The NFL has mastered the art of generating constant attention. One would think the end of a season would bring a similar end to the buzz around a team. Not so in this League. Firings and Hirings and intrigue have dominated the post-season chatter so far. And, your Washington Football Team is in the thick of it. Oh, and we haven’t played the first playoff game yet. We’ll see if there’s some sense to be made of it.
A Partial Oil Change
Washington’s headlines this week were all about Kliff Kingsbury. By game time on Sunday there was enough smoke around the notion that Kliff would be booted that the actual dismissal on Tuesday was anti-climatic. Adam Peters is as tight-lipped as it gets. He kept the intentions under wraps until last Friday when he let it leak out via gossip columnist Diana Russini. At the Monday presser Peters and Dan Quinn spoke words and said nothing except to bypass the chance to endorse Kliff. The next day he was gone. So was “Defensive Coordinator” Joe Whitt Jr. What to make of it?
Let’s get this out of the way: Whitt was “Fired in Place” when Dan Quinn took over the play calling duties. It was just a matter of waiting for the calendar to turn to the day after “Black Monday.”
Kingsbury was likely going also. He was either going to get hired as a Head Coach somewhere, or get released. The knock on his Offensive approach was that it was un-beatable early in a season. But, then it would hit a wall. That didn’t happen last year. But, this year was different. Without his two top Receivers on the field Jayden Daniels was left to extend plays and scramble often. Both of those are bad for a Quarterback’s health if there’s too much of either. There was. Kingsbury’s Offense works, but only if all the pieces and parts are there.
Back in the old days of carburetors on cars there were a couple of different ways and brands to get high performance. One was to put a four-barrel carb from Holley on, adjust it, and things would be just fine. It was a safe, reliable, yet somewhat boring approach. But, another was to put three separate 2-barreled carbs on. Typically these were made by Rochester. If you could get all three to be perfectly tuned the engine would scream. But, in almost no time one carb would get out of whack. The exotic “3-Deuces” meant spending inordinate hours under the hood trying to get it all synched up. Kingsbury’s Offense was like that. He even spoke to the frustration of not having all the pieces/parts together to gel. At the end of the day the whole operation screamed of fragility. In a League where injury is a given the approach is questionable.
Kliff has interviews lined up with Tennessee and Baltimore. He’s going to get one more shot at a Head Coaching job. If Baltimore offers the job he needs to jump on it with both feet. He and Lamar Jackson should be a good fit.
So, Who are the Replacements?
There’s no telling at this point. The rumor mills are cranking out scenarios at a blistering pace. A most popular way to predict such things is to look at the resumes of candidates versus the in-house decision-makers. The bottom line is that nearly everyone in the business has worked with nearly everyone else in the business at some point. Most of these coaches and General Managers have 6-8 NFL stops on the dance card along with some college gigs along the way. The incessant personnel churn in the NFL is unlike anything found in mainstream Business. As a result, the networks are vast.
There are probably five or so serious candidates for each of these Coordinator positions. Everyone has their favorites. Let’s just give this a week to shake out. By then the die may well be cast.
Update: The Offensive Coordinator position didn’t take a week. Quinn hired David Blough from in-house. Losing Coordinators is a fact of life in the League. Part of Dan’s preparations for if he ever got another Head Coaching gig was to have what’s known in Business circles as any number of titles including “Succession Plans” or “Business Continuity Plans.” He relayed how the exits of Coordinators in Atlanta had seriously injured his tenure there. In particular, Kyle Shanahan’s departure was very impactful. It’s fairly obvious he had this hire in mind long before dismissing Kingsbury. There will be plenty of time to learn about young Mr. Blough. But, in terms of continuity for the Quarterback this is a familiar face.
The Defense may be a different situation. Joe Whitt Jr ran into the Peter Principle with a full head of steam…and crumpled. The thinking here is that the Defensive succession tree got whacked. An outsider seems a safe bet. Ok, let’s give that a week to settle out.
Nevermore
Up the road in Baltimore the ground shifted under the most stable outfit in the business. John Harbaugh was fired in a move few outside of the Ravens’ fanbase expected. He had manned the helm for 18-years. In that time span Washington has had five-Head Coaches. The New York J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets are on their sixth. That’s an average of one every three-years. It is the perfect formula for perpetual irrelevance.
Despite the hand-wringing for poor John, here’s an alternate take: He got what he wanted. He signed a three-year extension in March that hasn’t kicked in yet. As great a player as Lamar Jackson is, John couldn’t win meaningful games with him. And, according to Ian Rappaport Jackson was the first in the Locker Room to disengage from Harbaugh. It spread. So, if you’re John you analyze the situation: “Can’t win with Lamar; Can’t work with Lamar; and Lamar isn’t going anywhere. And, if they were to fire me I’m financially set. I’ll be the top candidate for any job that’s open or will open up to get me. I can bring in my own General Manager. And, I’ll be the Head Splebodeez without challenge. Or I could take a year off and still be all of those things.”
So, how hard was it to get fired? It was stupid easy. Get intractable. Steve Biscotti wanted Harbaugh to fire Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken. Harbaugh drove an iron stake in the ground and flatly refused. And, by rights he should have fired Monken himself. Todd had misused Derek Henry a number of times by putting him into rotation when he should have been on the field. But, this strategy was a means to an end. By the end of the day he was gone. He wasn’t even allowed to gather his staff and inform them. It was in all likelihood an escorted walk out of the building. “We’ll get your personal stuff out of the office and bring it to you” affair.
There isn’t any film of it. But, he was probably whistling his way to the car. Within 45-minutes his agent had inquiries from every team with an opening save Baltimore plus one team with an in-place Head Coach. For John Harbaugh it was a very good day at the Office.
Head Coach Shuffle
Which of the Head Coaches that were fired will get another HC gig this year? As discussed above, John Harbaugh if he wants it will certainly get a job. But, he’s doing the choosing. Kevin Stefanski was twice the Coach of the Year despite the complete mess in Cleveland. Rumor was that the Giants had him to dinner the day after he was fired. If you’ve noticed, the Giants are “in” on every decently regarded prospect. Mike McCarthy, coming off of a year on the beach is scheduled to interview with the Giants also. Curiously, that interview is set for next week. He could have been interviewed at any time after they fired their coach.
The interesting thing about Harbaugh and the Giants is not the roster or the Owner. Both of those are considered the best or near-best of the availabilities. It’s the media. Baltimore is the number-29 Media Market. Not so coincidentally Pittsburgh is #27. The media there is kinder and gentler than the blood lust gang in New York. Chewing people up and spitting out the bones is what that bunch thrives on. If John takes that gig it will be a shock to the system. He’s used to slow-pitched softballs. Those sharks in New York throw heaters.
Raheem Morris is a possible hire somewhere. Remarkably that team really came on after Kirk Cousins started games at Quarterback. Morris’ knock is bad losses: 0-30 to Carolina; 10-34 against the Dolphins who were 1-6 at the time; and the 24-27 to the woeful Jets who were 2-9 at the time. He’s going to get a lot of interviews in part because of the Rooney Rule. But, the odds of landing a job are marginal.
Mike McDaniel was fired from Miami. That was interesting. Miami’s Owner let it be known that Troy Aikman was going to assist in the General Manager search. It’s doubtful Aikman wanted that out there. Never mind that Dan Marino is already in the building. Then McDaniel was going to be in on the GM interviews. Can you imagine? “What do you think of the Coaching staff?” with the Coach sitting across the table. Then they thought better of that approach. Then McDaniel had dinner with the Owner. That precipitated his firing. That must have been some dinner. At any rate, he’s not getting a Head Coach gig this year, or maybe ever. But, he will be a desirable Offensive Coordinator candidate for any number of teams...including Washington. And yes, there is a connection there between Dan Quinn and McDaniel.
Pete Carroll will not get a job, unfortunately. He went to the franchise where “Commitment to Excellence” lost all gravitas long ago. The Offensive Line was probably the worst one observed in over a decade. While Washington has had 5-Head Coaches during John Harbaugh’s span in Baltimore the Raiders have had 9 of them. Don’t worry though, Tom Brady will straighten all of that out.
That’s it for recycling Head Coaches from this current crop of displaced candidates. All the rest will be newbies or guys coming off of Rehab assignments as Coordinators like Robert Saleh.
Scores Equal Cash
A non-NFL development this week was the realization that the Southeast Conference no longer rules college football. Don’t expect a lot of tears from around the country. Back in the day the saying was that SEC stood for “Scores Equal Cash.” Nick Saban built his empire on the restrictive nature of transfer. Blue Chip players waited on the bench until the player ahead of him moved on. When the transfer portal opened it was initially a boon for the name brands. But the Name Image and Likeness situation changed everything. Those stud backups are no longer on the benches. They’ve gone somewhere else where the money is better as is the exposure. Without that significant advantage in depth the parity between teams is a stark reality. Saban saw the writing on the wall and bolted with his record in tidy shape. Smart man.
At least for the time being SEC football dominance has gone by the transom.
The Ashes Update
The Ashes Cricket match in Australia is now over. Although it’s a best-of-5 match and the English lost 0-3 the other 2-games were played. It’s a destination trip for many. England won the 4th match on a pitch deemed “Unsatisfactory” by the governing body. They actually issued a demerit! The grass was cut to 10-millimeters instead of 7-mm as has been done in the past. The Bowlers had a huge advantage as the match was over in 2-days. The Head Groundskeeper “Curator” was all but flogged. Australia won the final set in the only contest that lasted all 5-days. But, that’s not the fun.
The fun is the aftermath. The Managing Director of the English side slammed his players. They had a “Proper Stag-do” while on break between matches. Players were shown with beers in their hands from paparazzi pics. “Anything other than a glass of wine with dinner is ridiculous.” Meantime the Aussies were slamming back Black Swans in the Locker Room with cameras rolling.
England’s team Manager said he wouldn’t do anything different. And, he wouldn’t take any direction to change. His team got smoked. But, everything is fine.
And, to top it off the England and Wales Cricket Board is conducting a formal inquiry into the loss investigating all aspects. This is their best impersonation of the Admiralty Board investigating a shipwreck. Surely this will fix everything.
Bad management is not limited to select teams in the NFL it seems.
A Few Wild Card Game Notes
The Rams should handle Carolina. But, they lost on this field before in wet conditions. It was colder in that game. Stafford threw two-picks. It’s easy to forget that dome teams don’t like wet conditions. This game may be more interesting than it looks on paper. The really bad news for Carolina is that Davante Adams is back. He is an absolute load in the Red Zone.
Packers at Bears is the case of two teams coming in without great momentum. Chicago tried to win against Detroit last week. It didn’t go well. The Packers are coming off of four-straight losses. But, their QB was out, thanks to an illegal hit from a Chicago defender. This could well be the closest game on the docket. That is if and only if the Bears can’t figure out that the Packers are unable stop the run.
The 49ers cannot stop the run. Last week Seattle’s Head Coach took the ball after winning the toss. They ran, and ran, and ran the ball to the tune of 39-attempts. Philadelphia’s strength is running the ball. They just forget that. If they remember it should be a good day for the Kensington Avenue crew.
Jacksonville’s new Head Coach has flicked some kind of switch. That team has been a hot mess for years. And, that includes their QB, Trevor Lawrence. He had the misfortune of being drafted by a bad team with a rotating door of coaches. He now looks like the guy they hoped he would be when he was drafted. The Jags are home dogs this week. They should be favored. But, the reigning MVP in Josh Allen is across the way. He won’t be an easy out.
The Patriots are at home. Justin Herbert won’t go down easily. But, this feels like a manageable game for New England.
Thanks to a “Wide Right” the Steelers are at home against the Texans. Houston’s Defense is fantastic. They are #1 in Yards-Allowed and #2 in Points-Allowed. Aaron Rodgers gets DK Metcalf back for this game. That should allow him to get the ball to his talented Tight Ends. But, time in the pocket will come at a premium. The Houston pass rush is sensational. And, they are plus-21 in Turnovers. The Houston Offense is nothing to get excited about, however.
Wild Card Game Information
Saturday January 10
Los Angeles Rams at Carolina Panthers, 4:30 p.m., FOX (stream with FUBO)
Announcers: Joe Davis (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst)
Point Spread per Vegas Insider: Rams by 10.5
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, 8 p.m., Prime Video (stream with Amazon)
Announcers: Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)
Point Spread Packers by 1.5
Sunday January 11
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m., CBS (stream with FUBO)
Announcers: Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Tony Romo (analyst)
Point Spread Bills by 1.5
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m., FOX (stream with FUBO)
Announcers: Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Tom Brady (analyst)
Point Spread Eagles by 5.5
Los Angeles Chargers at New England Patriots, 8p.m., NBC (stream with FUBO)
Announcers: Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst)
Point Spread Patriots by 3.5
Monday January 12
Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers, 6 p.m., ESPN, ABC (stream with FUBO)
Announcers: Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (analyst)
Point Spread Texans by 3
