Five NFL head coaches were relieved of their duties less than 12 hours after the end of the regular season Monday, with Washington’s Mike Shahanan, a two-time Super Bowl winner, the most prominent name, though hardly the most surprising.
Detroit’s Jim Schwartz, Minnesota’s Leslie Frazier and Tampa Bay’s Greg Schiano were let go, as most expected.
The big shocker came Sunday night, when the Cleveland Browns dismissed first-year coach Rob Chudzinski after a loss to Pittsburgh.
Shanahan, who won two Super Bowls in Denver in the 1990s, spent four seasons with the Redskins and was 24-40. Frazier had a little more than three seasons with the Vikings to compile an 18-33-1 mark, and Schwartz coached the Lions for five seasons, finishing 29-52.
Schiano got two years with the Buccaneers, going 11-21. He had three years and $9 million left on his contract.
Tampa Bay also fired General Manager Mark Dominik.
“It’s tough for the players to see your coaches go. You never want to see anybody get fired,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. “Me personally, I haven’t had any, consistently, in my career. Third head coach, going on my fifth year and three head coaches. Add up everybody, it’ll be six D-line coaches.”
The Buccaneers, who also have fired Super Bowl-winning coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden, hired Schiano out of Rutgers in 2012 and went 6-4 before losing five of their last six games. They dropped their first eight games this season and finished 4-12.
One coach allegedly on the hot seat was retained: Rex Ryan, who has one more year on his contract, is staying with the New York Jets after a surprising 8-8 record in his fifth season at the helm.
Some of the fired coaches might have seen it coming,Chudzinski certainly didn’t despite going 4-12 and losing his final seven games and 10 of 11.
“I was shocked and disappointed to hear the news that I was fired,” said Chudzinski, who grew up a Browns fan. “I am a Cleveland Brown to the core, and always will be. It was an honor to lead our players and coaches, and I appreciate their dedication and sacrifice. I was more excited than ever for this team, as I know we were building a great foundation for future success.”
Agents will begin floating the names of their clients as the searching begins - Penn State’s Bill O’Brien seems to be the hottest candidate and has interviewed for Houston’s vacancy. The Texans (2-14), who own the top choice in May’s draft after losing their final 14 games, released coach Gary Kubiak late in the season.
The six teams seeking new coaches went 24-71-1.
Shanahan had one season remaining on a five-year contract worth about $7 million a season. He blamed salary cap restraints for part of the Redskins’ collapse from NFC East champion in 2012 to 3-13 and eight consecutive losses.
Washington was hit with a $36 million salary cap penalty over two seasons for dumping salaries into the 2010 uncapped season, and Shanahan said it prevented the team from pursuing free agents it had targeted.
But his real undoing, along with the poor records in three of his four seasons, was a contentious relationship with star quarterback Robert Griffin III, who did not speak with the media on Monday.
Frazier took over for Brad Childress in Minnesota for the final six games of 2010. He got the Vikings to the playoffs as a wild card last season, riding an MVP year from running back Adrian Peterson. But he never solved the Vikings’ quarterback situation - three QBs started in 2013 - and the defense, Frazier’s specialty, ranked 31st overall and against the pass.
“It’s a harsh business,” safety Harrison Smith said. “As a player, we all love coach Frazier, as a coach, as a man. You can’t meet a better guy. And also as a player, we didn’t make enough plays on the field. So you just feel like you let him down a little bit.”
The Lions were considered underachievers under Schwartz, who took over in 2009 after the Lions went 0-16 in 2008.
Detroit had command of the NFC North at 6-3 in early November and their main competition - Green Bay and Chicago - were playing without starting quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler for lengthy periods. A 40-10 thrashing of Green Bay on Thanksgiving lifted the Lions to 7-5 and one game ahead of the Bears, but they did not win again.
Schwartz had two years and almost $12 million remaining on his deal.
“From where we were in 2008 to where we are now it’s a big difference,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “We owe a lot of that to him. He’s a really smart guy and helped us get to where we are. Obviously, we didn’t win as many games as we needed to or as we should have this year.”
Sports, Pages 15 on 12/31/2013