2014-15 NFL Coaching Carousel Thread

OK, what are the likely openings?

I wonder how many of these will turn into openings.

1. Raiders
2. Bucs
3. Falcons
4. Bears
5. Titans
6. Jets
7. 49ers
8. Giants
9. Jaguars
10. Bills

Am I forgetting anyone? I'm assuming Philbin is safe.

 

There's always a surprise firing. I wouldn't be astonished if that were Jay Gruden.

 

Agreed. I would have said Lovie a couple weeks ago, now I don't think that would be a surprise.

 

I don't see in a million years the Titans dumping Whisenhunt already.

 

I tend to agree. It usually takes a complete train wreck for a team to fire a coach after one season, but I think it will happen at least once after this season. Lovie is the most likely casualty. I would hope they would give Whisenhunt a second season, but I'm at the point where almost nothing surprises me anymore. I certainly wouldn't be stunned if he was fired.

 

Regarding the 10 teams mentioned:

Raiders: Tony Sparano is just there to fill in this season. They'll look for somebody else.

Bucs: We've seen coaches get fired after one season before, but I figure Lovie sticks around for another year. The Bucs, as a whole, were poorly built under Raheem Morris and Greg Schiano (who had the same GM, if I'm not mistaken), so the team had to know this was a rebuilding year.

Falcons: Very likely, unless they manage to win the division and then surprise everyone by winning a playoff game. If Mike Smith does stick around, though, bet on some of his assistants being fired.

Bears: Emory kept Lovie around for a year, then let him go before hiring his own guy. If he dumps Trestman, then Emory himself is on thin ice. Honestly, if you fire Trestman, you send Emory packing as well, then get a GM and coach who make it clear that the Bears are rebuilding.

Titans: Not happening. The Titans will look for a QB in next year's draft for Whisenhunt to develop.

Jets: We all know Rex Ryan is gone. The question is whether John Izdik sticks around, especially when Izdik seemed to have the "we are rebuilding" mindset, while keeping Ryan, whose mindset is "we don't rebuild, we reload."

49ers: I don't know what to think. This one may depend more on what collegiate vacancies come up and how much Harbaugh wants to go back to coaching college. I doubt he wants to go to an NFL team that is clearly in rebuilding mode.

Giants: I believe he mentioned he signed an extension through 2015. That may indicate the Giants would be willing to let him leave on his own terms.

Jaguars: They were rebuilding when they hired Bradley. They had no QB when they hired Bradley and the only reason they let Gabbert play was so they could say, "Well, we tried." It's likely he gets one more season.

Bills: All this depends on how badly Pegula wants to make changes, and if that's the case, it's a new GM and coach.

And, yeah, Philbin should be safe, even if the Dolphins may now be out of the playoff hunt now that Branden Albert is out for the season.

 

And there may be two other teams to add to RJ's list:

Rams: I don't think Fisher is getting fired just yet, but the Rams might be thinking that, because they will be drafting a QB next season, that it's best to start anew with another coach.

Panthers: Gettleman has been patient with Ron Rivera, and the team's cap situation is a mess, but you wonder what will happen if they don't win the division.

 

I think the Rams have too much invested in Fisher to cut him loose.

I don't think the Bucs saw this as a rebuilding year. They were a trendy playoff pick before the season. That being said, it's usually got to be a pretty extreme case for a team to cut a coach loose after one season, especially one with a proven track record, which I guess Lovie has on some level.

I think if Harbaugh leaves San Francisco, he goes to Atlanta. He'll regret the move, but they'll give him the monster contract he wants and kiss his ass the way Baalke and York won't. I think it will be similar to the way Holmgren left Green Bay, although I'm guessing Harbaugh will do it without a title.

This could be one of those years where there are only 5-6 openings, but every time we think that's going to be the case, it winds up in the 7-10 range.

 

I think Coughlin is now almost certainly out the door.

I read on the crawl today that Glazer is reporting that the 49ers will try to trade Harbaugh during the off-season.

 

Idzik is definitely gone from the Jets given his rebuilding mode is tanking drafts and signing free agent busts.

The hilarious thought of the Jets trading for Harbaugh is Eric Mangini returning at the tight ends coach.

 

I want to see a back page Jets-Giants bidding war for Harbaugh.

 

I think Lovie holds on another year or two. The Bucs were a bad team before he showed up.