There are many things that I expect from the final week of the NFL preseason from surprising cuts to the stars of the NFL lounging on the sidelines. However, one thing last week did surprise me and that was three NFL teams firing their offensive coordinators before the season had even started.
The Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Buffalo Bills said goodbye to their offensive coordinators. So, Todd Haley (KC), Jeff Jagodzinski (TB), and Turk Schonert (BUF) are joining the rest of us in the unemployment line. This the first time in recent memory that three teams have fired an offensive/defensive coordinator before the season has even started.
I can understand the preseason is the time to work the kinks out of the system but do you really need to fire them before an actual game is played. Sure, I can understand that the team did not perform up to expectation but would you let the preseason be the judge of it.
One thing that I did note that was interesting was the comments made by Bills coach Dick Jauron before he announced the firing of Schonert. He stated that he was thinking of it the past week and that it was not planned out. That just begs the question, why do it then?
The move just makes it look that your team is in turmoil on one side of the ball and it can have a negative effect on the defense. (Note: Former head coach Brian Billick commented regarding his Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens could have imploded earlier on in the season due to their lack of offensive scoring output.) That’s why I would at least wait till the first game of the season to judge how the team plays.
At least then you can give a rational explanation of why you decided to fire your offensive coordinator.
The preseason is not an accurate judge for anything, specifically we have to remember that the Lions were undefeated last season during that time and they went winless. If you were an NFL head coach, would you place your job security on the line with 4th stringers moving the football?
Hopefully, these will be the right moves for their respective NFL teams. If not, the Bills/Chiefs/and Buccaneers head coaches might be shown the door quicker than they would like.
Who Wants to be an NFL Offensive Coordinator?
