Black Monday:
Lions and Bears fire head coaches.
Black Monday lived up to its name this year, following a Black Sunday on which head coaches Jack Del Rio of the Raiders and Chuck Pagano of the Colts were shown the door.
On Monday, the Lions and Bears fired their head coaches, but the Broncos retained theirs and the Bengals left theirs hanging.
The Lions dismissed Jim Caldwell, who will leave despite a 36-28 after four years. Within hours, another coach with a notable pedigree, John Fox, was ousted by the Bears.
Bruce Arians, head coach of the Cardinals, announced his retirement. Last month, the Giants dismissed their head coach, Ben McAdoo, who was hired in 2016.
Caldwell just completed a 9-7 season with the Lions. Detroit, however, did not make the playoffs despite winning three of its first four games.
Fox was fired from his third NFL team, although it was the first time he left with a losing record (14-34).
Arians, 65, compiled a 4930-1 record in Arizona. The Cardinals missed the playoffs the past two seasons when they were 7-8-1 and 8-8.
Pagano, 57, spent six seasons in Indianapolis but was out after the Colts slumped to 4-12 this season.
Vance Joseph, the Broncos’ rookie head coach, survived Black Monday. General manager John Elway decided to retain him following a 5-11 season that in many ways was the franchise’s worst since Denver’s dismal AFL days in the 1960s.
Elway is expected to embark on yet another search for an experienced quarterback after watching his offense regress under Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch, all of them his draft picks.
Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis talked to owner Mike Brown about his future after a 7-9 season, but they reached no conclusions. The Bengals failed to make the playoffs for the second straight season. Bears extend GM: Though the Bears let Fox go after a 5-11 finish, general manager Ryan Pace got a contract extension through the 2021 season.
Pace has had some big hits in the draft such as running back Jordan Howard (2016, fifth round) and notable misses such as oft-injured receiver Kevin White (2015, first round).
His record in free agency is shaky, and he has struggled to replace some players no longer with the team such as receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, tight end Martellus Bennett and kicker Robbie Gould, now with the 49ers. Green Bay shuffle: NFL.com reported that the Packers need a general manager after assigning Ted Thompson to a new role. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen confirmed that the front office will undergo an overhaul.
ESPN also reported that the Packers cleaned out their defensive staff after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008, letting go of coordinator Dom Capers, inside linebackers coach Scott McCurley and defensive line coach Mike Trgovac. Denver shuffle: Denver news outlets reported that the Broncos were gutting their coaching staff, firing wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert, running backs coach Eric Studesville and special-teams coordinator Brock Olivo. The NBC-TV affiliate also reported that outside linebackers coach Fred Pagac and defensive backs coach Johnnie Lynn had been fired.