Will another NFL head coach be fired before the end of the season?
The Dan Campbell Effect in Miami might tempt some general managers to hand out a pink slip and see if a new coach can work some magic.
What’s happening in Miami, however, is rare. According to The Indianapolis Star, there have been 19 interim coaches who have coached at least four games since 1995 and their combined winning percentage is .376.
That averages out to about one in-season firing per year. So the NFL’s next coaching change isn’t likely to happen before the annual “Black Monday” purge the day after the regular season ends.
Jim Caldwell seems to have survived the ax in Detroit. The Lions (1-6) fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive line coaches Jeremiah Washburn and Terry Heffernan on Monday.
Chuck Pagano has been feeling the heat all season, but the Colts lead the AFC South with a 3-4 record. They could be this year’s sub.-playoff team.
But if another coach is going to be fired during the season, it could happen in this pathetic division.
The Texans (2-5) are a mess. They’ve fallen behind the Falcons 42-0 and the Dolphins 41-0 this season. Bill O’Brien deserves at least some of the blame for those horrid starts, but he could be safe after apparently winning a power struggle with general manager Rick Smith.
The Texans released quarterback Ryan Mallett Tuesday, according to Pro Football Talk. There had been a rift between O’Brien and Smith because O’Brien wanted to cut Mallett after he missed the team flight to Miami Saturday and Smith overruled him.
Rick Smith was always on board with cutting Ryan Mallett, just not at a time when it would have meant having no backup QB in a game. #Texans
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) October 27, 2015
The Jaguars (2-5) probably saved Gus Bradley from a bye-week dismissal with their 34-31 comeback win over the Bills in London. But Bradley could be fired before the end of the season if Jacksonville doesn’t add a few more wins. The Titans (1-5) are off to a worse start than last year’s 2-14 team. But Ken Whisenhunt got a Super Bowl season out of Kurt Warner in 2008 and a Pro Bowl season out of Philip Rivers in 2013 when he was the Chargers’ offensive coordinator. The Titans might give him a chance with hopes of developing Marcus Mariota.
3-19 record at start of coaching term for Whisenhunt tied for second-worst since merger. Click for chart https://t.co/RS5XNfiUlf #Titans — Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) October 26, 2015
Lovie Smith’s seat heated up in Tampa Bay after the Buccaneers (2-4) blew a 24-0 lead to the Redskins.
If there were another in-season coaching change, it could come in San Diego. The Chargers (2-5) trailed the Raiders 30-6 on their way to losing 37-29 at home on Sunday. It was the Chargers’ third straight loss. They went 1-3 in December after an 8-4 start last year and missed the playoffs.
Amazing that Chuck Pagano is under ton of heat for not winning enough, but no one mentions Mike McCoy losing with an established elite QB.
— Russell Lande (@RUSSLANDE) October 25, 2015
San Diego has two winnable games in the next two weeks, at Baltimore Sunday and a Monday-night game at home against the Bears. Then comes the Chargers’ bye in Week 10. Losses in both of those games could mean the end for Mike McCoy in the middle of his third season.
Chargers’ offensive coordinator Frank Reich was mentioned by Sports Illustrated as a candidate for the head coaching job at Maryland, his alma mater. Perhaps the Chargers will give him a chance to see what he can do as an interim head coach before someone else scoops him up.
But don’t count on another head coach being fired before the end of the season.