LIONS, BEARS FIRE COACHES; CARDS’ ARIANS RETIRES
Cardinals’ Arians resigns; Broncos to keep Joseph.
The Lions and Bears showed their coaches the door. Bruce Arians of the Cardinals found it himself. And Vance Joseph of the Broncos remained gainfully employed despite enduring the sort of season that doesn’t go down well in Denver.
What is traditionally the NFL’s biggest day for firings, “Black Monday,” started with a flurry when Detroit canned Jim Caldwell and Chicago did the same to John Fox, both before noon.
“Today is the tough part of our results-oriented business,” said Fox, whose team went 14-34 and finished last in all three of his seasons in Chicago.
He and Caldwell, who went 36-28 in four seasons but didn’t win a playoff game, joined Jack Del Rio of the Raiders and Chuck Pagano of the Colts, whose owners didn’t even wait until the calendar turned, choosing to sack them after their games Sunday.
But that was it.
Arians, who has been dealing with health problems, including a bout with kidney cancer, announced he was leaving Arizona. In a teary news conference, Arians called his stay in Arizona, which included 49 victories over five seasons “a great ride.” Arians, 65, said an eye-opener came over the summer when his wife told him his son, Jake, was soon to turn 40.
“It hit me like a ton of bricks, that I missed all that time,” Arians said. “That’s the culture. I probably wouldn’t change anything.”
Joseph, a rookie head coach who oversaw a 5-11 season that included an eight-game losing streak, was on the hot seat. But his boss, John Elway, slept on it and decided to keep Joseph and not begin a search for the team’s fourth coach in five years.
“We believe in Vance as our head coach,” Elway tweeted. “Together, we’ll put in the work to improve in all areas and win in 2018.”
The Marvin Lewis situation in Cincinnati — well, it’s complicated. Lewis completed his 15th season with the Bengals, and conventional wisdom held that he might not be asked to return. He met with owner Mike Brown on Monday, but no conclusions were reached. Lewis said the decision was more complicated than management simply asking him back, and that the owner and the front office need to be on the same page.
The five vacancies (six counting the Giants, who fired Bob McAdoo in December) naturally triggered a flurry of speculation about which assistant coaches might be moving on to take over the teams.
Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks confirmed the Colts, Lions and Giants had asked him to interview. Patriots coordinators Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia were on a number of lists, and Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was considered one of New York’s top candidates.
Ravens: Defensive coordinator Dean Pees announced his retirement Monday, less than 24 hours after the Ravens were eliminated from playoff contention with a 31-27 loss to Cincinnati. Pees, 68, was Baltimore’s defensive coordinator for six years.
Bills: Coach Sean McDermott said medical test results on LeSean McCoy’s injured right ankle were negative, giving the running back a chance to play against Jacksonville in the AFC wildcard game Sunday. McCoy, who was hurt in Sunday’s win at Miami, leads Buffalo with 1,138 yards rushing, 59 catches and eight touchdowns, including two receiving. His 1,586 yards from scrimmage account for 33 percent of the Bills’ total.
Redskins: Cornerback Quinton Dunbar signed a three-year extension worth $10.5 million with $5.25 million guaranteed, according to reports. Dunbar was set to be a restricted free agent. Dunbar, 25, reached career highs with 15 games, four starts, 28 tackles and eight passes defensed this season.
Saints: Quarterback Drew Brees completed 73 percent of his passes (22 of 30) in Sunday’s loss at Tampa Bay, and in the process set a single-season NFL record with his 72 percent completion rate for the entire season.
■ New Orleans, which hosts the Panthers in an NFC wild-card game Sunday, defeated Carolina 34-13 in Charlotte in September, then beat them again 31-21 on Dec. 3 in New Orleans. Since 1970, there have been 20 teams that went 2-0 against an opponent during the regular season before facing them again in the postseason. Thirteen times those teams completed the sweep by winning the playoff game.
Patriots: Offensive coordinator McDaniels and defensive coordinator Patricia are expected to be coveted by the six or more teams looking to fill openings this offseason. With the Patriots off until their divisional playoff game Jan. 13, McDaniels and Patricia will have a chance to make their case. McDaniels and Patricia said Monday morning they hadn’t heard from any suitors yet.
Bills: Some 400 fans braved 2-degree temperatures to greet the Bills at Buffalo Niagara International Airport early Monday after Buffalo beat Miami 22-16 and clinched its first playoff berth in 17 years once Baltimore gave up a last-minute touchdown in a 31-27 loss to Cincinnati.
Sunday’s Games Monday’s games
(At) Raptors 131, Bucks 127 (OT): DeMar DeRozan scored a franchise-record 52 points as Toronto matched the team record with its 12th consecutive home victory. DeRozan made 17 of 29 from the floor and 13 of 13 free throws. Eric Bledsoe scored 29 for Milwaukee.
(At) Nets 98, Magic 95: Brooklyn rookie Jarrett Allen had a career-high 16 points, and Allen Crabbe added 15 points and blocked a potential tying 3-pointer.
(At) Timberwolves 114, Lakers 96: Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his 30th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds as Minnesota won for the seventh time in eight games.
Trail Blazers 124, (at) Bulls 120 (OT): C.J. McCollum scored 25 of his 32 points after halftime, including the tiebreaking basket with 56.5 seconds remaining, and AlFarouq Aminu added a season-high 24 points for Portland. Damian Lillard missed a fifth straight game with a hamstring strain. Kris Dunn scored 22 for Chicago.
NBA notes
Rockets: Guard James Harden will miss at least two weeks with a strained left hamstring sustained in Sunday’s game against the Lakers. He’ll then be re-evaluated, the team said. Harden leads the NBA in scoring (32.3).
Cavaliers: Point guard Isaiah Thomas will debut tonight against Portland after being sidelined since last year’s Eastern Conference finals with a hip injury. He played for Boston then. Thomas will not play on consecutive nights so soon, coach Tyronn Lue said, so he’ll miss Wednesday’s game in Boston. Lue said Thomas would come off the bench.