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Jets' head-coaching vacany, the Jets announced Tuesday night. "After reaching out to coach Cowher's representatives, we were informed tonight that he is not a candidate for the position," the Jets said in a statement. The two sides never got around to discussing money, length of contract or structure, a person familiar with the talks said."
posted by cjets at 12:23 AM on December 31, 2008
@billysays this: With a record like Pete Carroll's he should be the hot college coach of the moment every year. Carroll has never given a definitive no to the NFL. If you heard any speculation on Carroll possibly moving to an NFL team tell me which team it is. Nothing on wearesc.com What I am getting at is that Petrino, Saban, and Steve Spurrier cooled off the market for college coaches for the NFL. Seems to be more about going after coordinators now. The terrible trio have damaged everybody. I'm sure they're part of the reason why Boise State head coach Chris Petersen doesn't even rate as speculation fodder for the NFL's head coaching vacancies.
posted by Newbie Walker at 12:13 AM on January 01, 2009
One would think Wade Phillips would be on that list sooner rather than later, unless Jerry Jones thinks getting rid of Owens instead would solve the problems. And I think Peter King said it best that Marvin Lewis would probably like to get fired so he can start over anyplace else. Whether or not he will be or deserves to be is another question.