Black Monday: NFL Coaches Doomsday

Black Monday, the inevitable day struggling NFL coaches fear off, is here. This is the day that most firings happen, the day after the regular season ends and the road to the Super Bowl begins. Some of the coaches that couldn’t get their team on that journey sadly will be fired today.

There are glaring changes that need to be made in some organizations if they are going to utilize their talent and win a championship. The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the most disappointing teams this season, and that is due to head coach Jason Garrett and his lack of ability to get the best out of his players. In that same division, the New York Giants have Pat Shurmur who was the first fire of Black Monday this year, but there may be more changes up top that need to take place in Dave Gettleman who has had a grade of an “F” with how he has run the Giants. Freddie Kitchens of the Cleveland Browns, who was fired last night, in just one season has shown that he has failed to rectify a culture problem with the team and that overshadows his ineptitude of playcalling.

Here are coaches that should be fired today on Black Monday:

Jason Garrett

The Cowboys have so much talent on this team for them to be 8-8, yet here they are missing the playoffs after failing to put away the Philadelphia Eagles last week in a division-winning game. This falls to the hand of Garrett who has another 8-8 season, his fourth and should have been let go from this team way sooner.

Garrett has a career record of 87-70 in 10 seasons with the Cowboys, which is better than a lot of head coaches. He has been an AP Coach of the Year and has won three NFC East Championships, but his lows are more significant than his highs. He has completely lost this team whom for most of the season looked dejected. They were 1-7 this season against teams with a record of .500% or better. They had a bad loss to the New York Jets that doesn’t help Garrett’s case. Also, the play-calling has been at times so confusing, they run when they need to throw and throw when they need to run. And how they didn’t feed Zeke more this season especially in pivotal games is the most glaring. Three postseason appearances since he has been hired as a full-time head coach with all the talent over the years is how he will be remembered.

The Cowboys need a new voice in the locker room. Someone who can stand up to owner Jerry Jones when needed and motivate this team to get the best out of them every week. Whether that change is internal with defensive backs coach Kris Richard who has Super Bowl pedigree or external with the likes of former Panthers coach Ron Rivera, Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, or Urban Meyer. Someone just needs to be able to get the Cowboys to the promised land again to regain their glory, and that someone isn’t Jason Garrett.

Zac Taylor

The Cincinnati Bengals had 16 seasons with former head coach Marvin Lewis in which they went to the playoffs seven times and lost all in the Wild Card round, and still, maybe the Bengals were better off with him instead of Zac Taylor. He has looked that bad in one season with the team and doesn’t look like he is ready for this job.

The Bengals have the worst record in the NFL which is bad considering the talent they have. Andy Dalton is no Patrick Mahomes, but he has shown to be a capable quarterback for most of his career. Star receiver A.J. Green has been absent all season due to injuries but with talent on the defensive side and a stud like Joe Mixon, they should not be picking first in the NFL Draft in Vegas next year. They are ranked 26th in total offensive yards and 29th in total defense. It is well documented that Taylor got this position from having connections with L.A. Rams head coach Sean McVay as his quarterback’s coach, elevating Jared Goff during their Super Bowl run last season. But he has not shown this season to be able to get Dalton to the next level who had his worst completion percentage since his rookie year and career-lows in touchdowns and QB rating.

The Bengals need a more experienced coach in the locker room that can develop QBs as they are most likely drafting Heisman winner Joe Burrow with the number one pick. Someone that looks like he knows what he is doing, unlike Taylor who at times looked lost. But the reality is Burrow will buy Taylor at least two more seasons as head coach.

Doug Marrone

The Jacksonville Jaguars has had two back-to-back disappointing seasons after their AFC Championship appearance against the New England Patriots. In five seasons as a head coach for the Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, he has only had two winning seasons. They have already got rid of V.P. of football operations Tom Coughlin earlier this month after the NFLPA outed him for excessive fines and player grievances and maybe Marrone should be next.

The Jaguars had extended Marrone till 2021, but so far his tenure with the team has been up and down. They were some better play-calling away from reaching the Super Bowl his first full-season and since had a 5-11 record and 6-10 record this season. They have been without their off-season acquisition and SB winning QB Nick Foles but still remained in the AFC playoff picture for most of the season. As a former offensive coordinator, his team’s offense has been subpar, ranking 20th this season and his defense has even fallen off ranking 24th when they were just two seasons away from being considered a top defense of all time. After all, he was a hire during the Coughlin regime and might need to go out the door with him as rumors of him being let go this season has surfaced.

The Jaguars are capable of getting to the playoffs next season with a healthy Nick Foles or emerging Garder Minshew. They still have defensive talent and a great running back in Leonard Fournette, but desperately needs a coach that can generate more offense for this team that solely relies on their defense to win games.