Today has been called Black Monday in the NFL for as long as I can remember, but all the real action happened Sunday night. We’ll go through each firing (and retiring) individually, but I want to state a couple of facts here first. With one exception here, this is a great day. This is a day of hope, of rebirth. This is a chance for these franchises, the Rams, the Chargers, the 49ers, the Bills, the Jaguars to fix the biggest problem on their team. To make up for the mistakes of the past.
Chip Kelly called 49ers owner Jed York last night after reports broke of his impending firing. It was not a warm and fuzzy conversation.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 1, 2017
Just look at the Dolphins, the Giants, the Falcons and the Raiders. These are teams with first or second-year head coaches that are all in the playoffs with pretty much the same rosters they had with the former regime. The Buccaneers nearly made it and finished with a winning record (9-7) with a new head coach. Hell, last year the Broncos fired John Fox, hired Gary Kubiak and won a Super Bowl. This is a day of celebration.
And don’t feel bad for the men that got shitcanned. First off, NFL coaches are like herpes. They’re almost impossible to get rid off and every few years they pop back up, screwing up your day. How else do you explain the Titans’ Mike Mularkey landing another head coaching job? Sure, he “led” Tennessee to a 9-7 finish this season, but, honestly, that would have been a 12-win team with almost any other coach.
Sayonara Sunday is the new Black Monday. #ChipKelly #TrentBaalke #MikeMcCoy
— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) January 2, 2017
The majority of these guys will end up on an NFL staff next year. Gus Bradley will probably be some kind of offensive assistant somewhere. Mike McCoy will get an offensive coordinator job. Rex Ryan will have his pick of defensive coordinator positions. The only guys you won’t see in the NFL next season are Jeff Fisher and Chip Kelly. Kelly’s NFL time is over, but he’ll land at a mid-major college in 2018 and do really well. Fisher’s ego is too big to take a coordinator job anywhere, so he’ll just never coach again. But seeing as he’ll probably end up on the NFL Network with $42 million from Stan Kreonke in the bank, no one will shed any tears for him.
Gary Kubiak steps down from Broncos
Kubiak is the only real tragic figure to focus on today. The guy comes off a Super Bowl season and still finishes 9-7 after trying to replace a Hall of Fame quarterback. Kubiak’s health has always been a concern since he suffered a “mini stroke” on the sidelines during a Houston Texans game in 2013. Kubiak missed a game this year with what was called a “complex migraine” so the writing was already on the wall. The guy wants to live and has already accomplished his career goal, winning a Super Bowl. No one can blame him for this choice.
"I love to work and I love football, but the demands of the job are no longer a good fit for me." – Gary Kubiak
📰 » https://t.co/RvJMoktQgj pic.twitter.com/KClLQePo9B
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 2, 2017
They aren’t officially calling this a “retirement,” but I can’t see a scenario where Kubiak returns to coaching again. Frankly, it would be heinous for an organization to hire him considering he could die on the field if he returns. I’m sure his grandkids want him to hang around.
Kubiak ends his head coaching career with a 87-77 record, a 5-2 record in the playoffs and a Super Bowl title. Not too bad.
Chip Kelly and Trent Baalke fired
It was a move so obvious I didn’t believe the San Francisco 49ers would actually do it. But, hey, they did, completely cleaning house in an effort to actually improve their team. Trent Baalke was evicted from the building for multiple reasons, from running Jim Harbaugh out of town, to making consecutive joke hires in Jim Tomsula and Kelly. Even Baalke, when asked why he has fired, said, “It was the right thing to do.” No shit. It was obvious, even to an idiot like Baalke, that he should be jettisoned from the organization.
49ers relieve both Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly of their duties: https://t.co/BVCDa4gpOu pic.twitter.com/tsw0r1eqQa
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 2, 2017
Kelly is one of the best coaches in college football history and that’s where he belongs. The NFL isn’t for everybody. Ask Nick Saban. Some mid major next season is going to win the Chip Kelly lottery if a big Power Five school doesn’t snatch him up first. Kelly’s NFL stint ends with a 28-25 record and an 0-1 mark in the playoffs.
Mike McCoy and San Diego consciously uncouple
Mike McCoy was a dead man walking this season. So much so that one of my preseason bold predictions was that he would NOT be the first coach fired. The Chargers have consistently under-performed with McCoy at the helm, blowing so many fourth-quarter leads that it just became expected.
Mike McCoy has been dismissed as head coach.
INFO: https://t.co/uECp1NbJTy pic.twitter.com/T64O9WryGa
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 2, 2017
McCoy’s Chargers stint ends with a 27-37 record and a 1-1 mark in the playoffs.
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