Running 2012 NFL coaches carousel thread

Martz has to go next. I'm sure that announcement will be made within days, if not hours.

 

The Cutler and Forte injuries might have been the best thing that ever happened to the Bears. It gave them an opening to clean house in the front office.

 

Was it the draft that did him in, or the other parts of team-building (free agents) that sealed his fate?

Not a big Bears or Chicago media follower, but I always thought he was going to be gone after this year. The last couple seasons, as soon as the first injury hit that team, it spelled disaster (even with the playoff run last year). For a team to not have any more depth than that, given the injuries that hit all teams, is a pretty poor reflection on the front office.

 

Well, they made the NFC Championship game last year and were headed to the playoffs this year until Cutler got hurt.

There aren't many NFL teams that can survive a franchise QB getting hurt and still make the playoffs.

I'm not saying this is a bad move. I'm saying this is a team that could do well pretty quickly if they brought in the right person.

 

I would say that free agency helped mask his draft deficiencies, particularly the Julius Peppers signing. Roy Williams was a bust, but that was not unexpected. They are very fortunate that Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs have been as good as they've been for as long as they have. Forte, in fairness, was a good pick in the second round.

But he has been particularly inept drafting offensive linemen, and it shows:

2011 - OL Gabe Carimi (Mostly hurt this year)
2010 - No pick (Cutler)
2009 - No pick (Cutler)
2008 - OL Chris Williams (Hurt from the get-go; Now a guard after being drafted to be a franchise LT)
2007 - TE Greg Olsen (Good tight end, but traded to Carolina because not a fit for Martz's system)
2006 - No pick
2005 - RB Cedric Benson (Talented but troubled; Eventually released; Current conventional wisdom is that it is crazy to take a RB that high, 4th overall)
2004 - DT Tommie Harris (Star in the making, but injuries kept him off the field)
2003 - QB Rex Grossman (Bad)
2003 - DT Michael Haynes (Complete bust)
2002 - OL Marc Colombo (Always hurt, eventually became a starter in Dallas)
2001 - WR David Terrell (Complete bust)

As pathetic as it is, the '90s were even more of a horror show.

 

I think when you start going position by position, though, and also considering the age of the key players, they are in worse shape than the last two seasons would indicate. Their leading wide receiver had 37 receptions this year, for example. That's almost unfathomable in today's NFL.

 

It is, but they don't really have a go-to-type at receiver. It seems like it's almost always the case there...

 

While all this madness happens today...

I'm 42 years old, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have not fired a head coach in my lifetime. I also cannot remember, but I am sure they did under Cowher but I cannot think who it was, fire a GM or similiar position.

 

The most stable of the NFL franchises by a mile. That is an amazing fact.

So, they've fired one coach in the Super Bowl Era? That's incredible.

 

Polians to Chicago would be funny.

 

Would it be a bad move?

 

And they aren't going to fire Tomlin any time soon, if ever.

Tomlin is young enough that he could stick around another 15 or 20 years if he decided to, meaning the steelers would have three coaches during a 60-year stretch. Unbelievable.