NFL Firing squad is trigger-happy

Ready, aim. . . .

The trigger fingers on the NFL firing squads are so sensitive these days that even the NRA might call for more judicious use of artillery.

After last weekend’s Super Wild Card playoff losses, the blame game put crosshairs directly on Philadelphia’s Nick Sarianni, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Dallas’ Mike McCarthy, three highly respected, successful coaches.

Listen to any talk show or football broadcast and the top subject is about firing these guys.  

Sirianni was expected to lead the Eagles back to the Super Bowl, which they damn near won last season. McCarthy was supposed to get the Cowboys to the next level, which is an annual chant there.  And Tomlin’s Steelers were supposed to be in a rebuilding year but raised expectations with unexpected success that put them in the playoffs.

However, in the Wild Card games, the Eagles lost to the Tampa Bay Bucs, 32-9, while the Cowboys were outplayed by the Green Bay Packers, 48-32, and the Steelers were thrashed by the Buffalo Bills, 31-17.

Remember these were playoff, or play-in, games against decent-to-good teams. But forget perspective or any form of realistic considerations.

The specter of being fired is so prevalent that, the first question asked Tomlin in the post-game press conference began “Mike, you have a year left on your contract... “

Tomlin stepped away from the podium and walked out.

(Update: Common sense prevails — Tomlin made it clear Tuesday that he expects to return as Steelers coach next season; McCarthy is coming back for final year of contract and Eagles players are endorsing Sirianni, who is meeting owner Jeffery Lurie for "exit interview")

And that threesome is just the latest potential addition to a crazy coaching scene that is already whack.

In fact, the Coaching Carousel in both the NFL and college is spinning out of control so quickly we must rush this story before there are more changes.

It his akin to a game of musical chairs with more chairs and more people added daily and instead of stopping, the music plays ever faster.

Headliners in this madness are former New England icon Bill Belichick, who wants to continue coaching, and college national champion Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who obviously wants to return to the NFL for another shot at a Super Bowl.

Belichick chatted with Atlanta already and Harbaugh interviewed with the Chargers. 

They continue to hover atop a list of extremely successful big names who are, or soon may be, looking for their next team, such as:

—Former Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, who feigns accepting another role there even after admitting it wasn’t his idea to step down as coach.

—Mike Vrable, a respected coach at Tennessee whose firing was a surprise although he did have back-to-back losing seasons.  At first, he seemed a perfect fit with his long-time Patriots team, but crafty owner Bob Kraft had a succession plan in writing that upgraded assistant Jerod Mayo to head coach.

—Frank Reich is still respected by many after being fired in midseason by trigger-happy Carolina owner David Tepper, who, worth at least $17.5 billion, exhibits self-control as an investor, but needs to delegate his football holdings to somebody who knows what’s what. We thought it was curious that the Panthers used the No. 1 draft pick on diminutive quarterback Bryce Young to play in an outdoor, East Coast stadium, rather than 6-3, 214 CJ Stroud who went No. 2 to Houston and put the Texans in the playoffs. Hard to believe Reich made that pick and not Tepper.

Meanwhile, those empty chairs that represent open coaching jobs are drawing a lot of attention, such as:

Las Vegas Raiders: Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce seized his opportunity as interim coach replacing Josh McDaniels, who had no concept of Raider football and learned the Patriot way was a horrible fit. He lost the team and his job. Pierce, a Raider fan as a youth “Straight Outa Compton,” revived long-lost Raider swagger. Players and fans are pleading with owner Mark Davis to keep Pierce. All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby says he will leave the team if Pierce is not retained. However, Harbaugh’s name is a strong one, although Davis might ask former 49ers players how they felt about him. Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has been mentioned.

Los Angeles Chargers. HC Brandon Staley was fired Dec. 15, the day after the Raiders crushed the Chargers, 63-21, in prime time. Harbaugh already talked with the Spanos ownership and he seems to be a good fit. Harbaugh began his college coaching career in San Diego, and the Chargers have some great players, starting with quarterback Justin Herbert.

Seattle Seahawks: Don’t believe party line that demoted head coach Pete Carroll will stay with team. Expect to see him masticating gum on somebody’s sideline. He would have been an interesting candidate for the Chargers, who could use his popularity to increase fan interest and his coaching to make winners out of a pretty good roster. Meantime, the Seahawks are reportedly interviewing defensive guru Dan Quinn, coordinator of the Seahawks' defense when the team went to back-to-back Super Bowls in 2013-14. Quinn is on the hot seat as the Dallas DC after his unit's dismal performance in the blowout loss Sunday to Green Bay.

Washington Commanders: Head coach Ron Rivera was fired Jan. 8. New owner Josh Harris immediately hired former Golden State executive Bob Myers to assist the ownership group, then hired former 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters on Jan. 12 as the team's new GM. Peters, who has been in San Francisco since 2017, won Super Bowls while working in New England and Denver. Harris also hired former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman as part of an "advisory committee" that will include minority owners Magic Johnson, Mitch Rales and David Blitzer. Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been connected to several head coaching vacancies, including Washington’s. He had interview requests from five teams.

And so on and so on.

In Vegas — or online, really — BetOnline has reopened betting lines on almost all head coaching vacancies except the Las Vegas Raiders, as Antonio Pierce seems like a lock to get the full-time job. Somebody should tell Pierce, who is accepting outside interviews. 

NFL head coach odds are subject to change and will be updated in real-time on this page: https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/futures-and-props/nfl-regular-season/coaches

Next Eagles head coach (if not Nick Sirianni)

Mike Vrabel   2/3      (-150)

Bill Belichick  4/1     

Bobby Slowik 4/1     

Ben Johnson 5/1     

Jim Harbaugh          9/1     

Frank Smith  12/1   

Dan Quinn    16/1   

Mike MacDonald      16/1   

Rex Ryan                16/1   

Kellen Moore 18/1   

Todd Monken 18/1   

Pete Carroll   25/1   

Brian Callahan         28/1   

Jim Schwartz 28/1   

Aaron Glenn 33/1   

Jason Kelce  33/1   

Mike Lafleur  33/1   

Dave Canales          40/1   

Mike Kafka    40/1   

Raheem Morris        40/1   

Donovan McNabb    100/1 

Terrell Owens          200/1 

Note: Others on request.   

                              

Next Chargers head coach        

Jim Harbaugh          1/2      (-200)

Ben Johnson 4/1     

Dan Quinn    5/1     

Bill Belichick  9/1     

Eric Bieniemy          14/1   

Todd Monken 16/1   

Mike Vrabel   18/1   

Steve Wilks   20/1   

Aaron Glenn 25/1   

Brian Callahan         25/1   

Giff Smith                25/1   

Mike MacDonald      25/1   

Lincoln Riley 28/1   

Bobby Slowik 33/1   

Kellen Moore 33/1   

Leslie Frazier 33/1   

Patrick Graham       33/1   

Frank Smith  40/1   

Jim Schwartz 40/1   

Brian Flores  50/1   

Pete Carroll   50/1   

Raheem Morris        66/1   

Brian Johnson         100/1 

Deion Sanders        100/1 

Philip Rivers  100/1 

Ryan Day                100/1 

 

Next Commanders head coach

Ben Johnson 5/7      (-140)

Bobby Slowik 3/1     

Jim Harbaugh          6/1     

Bill Belichick  13/2    (+650)

Mike MacDonald      9/1     

Eric Bieniemy          12/1   

Mike Vrabel   14/1   

Raheem Morris        14/1   

Dan Quinn    22/1   

Antonio Pierce         25/1   

Brian Flores  25/1   

Kellen Moore 25/1   

Frank Smith  28/1   

Aaron Glenn 33/1   

Jim Schwartz 33/1   

Shane Waldron        35/1   

Arthur Smith  40/1   

Mike Tomlin   40/1   

Todd Monken 40/1   

Anthony Weaver      50/1   

Pete Carroll   50/1   

 

Next Cowboys head coach (if not Mike McCarthy)

Bill Belichick  4/7      (-175)

Bobby Slowik 11/2    (+550)

Mike Vrabel   6/1     

Jim Harbaugh          13/2    (+650)

Dan Quinn    8/1     

Raheem Morris        9/1     

Ben Johnson 12/1   

Kellen Moore 12/1   

Mike MacDonald      20/1   

Pete Carroll   20/1   

Todd Monken 20/1   

Aaron Glenn 33/1   

Antonio Pierce         33/1   

Brian Callahan         33/1   

Deion Sanders        33/1   

Eric Bienemy 33/1   

Frank Smith  33/1   

Mike Kafka    33/1   

Steve Wilks   33/1   

Brian Flores  40/1   

Jim Schwartz 40/1   

Mike LaFleur 40/1   

Tony Romo   40/1   

Nick Saban   50/1   

Ron Rivera    50/1   

Steve Sarkisian       50/1   

Dave Canales          66/1   

Patrick Graham       66/1   

Jimmy Johnson       100/1 

Jerry Jones   1000/1         

 

Next Falcons head coach

Bill Belichick  2/3      (-150)

Eric Bieniemy          11/4    (+275)

Bobby Slowik 10/1   

Jim Harbaugh          10/1   

Kellen Moore 10/1   

Mike Vrabel   10/1   

Ben Johnson 1299  

Raheem Morris        18/1   

Mike MacDonald      20/1   

Anthony Weaver      25/1   

Brian Callahan         25/1   

Brian Flores  25/1   

Dan Quinn    25/1   

Dave Canales          25/1   

Deion Sanders        25/1   

Nick Saban   25/1   

Aaron Glenn 33/1   

Jim Schwartz 33/1   

Ron Rivera    33/1   

Steve Wilks   33/1   

Todd Monken 33/1   

Ejiro Evero    40/1   

Pete Carroll   50/1   

Next Panthers Full Time Head Coach

Kellen Moore 2/1     

Ben Johnson 4/1     

Dan Quinn    4/1     

Mike Macdonald      5/1     

Bill Belichick  7/1     

Eric Bieniemy          9/1     

Frank Smith  11/1   

Todd Monken 11/1   

Mike Vrabel   12/1   

Chris Tabor   16/1   

Bobby Slowik 18/1   

Dave Canales          18/1   

Ejiro Evero    20/1   

Brian Callahan         25/1   

Brian Johnson         25/1   

Jim Harbaugh          25/1   

Pete Carroll   25/1   

Brian Flores  33/1   

Jim Caldwell  33/1   

Nick Saban   33/1   

Thomas Brown        33/1   

Raheem Morris        40/1   

Lincoln Riley 50/1   

Deion Sanders        100/1 

 

Next Seahawks head coach       

Dan Quinn    10/11  (-110)

Mike Vrabel   7/2      (+350)

Bobby Slowik 6/1     

Dave Canales          7/1     

Mike MacDonald      8/1     

Ben Johnson 10/1   

Jim Harbaugh          12/1   

Aaron Glenn 16/1   

Brian Callahan         16/1   

Eric Bieniemy          20/1   

Kellen Moore 20/1   

Mike LaFleur 20/1   

Todd Monken 20/1   

Bill Belichick  25/1   

Frank Smith  25/1   

Raheem Morris        28/1   

Brian Flores  35/1   

Arthur Smith  50/1   

Jim Schwartz 50/1   

Marshawn Lynch     100/1 

Richard Sherman    100/1 

 

Next Titans head coach   

Bobby Slowik 1/1     

Dan Quinn    11/4    (+275)

Antonio Pierce         6/1     

Bill Belichick  8/1     

Ben Johsnon 9/1     

Mike Kafka    10/1   

Brian Callahan         14/1   

Lincoln Riley 14/1   

Mike MacDonald      14/1   

Aaron Glenn 16/1   

Arthur Smith  25/1   

Eric Bieniemy          25/1   

Jim Harbaugh          25/1   

Todd Monken 25/1   

Raheem Morris        28/1   

Anthony Lynn          33/1   

Brian Flores  33/1   

Frank Smith  33/1   

Jim Schwartz 33/1   

Pete Carroll   33/1   

Shane Bowen          33/1   

Shane Waldron        40/1