Black Monday Update

Well, it’s midnight-thirty and I can’t sleep. I’ve had a full day (yesterday now actually) of chasing news about Andy Reid becoming the new coach of the Kansas City Chiefs … or not maybe. The insiders are expecting it to be finalized later today (Friday); we’ll see.

As I thought about that, it struck me that we should revisit my blog from a month ago about coaches on the hot seat and see how accurate I was. I listed 10 warming seats. Let’s take another look at each one and see how I did.

Norv Turner, Chargers – He’s gone along with GM A.J. Smith, as expected. 1 for 1 so far.

Andy Reid, Eagles – As mentioned above, he’s in line for the Chiefs job, so he obviously was fired by Philadelphia. 2 for 2.

Romeo Crennel, Chiefs – Winning two games all season will do that. It was so bad that KC Owner Clark Hunt apologized to the fans. Crennel out; GM Scott Pioli may not be far behind. 3 for 3.

Ron Rivera, Panthers – GM Marty Hurney was fired but the Panthers’ late season run has saved Rivera so far. He’s probably safe. My first miss.

Jason Garrett, Cowboys – Owner Jerry Jones is NOT HAPPY with the ‘boys 8-8 finish. There will be changes, but I think Garrett is safe for one more year. Now I’m 3 for 5.

Rex Ryan, Jets – GM Mike Tannebaum got the ax, but Rex is safe. I’d expect OC Tony Sporano to get the boot, too. Their offense was pathetic.

Chan Gailey, Bills – After three underachieving season, Gailey is done in Buffalo. I expect him to catch on as an OC somewhere. That’s now 4 for 7.

Pat Shurmur, Browns – The Browns were improved, but new owner Jimmy Haslam is cleaning house and wants his own guys. President Mike Holmgrem and GM Tom Heckert are gone, too. 5 for 8.

Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals – Going from 4-0 to 5-11 and having the worst QB situation in the entire league wasn’t good enough. Coach Whiz is out, but he’ll likely get another head job, maybe Buffalo. I’m now 6 for 9.

Mike Mularkey, Jaguars – He’s in place for now, but this may change. I expected Shad Khan to can him and bring in his own guy, and he still may do that. But it’s a miss for now. 6 for 10.

The one I missed … is Lovie Smith of the Bears. They won 10 games but didn’t make the playoffs because the Packers couldn’t beat the Vikings. That’s a tough one. He’ll land another gig, for sure.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Steve

Top 10 NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat

Well, we’ve come to that time in the NFL season. It’s Week 13, and the playoff picture is coming into focus. The teams in the hunt are clear. And the teams simply playing out the string are painfully evident.

Here’s a list of coaches likely to be out of a job soon. Some will be put out to pasture at the end of the season, some maybe sooner.

Norv Turner, Chargers – This one is past due. Norv has been turning great talent into mediocre records for years in San Diego. He and A.J. Smith are both gone.

Andy Reid, Eagles – Owner Jeffrey Lurie said before the season that a repeat of last year’s 8-8 record wasn’t good enough. I don’t see any way Philly makes it back to .500. But Andy won’t be out of work for long.

Romeo Crennel, Chiefs – There’s no two ways about it. Having one win through 12 weeks will get you fired. Question is, will GM Scott Pioli get to choose the new HC or will he also be out of work?

Ron Rivera, Panthers – GM Marty Hurney is already gone. Can his hand-picked coach Ron Rivera, only in his second season in Carolina, be far behind? He’s likely gone as a new GM will want his own guy.

Jason Garrett, Cowboys – I’m not sure on this one. Jerry says he loves him, but Jerry hates losing more than he loves anything.

Rex Ryan, Jets – This call will probably be made by Jets Owner Woody Johnson. New York loves Rex, but will his two consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance get him one more year to prove it. He’s probably coming back.

Chan Gailey, Bills – He’s a good offensive coordinator, but it is obvious that this train is only going in circles. Gailey is likely let go.

Pat Shurmur, Browns – The Browns have been playing tough, improved football the past few weeks. But new owner Jimmy Haslam may have plans to install his coach. I expect to see Shurmur follow Mike Holmgren out the door.

Ken Whisenhunt, Cardinals – The Cards’ Superbowl appearance a couple season ago bought him some time and patience. This team seems to be headed in the wrong direction. It needs a good QB. And maybe a new coach.

Mike Mularkey, Jaguars – Nice guy. Bad head coach. The skiddish nature of Blaine Gabbert hasn’t helped. Doubt to see him back in Jax next season.

So who am I missing? Where do I have the order all messed up? Sound off; give me your list.

Thanks for reading.

Steve

 

Black Monday for Missouri’s Football Teams

It’s a sad, sad Monday following a colossally weak weekend for football in the State of Missouri. As a bonkers-crazy football fan, I was looking forward to this weekend’s home games with anticipation and visions of sweeping all three games. The sweep we saw is not the one I was envisioning.

Syracuse at Missouri

The Tigers were coming off a thrilling quadruple overtime victory, earning just their second SEC win and their first on the road at Tennessee. Syracuse beat a good Louisville team the week prior, but that was at home. They wouldn’t be able to do that on the road against a rejuvenated Mizzou squad, right? Wrong.

Unfortunately my first Mizzou game of the year was a disappointing loss as the Tigers played porous defense, unable to stop the Orange’s quick passing game. As a result, Mizzou (5-6) will not be going to a bowl game this year. Not exactly what the Black & Gold faithful had in mind for its first year in the SEC.

Jets at Rams

The New York Tebows came to town on Christian Family Day hoping to spoil the Rams hopes to continue ascending up the ranks of improving NFL teams. After managing to tie the mighty 49ers on the road last week, St. Louis had its sights on a big home win. Tebow had little effect on the game, but the Jets running game and defense did plenty. Other than the Rams’ opening touchdown drive, the offense was anemic and the defense couldn’t stop New York’s running game. Both teams had the same plan – run the ball, play tough D. Only one was able to execute. The Rams fell to 3-6-1 and any hopes of competing for a Wild Card spot were put to bed. 


Bengals at Chiefs 
Cincinnati, coming off a huge home win over the New York Football Giants, was hoping and easy path to its fifth win of the season in Kansas City. The Chiefs entered the game with only one win, but the team had played the Steelers tough in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football and hoped to ride that positive momentum double its season win total. Didn’t happen. I have Chiefs season tickets, and thankfully, I couldn’t attend the game. My son took some Mizzou buddies to their first ever Chiefs game … it was ugly. The only thing more embarrassing than the play on the field was how not-full the stands were. Needless to say, the Bengals stomped the Chefs (maybe they can cook better than they play football) and set them firmly into place as the lead dog for the first pick in next spring’s NFL Draft.

As always, thanks for reading. Join the discussion. That's what makes it fun.

Steve