NFL 2021 Regular Season!

[worstblogever]

WEEK 11 "WHO'S COOKIN' ON THE HOTSEAT?/FIRE THIS COACH!" DISCUSSION
ALREADY RESIGNED/FIRED BEFORE WEEK 6: Jon Gruden (Raiders) , [/B] RESIGNED/FIRED! THEY’RE FIRED!

GUYS WHO WERE ON THE HOT SEAT THIS SEASON, BUT FOR THE MOMENT LOOK SAFE: Kliff Kingsbury (Cardinals) , Mike McCarthy (Cowboys), Zac Taylor (Bengals)

YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR *** AND GET SOME WINS LIST: Nick Sirianni, Eagles; Kevin Stefanski, Browns; Matt Ruhle, Panthers; Arthur Smith, Falcons; Kyle Shanahan, 49ers


10. Pete Carroll, Seahawks Yes, Carroll gave this city a Super Bowl. That was… some time ago. So far this year, this team is 3-6 and that’s not necessarily because Russell Wilson missed 3 games. We knew it would be bleak any time they ran Geno Smith out there instead of Russ, and it was gonna be rough because Chris Carson’s done for the year. -This team's O-Line never got rebuilt from its Super Bowl runs… and even with Russell Wilson’s medical miracle month to come back from a severed tendon in the middle finger of his throwing hand…

Seattle just got shut out 17-0 at home versus Green Bay. That’s the first shutout of Russell Wilson’s career (and he wanted to leave during the offseason).

The Legion of Boom is GONE. This defense is no longer scary, it’s Bobby Wagner and a bunch of scarecrows in the secondary (Jamaal Adams is great against the run, but gets torched in coverage a LOT). Through their first nine games, they are 31st in yards allowed, and 29th against the pass. Just… Jesus. They’re kicker’s also only 63% accurate (31st in the NFL), so at this point, they’re failing at all three phases of the game.

Our reason why we think Carroll won’t be fired no batter how bad this year gets (they’re more likely to force his hand and make him retire)… Even though he’s a kooky 9/11 truther who keeps violating NFL policies for practices and getting the organization fined (he kind of has a track record of cheating, but he’s not Belichek so it’s not thought about)…. Our reason he won’t be fired is Pete Carroll is under contract now until 2025. That’s a lot of money to eat, no matter how awful this squad is going to get, and we think their best case scenario is once Wilson gets back will be to overachieve down the stretch and maybe end up third in the division... but we are thinking they’re going to finish last. And if they’re lucky, they can convince Carroll to retire, because we don’t think he has a rebuild in him.

9. Robert Saleh, Jets: Look, we’re gonna say it… we thought this was a solid hire. It probably still is… but the Jets looked AWFUL through the first 3 weeks, even for Gang Green. They got shut out against the Denver Broncos in Week 5, struggling to get even 162 total yards of offense. After that loss, they got an early BYE week so they had extra time to prepare to travel to New England, and they probably needed a whole MONTH if they were gonna have a chance based on how it went. The Jets lost 54-13 in a lopsided loss that is one of the worst in recent history for the Jets… and that’s saying something.

We know… Saleh’s a defensive coach, and he’s got a questionable talent in his rookie signal-caller Zach Wilson. And YET… after one stellar game, Saleh immediately put faith in Mike White, the guy who hadn’t started a game or taken a snap since he was a Hill Topper at Western Kentucky University (they still have one of the best Muppet-lookin’ mascots you’ll ever see). White torched the Bengals for 415 yards passing, and led the Jets to an upset victory that the New York media immediately started to ask… could this be the missing piece? Mike White and NOT Zach Wilson? And NOT Joe Flacco, redux? Hmm…

As nice as an underdog story as it might have been, White injured his throwing hand on the Jets’ first series against the Colts, and Gang Green fielded Josh Johnson (Flacco wasn’t ready with the new playbook yet), and I can’t even believe Josh Johnson is still in the NFL. Buffalo just beat the Jets in White’s second start… putting up 45 points AGAIN against this team. Remember, Saleh is a defensive coach and teams have scored over 160 points against the Jets the past four weeks. On the season, opponents are averaging rough 33 points per game against this squad.

A first year head coach usually doesn’t end up on the chopping block… But it can happen. Steve Wilks went 3-13 in one year in Arizona and the locker room knew his OC was a joke, and they just gave up on him. So no matter how fired up people were to play for Saleh in San Francisco, if things don’t reverse course with the Jets, he could end up a “one and done” guy.

8. Brian Flores, Dolphins (LUKEWARM SEAT) : The Dolphins are 3-7, and… don’t look now, but for the moment Tu’a is healthy and they’re… on a 2 game winning streak? And they get the Jets this week…? Could… Could Miami actually string together three wins in a row?

Look, step one for the Dolphins is to quit F***ing around with their quarterback situation. They were not subtle about whether or not they were looking to move on from Tagliavoa WAY too soon, and while he is already racking up an injury history, they shouldn’t pretend that when he’s healthy, he isn’t far and away the best option they’ve got. Second, you drafted Jaylen Waddle out of ‘Bama to play with this kid. Let HIM develop, because he looks like the real deal as well.

The real problem this team has? They’re 32nd in the NFL in rushing. If they want to keep Tu’a healthy, they need to get Miles Gaskin healthy and racking up yards.

We’ll note there are stories out there about Brian Flores saying “I’m not worried about my job security,” which usually is what coaches who are about to get fired say. But if Miami keeps winning, he could save himself from the chopping block at the end of this year. (We think it’s a long shot.)

7. Vic Fangio, Broncos : As of Week 10… 5-5… you would think a team around .500 wouldn’t have a coach on the chopping block, but you have to consider… This team started 3-0 and some chuckleheads thought they might win the division… But wiser people noted that trio of victories were against the Jets, Giants, and Jaguars, who were a combined 0-9 at that point?

Denver came back to Earth fast. They know this is a lost season and if you needed any more proof, it was when they traded Von Miller to the Rams for a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick in 2022. This is after spending weeks trading away every late-round draft pick they had to get any competency at the LB position they could. If you STILL needed proof, it would be this past week’s game where Teddy Bridgewater pulled a matador act on a turnover and let Darius Slay go the other way for the touchdown. Fangio has buried his starter in the press for it, and while Bridgewater deserves getting skewered for it… look at that replay. There’s MULTIPLE Broncos players on the field who flat out quit on that and made no effort. And that’s indicative that this team has quit on him, even for what their record is. He’s throwing Bridgewater under the bus, though, because he’s got to do SOMETHING to look like he hasn’t checked out, either, like his players.

A reminder, Fangio declared that Covid-19 is showing "who the whiners are" around the NFL, last season. Perhaps we should also mention that last year, the game that the Broncos played without an actual QB was because under Fangio’s leadership, the whole QB room broke Covid-19 protocols so they could sit right on top of each other in the film room, rather than socially distance in corners. If you can’t get guys to adhere to that simple thing… it might be because you yourself are fighting the regulations there to keep you alive. On the field, though... “Mr. Covid Tough Guy” Fangio led Denver to a 5-11 in 2020, and to paraphrase a wiser person on CBR than I… “Denver somehow found the only person who can make dumber decisions than Vance Joseph.” Prediction: The Broncos next head coach will not have a name that starts with “V”.


6. Joe Judge, Giants: We don’t believe Joe Judge should have ever been a head coach. His prior experience before getting the gig in the Meadowlands with the G-Men was serving as special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach in New England (a team not regarded well for its WR corps during his tenure). His QB is living blooper reel Daniel Jones. His team’s preseason was marred by a massive brawl with THEMSELVES where the pileup of players throwing haymakers tumbled onto their starting QB who ended up at the bottom of the mound of humanity, enraging Judge so he made his players run gassers like they were back in high school JV, and resulting in one veteran filing to retire immediately, rather than play for him any more. Two other veteran players announced their retirement before the preseason was over.

In Week One, this squad got the good fortune to play against the Denver Broncos, who are thought of as, at best, a mid-tier team at the moment. They got destroyed. The Giants lost to the WFT in Week 2, and on the sideline, their top free agent acquisition, WR Kenny Golladay, was thought to be screaming at his quarterback, but Golladay let the New York media know he was actually screaming at OC Jason Garrett… yeah… things are just fine in the Big Apple. In Week 6, Judge sent Daniel Jones out when he should have been in concussion protocol to get brutalized by the Rams’ defense in a blowout loss.

The Giants are now 3-6, and they’re coming off a BYE week to have to face… oh s***. The Buccaneers in Tampa Bay the week before Thanksgiving, and they’re getting dogged out by Bruce Arians to put more effort in after a lackluster game this past week. Don’t see another upset coming this team’s way.

[worstblogever]

5. Mike Zimmer, Vikings (LUKEWARM SEAT): The Vikings were supposedly "just a QB away" from winning a Super Bowl a few years ago with the impeccable defense they had, and they spent BIG for Kirk Cousins. Then they traded away Stephon Diggs (BIG MISTAKE), and their defense officially "got a case of the olds" going into LAST season. This season, they’re just a year older than that. Minnesota’s biggest off-season free agent signing was CB Patrick Peterson, who age has not just proven to be “no longer an elite corner”, he’s arguably “not even a starting corner” in the league, admitting on his podcast he struggles at covering any receiver who’s simply PUT IN MOTION. That’s the top free agent addition to an aged defense. What was once an elite unit now is simply medicore, and Kirk Cousins has been widely inconsistent game to game (certainly not deserving of what he gets paid).

Minnesota improved to 4-5 after getting a win against the Jekyll and Hyde Chargers. Should this team make the playoffs (we don’t think so) Zimmer’s been here for awhile and is most famous for playoff let downs. If he fails to even return to the playoffs, that might be cause for him to get a pink slip, especially because his comments to the media when the team loses throws his players under the bus. More importantly, “just got back to .500” doesn’t mean the ship will stay in steady waters… the Vikings next three opponents are… the, the Packers, the 49ers on the road, and then a mercy game against the Lions, before the Steelers come to town. Zimmer began this season on the hot seat, and until he has a playoff spot locked up, he should remain on it. Maybe even if he gets into the postseason and exits early, the Wilfs might decided to move on.

4. Urban Meyer, Jaguars: Jacksonville’s preseason was filled with self-inflicted wounds caused by decisions from Meyer, from hiring coaches without vetting them properly (strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle), bringing in Tim Tebow as a possible TIGHT END option that was nothing but a media distraction, and acting like he’s the smartest guy in the NFL because of his college success. I’m no coaching expert, but having a rookie QB throw over 50 times in his first start MAAAYBE isn’t a winning formula, even if he is a butt-chin wonder like Trevor Lawrence.

And about that game… the Houston Texans, regarded as many as a candidate to be the worst team in the NFL this year… the Jags got blown out by THAT team. One that doesn’t have a first or second day draft pick until 2022. One that doesn’t have DeShaun Watson, and keeps letting Arizona poach its Pro Bowlers. THAT Texans team wiped the floor with Urban Meyer’s squad, and to their 16th consecutive loss. They’d continue to lose 20 straight as a franchise, including #19 n Week 4 they blew another double-digit lead to the Cincinnatti Bengals, and more importantly… Urban Meyer trended on Twitter for lying to his team about “visiting his grandkids” and not flying back to Jacksonville to instead, go out to get free lap dances in the bar of his Cleveland restaurant because… well, I guess that’s what happens when you got a title with Ohio State. THAT… is not what you want to make headlines for after a month into the season… zero wins, poor development on Trevor Lawrence, and having someone rub their ass on your junk in your own dive bar.

Urban Meyer has helped escape the top echelons of the “FIRE THIS COACH” list last week, because, first of all, his team inexplicably upset the #1 seed in the AFC, the Buffalo Bills 9-6 (not a surprise they got help to 9 points, the surprise was it was enough to win), and second, other, juicier embarrassing stories have dropped courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders’ clusterf*** rollercoaster drama, and Aaron Rodgers’ going full lunatic anti-vaxxer with the Packers’ franchise apparently letting him do whatever he wants for fear he might sit out.

“Urban Meyer ditches his team for a lapdance in his bar” is… not as spicy a tale right now. Sure, they lost to the Colts this week in a divisional game, but at least they’re not in the cellar of their division like the Texans.





3. David Culley, Texans: Houston is sitting at 1-8, with the one win coming from when they beat lowly Jacksonville in Week 1 before they’ve rattled off eight straight losses. Those first seven L’s have been, frankly, a series of games where opposing coaches have utterly dismantled a team led by rookie 3rd string QB Davis Mills, so much so that the Texans had the worst point differential in the league… and they’re only second now because they had a BYE week while the Jets played a ninth game to eke them out in that stat. They aren’t even scoring 15 points a game and their offense ranks 32nd in yards per game. Their defense isn’t much better, sitting at 28th in yards per game. That won’t be helped much since they shipped Mark Ingram off before the trade deadline, falling back on David Johnson (who hasn’t had a good season since… what 2016?) as their main offensive weapon. Brandin Cooks is pulling his hair out that he couldn’t managed to get himself traded to an actual football team before the trade deadline. It doesn’t look like anyone is going to manage to take serial sexual predator DeShaun Watson out of Houston in a trade, either, a move that’s hovered over this team’s fate for almost nine months now. Everyone thought things would get better when Tyrod Taylor came off of the injured list, and he went out and threw 3 INTs.

So… we’ve covered that the Texans are BAD right now. We’re going to say that their misfortunes are not a product necessarily of bad coaching, but a TON of bad front office decisions, because obviously, that’s the case. It sucks that a guy who’s considered such a nice dude like David Culley, who’s waited his whole life for a head coaching gig, could get the blame if he couldn’t turn the chickens*** roster he was given into chicken salad. But that can be the cruel nature of NFL coaching gigs…




2. Matt Nagy, Bears: Matt Nagy was considered one of the hottest young coaches in the league before the Double-Doink happened like 3 years ago, but it made something snap in the guy. He spent that entire off-season talking about it, and making his players relive that trauma, and they responded by getting worse afterwards. The Bears have been shy a QB this whole time, finally giving up on Mitch Trubisky to draft Justin Fields… but Nagy kept insisting he would go with Andy Dalton. If you’re going with the Red Rifle at this stage of his career, you’re pretty f***ed. Their defense? They still have DPOTY candidate Khalil Mack. It’s statistically still a Top 10 defense the NFL. Truly, this is a team that can live up to the Bears’ legacy in the Windy City…

Matt Nagy caved to the pressure of fans and put Justin Fields in at the start of October, and got two wins in his first two games… however, in Week 6, they got handled by Green Bay, and Aaron Rodgers barked at fans, “I STILL OWN YOU!” And nobody is questioned the validity of that statement, because it’s true.

In Week 7, they got blown out 38-3 by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and the story out of Chicago is that Justin Fields is getting sacked at a rate not seen for any rookie QB since David Carr was getting his brains bashed in for the expansion Texans. Nagy at least had a week where his job security wasn’t questioned as hard when he tested positive for Covid-19, and then they had the indignity of losing the the Steelers on MNF after managing to put up 21 points in the 4th quarter but still lose on some questionable calls from officials. They’re now 3-6, and will likely be 3-7 unless Nagy can use the BYE week to prepare to host Baltimore on 11/21 before they have the good fortune of playing the Lions on Thanksgiving. That broadcast will have a lot of talk about who might be getting a pink slip on Black Monday this year.


1. Dan Campbell, Lions : The good news? They didn’t lose this week. The bad news? They didn’t win either, in spite of playing a Pittsburgh team without Big Ben, and Jared Goff also strained his oblique and is out this Sunday. Which… they’re playing a Cleveland team decimated by injuries on offense, but that has the kind of defense you don’t want to run David Blough against. This… could be embarrassing, even for a Lions game. After that game with Pittsburgh they play Cleveland Sunday, and then host the Bears on Thanksgiving… three games in the span of 11 days.

We always say that first year coaches are not usually on the hot seat, but Dan Campbell is a former Tight Ends coach who yells about getting up again and again to bite your opponents’ kneecaps, which starts out like some inspiring Captain America speech but ends up sounding like a meek little chihuahua. He’s close to motivating… but not close enough.

At least they can’t be the first team to go 0-17. They have to fight and claw to make sure they don’t end up being the first to go 0-16-1.

[CSTowle]

I have a kind of fun question my friend asked me.

You can be the owner of one NFL team. Who would it be? Who would your GM be or would you do it yourself? Who do you want as a head coach?

Lions. First off, that low expectations thing. Secondly, get rid of those awful Ford silver/blue colors. Not sure on the coach, but I think prying them away from the Fords is a good first step.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Got an alert from Bleacher Report that Joe Flacco will start for the Jets this coming Sunday. As much as everyone dumps on Detroit for being a clown show, the Jets are just as big of a three ring circus.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Well in news that will replace Teddy Bridgewater in effort department...

According to reports Pittsburgh coaches were not happy with Dwayne Haskins during the game on Sunday. Haskins spent time dressed finally throwing bad practice throws and being on his cellphone.

Its claimed the coaches called this lazy and were discussing it.

[Scott Taylor]

I have a kind of fun question my friend asked me.

You can be the owner of one NFL team. Who would it be? Who would your GM be or would you do it yourself? Who do you want as a head coach?

Maybe New York or Philly. Both cities are pretty cool, with Philly getting a slight edge. Since I know practically nothing about running a team, I'd just hire a friend to run it and let the chips fall where they may. Welcome to mediocrity New York or Philly!

[babyblob]

Maybe New York or Philly. Both cities are pretty cool, with Philly getting a slight edge. Since I know practically nothing about running a team, I'd just hire a friend to run it and let the chips fall where they may. Welcome to mediocrity New York or Philly!

To be honest if you can elevate New York to Mediocrity they will build you a statue in Central park

[Scott Taylor]

To be honest if you can elevate New York to Mediocrity they will build you a statue in Central park

That would actually really rock. I'd like it to be on the far side of the reservoir loop maybe near that one place where all the artists hang out.

[BeastieRunner]

Just read a thing that NE's linebacker's coach, Jerod Mayo, is the new "it" coach. Bill loves him and is sounding like he's grooming him to take over. Apparently he interviewed with the Eagles for the HC back in January and they loved him so much, that they are kicking themselves for not taking him.

[Gray Lensman]

Just read a thing that NE's linebacker's coach, Jerod Mayo, is the new "it" coach. Bill loves him and is sounding like he's grooming him to take over. Apparently he interviewed with the Eagles for the HC back in January and they loved him so much, that they are kicking themselves for not taking him.

That's only a small surprise to NE fans - Mayo was the defensive signal caller his rookie season, giving on field orders to Mike Vrabel of all people. He's one of the people on fans short list for future coordinators or coaches.

[BeastieRunner]

That's only a small surprise to NE fans - Mayo was the defensive signal caller his rookie season, giving on field orders to Mike Vrabel of all people. He's one of the people on fans short list for future coordinators or coaches.

And Wilfork and Tedy Bruschi.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Just read a thing that NE's linebacker's coach, Jerod Mayo, is the new "it" coach. Bill loves him and is sounding like he's grooming him to take over. Apparently he interviewed with the Eagles for the HC back in January and they loved him so much, that they are kicking themselves for not taking him.

That’s all well and good, but Darth Hoodie’s coaching tree hasn’t exactly been rife with success.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

That’s all well and good, but Darth Hoodie’s coaching tree hasn’t exactly been rife with success.

They all want to be Belichick and not realize ....they can't be him. Vrabel seems to be doing the best job not trying to be Bill Belichick. Bill O'Brien did well at the start but once he pushed the GM out he too believed he was Belichick. Of course O'Brien lost a power struggle behind the scenes and the guy running that team believes he too is Bill Belichick and running the organization like complete garbage. All while the owner is happy to watch it turn to garbage.

But thus far Vrabel seems to be the smartest guy.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

They all want to be Belichick and not realize ....they can't be him. Vrabel seems to be doing the best job not trying to be Bill Belichick. Bill O'Brien did well at the start but once he pushed the GM out he too believed he was Belichick. Of course O'Brien lost a power struggle behind the scenes and the guy running that team believes he too is Bill Belichick and running the organization like complete garbage. All while the owner is happy to watch it turn to garbage.

But thus far Vrabel seems to be the smartest guy.

Agree. The jury’s still out on Brian Flores, what with the Dolphins having crashed after a ten win 2020. Meanwhile, Joe Judge in New York has so far been a bust, just like Romeo Crenel, Matt Patricia, Eric Mangini and others who tried to bring the New England model to the teams they coached and flopped. I saw that as a classic case of Belichick having taught those guys all THEY knew, but not all HE knew. And it showed in their failures.

[Gray Lensman]

To be honest if you can elevate New York to Mediocrity they will build you a statue in Central park

And then promptly savage you in the press for not making Brady the guy with the second most Superbowl rings the following season...

New Yor....Jersey is the worst place to have a football team unless your skin is as thick as an anklyosaurus.