The NFL regular season is over. The carousel of firing and hiring NFL head coaches is just beginning.
Two teams got the jump on the traditional Black Monday carnage by pink-slipping their head coaches on Sunday evening: the New York Jets canned Todd Bowles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers let go Dirk Koetter.
According to reports on a busy Monday morning, Vance Joseph has been fired by the Denver Broncos, Steve Wilks has been fired by the Arizona Cardinals (after only one season), and the Miami Dolphins fired Adam Gase.
And, in the bombshell of the day, Marvin Lewis is out as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach after 16 seasons in charge.
The Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers had previously fired their coaches in the middle of the season.
The top candidates for the Jets, as well as other teams dipping into the coaching market, include:
- former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy
- Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh
- New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels
- Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores
- Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley
- Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy
- former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell
- former Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians
The coaches fired Monday also will be options to resurface with a different team.
Bowles’ four-year tenure ended with no playoff appearances. Bowles guided the Jets to a 10-6 record in his first season, but fell a win shy of the playoffs. The Jets went 4-12 this year after going 5-11 in each of the last two seasons. Bowles’ in-game management became a focus of heavy criticism, and the stoic coach also never endeared himself to frustrated fans.
“I would like to thank coach Bowles for his dedication to the New York Jets for the last four years,” Jets Chairman and CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement after the Jets wrapped up their season with a 38-3 loss at New England. “After carefully evaluating the situation, I have concluded that this is the right direction for the organization to take. I would like to wish Todd, Taneka and their family only the best.”
Lewis’ departure ends the second-longest active coaching tenure in the NFL. New England’s Bill Belichick is wrapping up his 19th season with another postseason berth. He’s won five Super Bowls and made eight appearances in the title game, both NFL records. By contrast, Lewis leaves Cincinnati with a postseason record of 0-7, the worst in NFL history. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season.
“I didn’t deliver what the No. 1 goal is, and that’s to be world champions, and we did not get that done,” Lewis said at a news conference. “A lot of positives, but that’s the one goal as a coach you look forward to doing. Mike (Brown, the Bengals owner) and I both decided it’s time. I think it’s a tough moment for both of us, but we both realized.”
Gase was fired as part of the latest organizational shake-up after the Dolphins finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the 15th time in 17 years. Owner Stephen Ross ordered a roster overhaul and acknowledged it may take several seasons to build a winner. Ross demoted executive vice president of football operations Mike Tannenbaum, and general manager Chris Grier was given more authority.
Wilks’ firing followed a 3-13 season, the franchise’s worst record in 18 years and the worst in the NFL this season. “When I look back at last year obviously I didn’t get it right,” Cardinals team president Michael Bidwill said.
Joseph was fired after back-to-back double-digit losing seasons. The Broncos are now mired in a three-year playoff drought. Joseph is expected to be a candidate for the Bengals’ job.
Koetter, the former offensive coordinator for the Bucs, was fired after consecutive 5-11 finishes (following a 9-7 debut season). The Bucs have missed the playoffs 11 straight seasons and haven’t won a playoff game since their Super Bowl run under Jon Gruden in 2002.
With WFAN.com and AP