The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Being a head coach is slippery ride
were fired).”
He added that the whole Black Monday scene, which some media outlets promote the way they do actual competition, is “ridiculous.”
Payton and every other coach in pro sports recognize that change is understandable and at times necessary. As long as it is thought out and includes a plan for the future, revision can make sense.
When it’s more on an owner’s whim or due to some serious impatience, that’s another story.
Steve Wilks, fired after a 3-13 record in his first — and only — season in Arizona, might be a case in point. Had Bruce Arians not retired, he still would have been with the Cardinals, but Wilks was a hot candidate for several openings last offseason following his work as Carolina’s defensive coordinator. Barring a full-out revolt by the players, as happened with Ben McAdoo and the Giants in 2017, how is one year enough to judge a head coach’s capabilities?
Also fired on Monday were Vance Joseph in Denver and Adam Gase in Miami. On Sunday night, Todd Bowles with the Jets and Dirk Koetter with the Bucs were let go.
A year ago, Indianapolis, Tennessee, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, Arizona and the New York Giants made changes. That’s 14 franchises out of 32 with different head coaches since 2016. The Cardinals and Giants will have had three coaches from 2016-19.
Also taking a hit has been the NFL’s initiative on diversity in coaching. The Rooney Rule is exemplary in purpose, though it sometimes gets criticized for how it is implemented.
Of the eight head men released, only Koetter, Gase and McCarthy are not minorities. Just three minority head coaches remain: Ron Rivera with the Panthers, Anthony Lynn with the Chargers, and Mike Tomlin with the Steelers.
Impatience by owners can’t be blamed for the moves by the Bengals or Jets, both clearly on a downward spiral.
Otherwise, well, it normally takes at the very least three years for a coach’s program to take root. Joseph got two, Gase got three injury-ravaged years, and Koetter also got three.