Courtesy of coacheshotseat.com
JIM HARBAUGH - This one is an absolute guarantee. You can bet your house, your car, and your 2nd wife's ring on the fact that Jim Harbaugh will not be the coach of the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. It's been talked about all year. The 49ers are absolutely fed up with the fact they've been to 3 straight NFC Championship games, a Super Bowl, and a 48-22-1 record. The big difference between normal dismissals and this situation is that most coaches are fired for losing games, rather than just being difficult to deal with. The reports are that Harbaugh is likely headed to Michigan, and I for one can't wait to see the rivalry between Pope Urban and Harbaugh. If you're wondering what Jim Harbaugh's house is going to look like tomorrow, when he becomes the highest paid coach in all of football, here's a preview.
Courtesy of CBSSports.com
REX RYAN - This little piggy is not going to be the Jets coach on Monday. Rex Ryan has, in my opinion, always been a little bit overrated as a head coach, but he's a great defensive coordinator. Why he couldn't bring in a good offensive coordinator to help match those defenses I'll never know, but that probably says more about John Idzik than Rex. Both should be fired tomorrow, and the Jets will need a complete overhaul. New GM, new head coach, new QB. I wouldn't be surprised to see them look to the college ranks for a coach to rejuvenate their franchise. Rex is going to either be a star defensive coordinator somewhere next year, or possibly a head coach again in say some place like...
MARK TRESTMAN - Trestman has not been very good in Chicago. Blame Cutler all you want, and he likely won't be there either come the 2015 season, but Trestman and his staff will all likely be let go along with the GM. I still can't fathom why the Bears let Lovie Smith go. When the Bears have been good, they have won with stellar defense, and a conservative offense, so this move from the start confused a lot of people. Rex Ryan's dad, Buddy, was the architect behind the 85 Bears Defense, which let's face it was probably the greatest defense to ever step foot on a field. If the Bears are smart they'll hire him as their Defensive Coordinator, but they may go one step up and hire him as their new head coach.
GUS BRADLEY - The Jaguars made a move for Blake Bortles, and are still expected to draft very early in 2015 as they only have 3 wins. Bradley is 7-24 so far in two seasons with the Jags, and that's just abysmal. The owner may shock everyone by not makign a change, but this is a franchise that desperately needs a shot in the arm, before they move to London.
JOE PHILBIN - Miami is going to miss out on the playoffs again. After last year's ultimate collapse, the Dolphins put Philbin on a very short leash, and he hasn't been able to get them to the playoffs in his tenure there. The Dolphins have made the playoffs just once in the last 13 years. They believe they have a franchise QB under center, and will look to change pace by getting a new head coach starting tomorrow.
TONY SPARANO - Ok, first of all this picture isn't of Tony Sparano. It's of Raiders owner, Mark Davis. How do you take a guy with that haircut seriously during a job interview? Anyways, Tony Sparano was never expected to be back as he was just holding the spot after Dennis Allen was fired. He didn't do a terrible job, but when you're an interim head coach, anything south of making the playoffs means you are not coming back next year. The Raiders still remain in the mix for Harbaugh, but it looks more and more like he's headed to Michigan. So, you can bet they will back up a dump truck full of money to Jon Gruden's house to get him to come back to Oakland.
COACHES EVERYONE THINK WILL BE FIRED BUT PROBABLY WON'T
MIKE SMITH - If the Falcons lose to Carolina this afternoon, you can bet Mike Smith will not be their coach on Monday. Reports are even if the Falcons win, if they don't win a playoff game (likely against Arizona who has a starting QB that has as many TD passes as I do), that Smith will be gone. This is going to be a hard fought game, and as I spoke about in the last post, the winner of this game, should beat the Cardinals next week. So, there's a very very very good chance Mike Smith will not be fired this year. Falcons fans are torn on this decision, but if they lose to the Panthers today, expect the Falcons to call Jimmy Sexton regarding what interest Nick Saban would have on being their new coach.
TOM COUGHLIN - There hasn't been a lot of reports that Tom Coughlin is going to be let go after this season. He has 2 Super Bowl rings, and will almost certainly be a first ballot Hall of Famer as a coach. Coughlin has indicated he wants to coach next season, and the Giants organization is likely going to let him go out on his own terms. If he's back that likely means Eli will be back as well, and next year that Eli to Odell show should be a lot of fun to watch.
DOUG MARRONE - The Bills don't have a QB, and likely will have to go draft or trade for another one in 2015. They'll miss out on the playoffs again for the 15th straight year. That's the longest streak in the NFL. Still, they've built a good defense, have good young talent at the WR position, and if they can get a serviceable QB under center, that should get them over the hump. Marrone will be on the hot seat going into 2015, but he should get one more year. That having been said, there's almost always one firing surprise every year, and if I had to pick one, this one would be my pick, especially if they lose today to a Patriots team that already has home field advantage locked up and finish 8-8.
JEFF FISHER - I don't get why people think Jeff Fisher is such a great coach. He's a decent coach, I'll give you that, but his overall record is 167-152-1. That sounds pretty good, until you look and see that the last time he had a winning season was 2008. He's had terrible luck with injuries at QB, so that's likely why he's gotten a pass, but at some point you have to start seeing some results.
JAY GRUDEN - A month ago, everyone on the planet would have said Gruden would be one and done in Washington. Now, people aren't so sure. I think, surprisingly, both he and RGIII will be back next year, but both will be on a short leash. Gruden will have to work extensively with RGIII in the Spring and Summer to get him ready for 2015, because if they don't make the playoffs next year, he's definitely gone.
