OT: Firing Day in NFL
Surprising, IMO, number of "firings" Sunday/Monday morning. Thus far:
Eagles fire coach Andy Reid
Bears fire coach Lovie Smith
Bills fire coach Chan Gailey
Jets fire GM Mike Tannenbaum
Browns fire coach Pat Shurmur and GM Tom Heckert
Chiefs fire coach Romeo Crennel
Jaguars fire GM Gene Smith
Chargers expected to fire coach Norv Turner and GM AJ Smith
December 31st, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^
Not to sure about him. The Bears did go 10-6. They won when they needed to and the only reason they aren't playoff bound is because they play in the toughest division in the NFC.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:23 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^
Their "family run" operation with the McCaskey family would be untenable for a control freak like Saban.
That said, he's probably looking at the success that Greg Schiano is having in Tampa and wondering why he could not do the same in Miami.
January 1st, 2013 at 8:53 AM ^
There is a lot of talk about Saban in Cleveland. Everyone realizes it is a long-shot, but if he wins another NC, he might want to seek another chance to succeed in the NFL. He was a former coach with the Browns and Trent Richardson is on the team.
Personally, I doubt he would leave Alabama, but the Browns' new owner, Jimmy Haslam, seems to be one of those guys who doesn't want to wait long for a winner and is ready to write big checks.
December 31st, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^
My in laws live in Chicago and are huge Bears fans, the prevailing feeling among them is that Lovie should've been out last year instead of/in addition to the GM Jerry Angelo. I think short of playoffs, he was gonna get fired one way or another.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^
There isn't really any loyalty there, and given the way the Bears started the season, they should've been a lock for the playoffs. Not your typical firing candidate, but I understand it.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:41 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^
Lovie has missed the playoffs 5 times in the last 6 years. The guy is 19-40 against winning teams. He also cannot hire coaches for the life of him. Why would someone hire a OC with not a single play called out of his mouth? This was a long time making.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:18 AM ^
10-6, yea I'll let him take over the Lions
December 31st, 2012 at 11:18 AM ^
I hope Schwatz gets fired, but I'm also worried that with so many other franchises out there looking to hire, we'd end up with someone even worse.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:23 AM ^
With the Fords, that's almost a certainty, but I'll be surprised if they let anybody go. If they do, it'll be Schwartz but not Mayhew, so only half the problem would be dealt with. The Fords have been even more patient with their GMs than their HCs, which is a huge part of the problem.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:29 AM ^
I hear the Fords are refusing to fire Mayhew until they can find another Millen assistant to make GM.
Honestly I'd take Smith or Turner. Maybe even Reid. Those guys at least know know how to build a functional roster of sorts. I doubt we'd win a Super Bowl with any of them, but they could at least make the Lions functional and give us a shot of attracting a hot young name later to take us over the top.
Or Gruden, you know just because you can't have a coaching search without Gruden rumors.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:53 AM ^
I have follwed Andy Reid for over a decade and think that he would be a PERFECT fit for the Lions. These past two seasons aside, he is a great culture and locker-room guy who players want to play for. The Detroit media is an order of magnitude easier to deal with than Philly, while the fan base will be far less high maintenance; I'm sure most Lions fans would wish that the HC's biggest problems are time-out management and some stubborness in the run/pass mix on offense.
The question is whether he wants to relocate his family to Detroit as he has no real ties there.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:58 AM ^
Norv Turner is a consistent under achiever. No thanks!
December 31st, 2012 at 11:33 AM ^
just for the record.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
True. Thus the difference between Senior and Junior.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:39 AM ^
Yeah, but the Ford who handles the Lions is the one who was judged too dumb to go anywhere near the car company after his time as head of the Continetal Division. They gave him a seat on the board and the Lions to get him away from the family business.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:18 AM ^
But that's par for the course with those knuckleheads.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:22 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 11:39 AM ^
Think that would result in a Hello post?
/s
December 31st, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
If the Lions want to fire Schwartz and hire Love Smith or Andy Reid, that would be fine by me.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^
Not Andy Reid. He has been terrible with the Eagles for the past six years. With the level of talent they have had there is no excuse for the performances they keep turning it.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:47 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^
Given the spate of firings, I hope the Fords aren't planning on doing a "review" and then firing Schwartz - nothing would be more Lionish than dicking around for a week and getting behind on the hiring process and settling for Plan D because you hired two weeks after everyone else did. I'm firmly in the 10-wins-or-else-in-2013 camp for both Mayhew and Schwartz.
December 31st, 2012 at 6:47 PM ^
For a team that has serious talent problems at DB, OL, RB and no consistent LB. Now 2nd and 3rd WR problems. CJ cannot do it all on his own. These problems will take years to resolve and by that time your good skilled players are getting old or have left the team via trade or FA.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 11:56 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
That's correct. If you own an NFL team, you cannot hold an ownership stake in another professional team in a city which has an NFL team. I think the rule would imply that, to be in compliance, the Illitch family would then have to cede ownership within a certain amount of time. For example, when Stan Kroenke made a bid for the Rams in 2010 (as I recall), the league told him he would have to give up his stake in the Nuggets and the Avalanche.
December 31st, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 3:09 PM ^
Yeah, I think this was discussed in a thread yesterday. Illicth could buy the Lions because the Tigers and Red Wings are in the same market, but Gilbert could not because of his ownership of the Cleveland Cavaliers being Browns territory.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:48 AM ^
I would like to respectfully throw my hat in the mix for the open (hopefully) head coaching position of the Lions.
First order of business: punch everyone in the front office in the face.
Second order of business: put feet on desk
Third order of business : light cigar
December 31st, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
Fourth order of business: get fired, but not before collecting $1 million in severance. Rinse and repeat.
December 31st, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
Ok. If you did nothing else it would still be better than Darryl Rogers and Rod Marinelli.
December 31st, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
How do Lions fans feel about Norv Turner replacing Linehan?
December 31st, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 1:00 PM ^
Agreed
December 31st, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
... replacing Jim Schwartz? Because that's exactly the kind of move the Fords would make.
Muahahahahahahaha
The perverse masochism of Lions season ticket holders is worthy of serious medical and psychological investigation.
December 31st, 2012 at 4:26 PM ^
big bucks for Lions season tickets and sit there game after game watching that shit. In watching the Bears game on TV, almost every seat in the lower stands was filled, despite the obvious coming loss. As you say, they must all be afflicted with some kind of bizarre masochism.
December 31st, 2012 at 4:37 PM ^
Or the NFL is really popular and the Lions are still an exciting team to watch. Yeah, they had a down year, which is a bummer. But many of their losses were close and they were in a division with 3 double-digit win teams. And this only one season after making the playoffs.
Let's not get overly dramatic.
December 31st, 2012 at 4:53 PM ^
"Still"? "A down year"? Maybe he was thinking about the down decade before last year.
December 31st, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^
How do I feel about Norv Turner? One step above how I feel about being set on fire.
December 31st, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
Marcus Lattimore would be an excellent choice for the Lions. Failing that, I'm sure there's some OL available with a serious season-ending knee injury that Mayhew could select.
December 31st, 2012 at 12:30 PM ^
December 31st, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
Hopefully another 1st rounder who will be a healthy scratch all season. That's how you change a franchise around. Using your first pick on guys who aren't good enough to play when healthy.
December 31st, 2012 at 2:17 PM ^