Annual purge
Jaguars and Chargers sack head coaches after losing NFL seasons
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers fired their coaches on Monday, hours after the end of a NFL regular season in which the two teams won just four games after being eliminated from play-off contention.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan dumped Doug Marrone after a 1-15 campaign that left Jacksonville with the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft while the Chargers axed Anthony Lynn despite his 33-31 overall record in the post.
The fired coaches joined New York Jets coach Adam Gase, dropped on Sunday after a 2-14 season, in leaving a total of six NFL coaching vacancies, with Detroit, Atlanta and Houston having finished the year under interim guidance.
Marrone, 56, took over as an interim coach for the final two games of the 2016 season and guided the Jaguars into the 2017 AFC Championship, but departs with an overall 23-43 record.
“I am committed and determined to deliver winning football to the city of Jacksonville,” Khan said in a statement. “Realising that goal requires a fresh start throughout our football operations.
“I’ll always appreciate Doug’s passion, grit and class, and I’m confident he will enjoy success in the next chapter of his career.”
The Jaguars also fired general manager Dave Caldwell in November after a 1-10 start. “As the search for our new general manager continues, now the quest begins to find a head coach who shares my ambition for the Jacksonville Jaguars and our fans, whose loyalty and faith are overdue to be rewarded,” Khan said.
Khan said the team has lacked a star quarterback but the new coach and executive will be in position to change that with several top college prospects available in the draft.
“We are in a better position today than we were a year ago,” Khan said.
Lynn, 52, was axed after a 7-9 season that ended with a four-game win streak. The Chargers went 12-4 in 2018 but slid to 5-11 in an injury-hit 2019 campaign and lost seven games this season by eight points or less, dropping three by three points or less.
“This morning I informed Anthony Lynn that we have made the decision to part ways with him as our head coach,” Chargers owner Dean Spanos said.
“This is a results-driven business and, simply put, the results of the past two years have fallen short of expectations.
“Moving forward, we will redouble our efforts to both build and maintain a championship-calibre programme.”
ELWAY STEPS DOWN
John Elway stepped down as Denver Broncos general manager on Monday after a decade in the role for the NFL team he led to two Super Bowl titles as a quarterback.
The 60-year-old left the position a day after the Broncos finished 5-11 and missed the play-offs for a fifth straight season since winning Super Bowl 50, but said he will remain as president of football operations.
Vic Fangio was retained as head coach and Elway said the new general manager he hires will have the final call on all personnel and football decisions while working closely with Fangio.
Elway guided Denver to victory in the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowls before retiring at age 38, then oversaw the decision making in building the squad that captured the 2016 Super Bowl.
Since taking over the general manager duties in 2011, Elway teams have won AFC West division crowns, played in two Super Bowls and going 96-74 (0.565) to rank fourth among active NFL general managers.