The regular season is over in the NFL. The rites of winter have already begun with what is commonly known as "Black Monday", when teams begin dumping coaches after bad seasons.
The Cleveland Browns couldn't wait. They dismissed Rob Chudzinski after just 1 season following Sunday's finale, a loss to division rival Pittsburgh. In Chudzinski's defense, the front office betrayed him by trading away their top draft pick of 2012, Trent Richardson, to Indianapolis, and the Colts made the playoffs. So, obviously, the Browns got the worst of that deal. Nothing new there.
On to today. Four more coaches were given the gate:
Washington, as expected, dumped Mike Shanahan after 4 seasons, 1 year after an improbable NFC East title. Everyone knows the drama surrounding Shanahan, QB/Subway pitchman Robert Griffin III, and clueless owner Daniel Snyder ultimately did in Shanahan. Son Kyle, the Offensive Coordinator, is likely gone as well. Griffin's dad came close to bagging a set of Weasel ears for campaigning to have Snyder lure RG3's college coach, Art Briles of Baylor, to Washington. Please. Snyder's already gone the college route once (Steve Spurrier), and that didn't work.
What Snyder really should've done, in this writer's opinion, was trade the Shanahans and 3rd string QB Rex Grossman to Houston in exchange for either Matt Schaub or TJ Yates to caddy RG3 next year. Like I said, Snyder's about as smart as a grain of sand when it comes to football decisions..........!
Similarly, Minnesota gave up on Leslie Frazier one year after he took the Vikings to the playoffs. While former Bears teammate Ron Rivera one-upped him by leading Carolina to the NFC South title, Frazier was undone by what had to be the disturbing trend du jour this season, ineffective play at quarterback. Star running back Adrian Peterson was hurt the last couple of weeks, and that didn't help. Central division rival Detroit dumped Jim Schwartz after 5 seasons, 2 years removed from a playoff run. The Lions choked away the NFC North title, dropping 6 of their last 7, the lone win over that period a blowout over Green Bay on Thanksgiving Day.
At Tampa Bay, the bloom fell off the rose for Greg Schiano after 2 seasons, and going 0-8 to start the season, invoking bad memories of the Buccaneers' early years, spelled doom. Ownership found out, as Snyder did before them, that luring a hot college coach doesn't always work. Schiano angered a lot of people last year with a radical defensive approach, and while he backed away from breaking up the victory formation at the end of games, he didn't win a lot of friends, meaning he will likely end up back in the college ranks. I'm sure Rutgers would like him back.
On the other hand, Philadelphia's Chip Kelly, lured away from Oregon, led the Eagles to the NFC East title. He'd be Coach of the Year except that his predecessor, Andy Reid, may have locked that up with the job he did in Kansas City.
Now, let's talk playoffs.
The Wild Card round offers some interesting matchups that could go either way. Unfortunately for the AFC, the road to the Meadowlands and Super Bowl 48 runs through not only Denver, but Foxborough as well.
AFC:
Wild Card:
San Diego at Cincinnati: The Chargers have peaked at the right time. The Bengals, in the playoffs for a 3rd straight season, peaked a bit too early for my tastes. Andy Dalton, in his 3rd season out of Texas Christian, has been a bit inconsistent, costing Cincinnati some games they could've won. Pick-San Diego.
Kansas City at Indianapolis: Like Dalton, Andrew Luck, in his 2nd season out of Stanford, has had fits that suggested a sophmore jinx had taken hold. Either the Colts blow out opponents, or they get blown out. Kansas City's been consistent all season, save for getting swept by San Diego in some tight games that came down to the wire. Reid's only mistake this season was resting his starters in the finale vs. the Chargers. He won't make that mistake again. Unfortunately for Reid, a win here, and the Chiefs have to play Tom "Crybaby" Brady and the Patriots, who think it's their birthright to be in the Super Bowl this year. It isn't, and doesn't deserve to be. It might be in the league's best interest to have Indianapolis advance and play Denver, a matchup that didn't materialize last season thanks to Baltimore knocking off the Broncos in the first round en route to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the Colts, it's "wait 'til next year"---again. Pick-Kansas City.
That sets up KC-New England and a rubber match between San Diego & Denver in the divisional round. Somebody get Brady a pacifier, 'cause he ain't making it to the title game this time. I see Kansas City & Denver in another rubber match.
NFC:
Wild Card:
San Francisco at Green Bay: The 49ers, last season's NFC champ, finished 2nd in the West behind Seattle, and now must travel to the "frozen tundra" of Lambeau Field to play the resurgent Packers, who were happy to get Randall Cobb and State Farm salesman Aaron Rodgers back Sunday in beating Chicago. It's funny how things work. First Detroit, then "Da Bears", choked away the North, allowing Green Bay to win the title. With Baltimore already out of the picture, we're assured a new champ this year. Might as well make it certain by sending San Francisco packing early as well. Pick-Green Bay.
New Orleans at Philadelphia: I don't know about you, but I've had a hard time figuring out the Eagles this year. Like Indianapolis, the Eagles have been ridiculously inconsistent, but it appears that Chip Kelly's figured it out just in time. However, Nick Foles' Achilles heel has been exposed during the win over Dallas, which could prove costly, except for one thing. The last time the Saints played in the Northeast, they lost to New England. Hopefully, Drew Brees stocked up on Vicks products (no, not Michael Vick). Pick-Philadelphia.
In the divisional round, that sends the Eagles to Carolina and Green Bay goes to Seattle. Rodgers won't be handing out any discount double-checks to the rabid Seahawks fans, but the Pack will be looking for revenge after getting screwed by the replacement refs last year. Just don't see it. It'll be at least another 3-4 years before Seattle loses another home game. I see the Eagles ending Carolina's magical run, setting up a matchup of former Pac-12 rivals (Carroll vs. Kelly, one more time) as it'll be Eagles-Seahawks in the title game.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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