First of all I'd like to say that's it awesome that Mike Singletary is getting to stick around to prove his worth. He always did great for me when I made him my coach in Madden, it was just a matter of time until he'd get to prove it in the real world. Similar Madden 2004 proven, only now real world tested kudos to Seneca Wallace.
But this post is about Head Coaches who just got fired. Rod Marinelli of the 0-16 Lions. Romeo Crenell of the 4-12 Browns. And Eric Mangenius of the 9-7 Jets. All these teams fell below expectations, two to the point of records (The Lions not winning 1 game, the Browns not scoring an offensive touchdown for the last 6!! games). But only 2 deserved to be fired.
Marinelli...yeah why not. The Lions stink outside of Megatron but 0-16 is still embarrassing. Crennell? Well I think he's a real chill guy but he's not an amazing coach...he led a bunch of decent players to a bunch of decent records. But he's no great shakes, so while I'll miss the guy, it won't be for his words of wisdom and offensive prowess.
But Mangini? I think his plug was pulled too soon. Yes the Jets going 1-3 in December and 1-4 in their last 5 killed their playoff chances. But I think this is a case of a team too hyped too soon. Mangini is in a similar situation to Crennel...2 mediocre teams with a few talents on each side of the ball that had one great season and one decent season. But Mangini's Jets were killed far less by his lack of coaching and far more from the decline of the right arm of Brett Farve. The stats say it all:
In the first 11 games, where the Jets were 8-4, Farve had 20 TD and 11 INT
In those last 5 games (1-4), Farve had 2 TD and 11 INT
Those numbers speak pretty loudly. The Jets Defense played decent, Thomas Jones actually looked like an NFL running back after last year's suckiness, and there was hope in New York for the non NFC team. While Crennel's Browns are a team divided thanks to players saying others aren't trying and everyone accusing Savage of not doing everything he could to win, the Jets are a team united. Only that's gone now with the lost of Mangini, which I think was a very bad move. Only time will tell, but without a solid coach, it's going to be pretty hard to compete in the rough AFC East.
3 coaches fired, only 2 deserved it?
