Andy Reid Leads List of NFL Firings

Updated 12/31 10:25 PM

The NFL regular season ended yesterday, Dec 30, which means that Monday morning will see a lot of coaches and GMs joining the unemployment line. 

The biggest name fired Monday morning, as expected, was Philadelphia's Andy Reid. The longest tenured coach in the NFL at 14 seasons, Reid was done after his team finished 4-12 finish this season. Philly came into the season with high expectations (QB Michael Vick anointed them a dynasty before they ever won anything), but after winning three of four to start the year, the Eagles won just once more the rest of the year. 

Many of the problems with the Eagles could be contributed to injuries, but the good teams overcome them. The Eagles weren't able to do so. Reid finished 130-93-1 overall and took the team to the Super Bowl in 2004. The dismissal ends a terrible year for Reid, who lost his son Garrett to a heroin overdose in August. 

The first announced firing on Monday was the New York Jets letting go of GM Mike Tannenbaum whose poor draft choices and free agent signings was part of the Jets' disappointing 6-10 season and a second straight season without reaching the playoffs. Coach Rex Ryan will be back, though he will need a new quarterback to replace Mark Sanchez. Owner Woody Johnson might want to fire himself too for the Tim Tebow debacle. 

Cleveland has already given the axe to head coach Pat Schurmer after two years and a combined 9-23 record. GM Tom Heckert was also shown the door. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars have canned GM Gene Smith after the team's worst season - 2-14 - on the heels of a 5-11 season in 2011. Head coach Mike Mularkey is safe for the moment, but that could all change when a new GM is hired. 

San Diego's Norv Turner saw the chopping block as well. Turner has been long recognized as a great offensive mind, but a poor head coach. Turner's teams, perennially underachievers, won 113 and lost 122 in his 14 years as a head coach with Washington, Oakland, and San Diego. General Manager A.J. Smith was llet go as well. He's held the position since 2003. 

Kansas City fired head coach Romeo Crennel after the Chiefs 2-14 season. Crennel was hired as interim coach for the final three games in 2011 after Todd Haley was fired as the top man. GM Scott Pioli survived the day. 

Dallas head coach Jason Garrett could be a victim of the Dallas Cowboys' inconsistency and two straight non-playoff 8-8 seasons. Dallas owner Jerry Jones is extremely unpredictable, so a decision could go either way. 

Lovie Smith won 10 games this year in Chicago, but rumors proved to be correct when the Bears fired Smith. The biggest reason being the Bears started 7-1, but then lost five of their last eight games to miss the playoffs. The Bears were 8-8 last season, but 11-5 in 2010, which is the last time they made the playoffs. Smith also led the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006, where they lost to the Indianapolis Colts. His removal would be an injustice and a mistake. 

No surprise that the Buffalo Bills handed a pink slip to coach Chan Gailey, who compiled a 34-46 mark in three seasons in Buffalo. GM Buddy Nix could be in trouble too since expectations were high for Buffalo this season, especially after signing free agent defensive end Mario Williams. Whether Gailey and/or Nix stay put, the Bills need to rid themselves of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Ever since Fitzpatrick got a six-year, $59MM extension in October, 2011 he has not been the same quarterback and the Bills have not won football games. 

The Arizona Cardinals' Ken Whisenhunt will be looking for work after the Cardinals 5-11 season led to his dismissal. Arizona somehow won their first four games before losing 10 straight. Whisenhunt was hired by the Cards before the 2007 season and took Arizona to their only Super Bowl appearance a year later. The Cardinals followed that up with a 10-6 record and another playoff appearance in 2009, but they've gone just 18-30 the last three years. 

Other coaches and GMs could also be let go whether there have been rumors or not. Plenty of assistant coaches will be looking for new jobs as well.

Top 10 NY Chumps: Another Ridiculous ESPN List

Dave Rothenberg was sitting in for Michael Kay on ESPN radio earlier today and was discussing the Top 10 Chumps in New York sports in 2012. Yes, another ridiculous list among a plethora of ridiculous lists that ESPN compiles.

Before I heard the 10 people it was obvious that Alex Rodriguez and several members of the NY Jets would be involved. There was voting for the list, but at the moment I don't know if it was done by members of ESPN and/or the fans. Rothenberg mentioned that he had voted, but I did not hear any other details. But I was truly shocked to hear that Curtis Granderson was #10.

The selection of Granderson immediately told me how absurd the list was going to be. Granderson did not have a good 2012 season or post-season. There's no question about that. However, Granderson is the kind of player you want on your team. A stand up guy, who always talks to the media, Granderson has also been a great ambassador for the game with trips overseas the last two years.  His selection also makes me think the fickle New York fans definitely had a hand in things.

Even the #9 selection of Nick Swisher was a bit silly. Swisher had a good regular season and a bad post-season, his normal season in other words.  But how far has this guy has fallen with Yankees fans is amazing - he has gone from being extremely popular to being the #9 chump on a list that deserved to be part of the list. I doubt such lists exists in Cleveland.

As for A-Rod, he was #4; barring some miracle A-Rod will be vilified for the remaining time he's in the Bronx whether he deserves it or not.

Jets coach Rex Ryan topped the list, followed by the team's GM Mike Tannenbaum, and QB Mark Sanchez. The first two you can understand, but I feel for Sanchez. He was over-hyped by the team from the start and because he hasn't played up to a perceived ability, people hate him and that's asinine.

Jets owner Woody Johnson was eighth on the list, and in my opinion, should have been #2 for creating the Tim Tebow fiasco. Despite having not played in New York/New Jersey, the LA Lakers Dwight Howard finished 7th. The fact that he never ended up with Nets  when it almost seemed certain he would and his immature exit from Orlando apparently weighed heavily with the voters.

Former Knicks coach and current Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni  finished 5th. D'Antoni did the best he could with a less than stellar squad, but his refusal to have the offense flow through Carmelo Anthony damned him to New Yorkers.

Fred and Jeff Wilpon finished 6th and clearly would have been #1 had the list been voted on in early September.

The Daily Roundup For 11/18/11

Starting out this Friday morning with some sad news from the college basketball world.

Condolences and prayers go out to the Oklahoma St. community after women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna were killed in a single engine plane crash last night. The crash occurred 45 miles west of Little Rock, AK. It's the second such tragedy for the school in the last decade. 10 people associated with the men's basketball team died in a plane crash in 2001.

Now on to some less important stuff.

How the hell do you only score 13 points against the Denver Broncos? That's what you Jet fans must be wondering this morning. That and how you made Tim Tebow's 95 yard game winning drive look like John Elway's "The Drive". One of the first things you notice about Tebow is just how bad his mechanics are throwing the ball. But the next thing you notice is how elusive a runner he is. He completely baffled the Jets on the the Bronco's final possession and especially on the game winning run.

Tebow will NEVER lead an NFL to a Super Bowl let alone a Super Bowl victory. QB is not the position he should be at if he wants a long term career in the NFL. The Broncos could use him as the Jets had done with Brad Smith, but Tebow needs to be utiliized elsewhere. You can say what you want about him, but the guy is tough. Make him a wideout, a tailback, use him in wildcat formations, or have him return kicks. He can definitely be on an NFL squad, just not as the starting or 2nd string QB.

Getting back to the Jets offense though...13 points? Seriously? Mark Sanchez's 60% completion pct and 252 yards are misleading. They're definitely better looking numbers than the game Sanchez had or has been having lately. He threw another killer interception that turned into a game tying pick-six in the 3rd quarter. When the defense gives up 10 points, you HAVE to win the football game.

Perhaps it's time for Rex Ryan to duct tape his mouth for the rest of the season and do some coaching instead. No matter how popular he is, he could very well talk his way out of the head coaching position if the team continues to slide. There's only so long you can make promises and not keep them. Ask any politician.

The Red Sox are talking with Bobby Valentine about their managerial opening. I have not heard the word "interview" used as of yet, but this would definitely be a douchebag match made in Heaven. That being said, how many Yankees fan will automically panic that the "Red Sox have Valentine as their manager..we're in trouble". Valentine is one of the most overrated managers in baseball history. He's a good manager, not a great manager, and I don't give a crap about his success in Japan. The game is not the same overseas.

Valentine, however, is a better manager than he is a baseball color commentator/analyst and I would welcome his exit from the booth. His haughty, Kermit the Frog/Fozzy Bear delivery is unwelcome on my TV set. What Valentine is best at is self promotion and making wild predictions (Hideki Matsui will be a perennial 50-HR hitter in the US).

Finally, if you haven't seen The Daily Show's Samantha Bee's report on the NY Occupy Wall St. movement, you need to NOW.

NFL Divisional Games - Sunday

Things didn't turn out too good for yours truly yesterday. Thankfully I had no money on either game. The Ravens sure looked good at halftime, didn't they? Then the Steelers defense stepped up and Joe Flacco crumbled like a box of Corn Flaccos, er Flakes.

Atlanta looked pretty good in the 1st quarter against Green Bay, but the Packers simply dominated the remainder the game. Aaron Rodgers was about as good as you can get. People keep ripping Brett Favre for holding him back, but actually watching Favre had to help him out.

So how about Football Sunday? The Seahawks-Bears has the potential to be an incredible borefest. This is just the opponent the Seahawks needed. I don't trust the Bears no matter their record. Seattle has already beaten them once and there's no reason they can't do it again.

That being said, this is the Bears defense and not the Saints'. Matt Hasselback won't have the time to fire touchdown passes around the field with Chicago's pressure. This will be a relatively low scoring game, with the Bears defense having a huge impact (perhaps a pick for a TD - by the way can we ban the phrase, "He's going to take it to the house" and all other variations?).

The Bears are 10 point favorites, but I see it Bears 23 Seahawks 17. Which also means I'm going with the under on the 42.5 O/U.

The late game is the one everyone in the northeast corridor is waiting for. The Jets at the Patriots. Brash Rex Ryan and his foot fetish against grumpy Bill Bellichik and his hoodies. The two teams split the season series with the Patriots embarrassing the Jets in prime time in the latter match up, 45-3.

This should be a great game and the difference should come down to the experienced, excellent Tom Brady vs. the inexperienced/inconsistent Mark Sanchez. The Jets will definitely have to run the ball today if they are to win. But be that as it may, I see it Patriots 27 Jets 23. So taking the Jets +9 and taking the over on the 44.5 O/U.

NFL Round 1 Predictions

I didn't make weekly picks this season, but here's my look at the NFL playoffs this weekend.


Jets over the Bengals - It's not that I think that much of the Jets, the Bengals are one of the worst 10-win teams ever.

Cowboys over Eagles - It's hard to beat a team three times in a season, but the Cowboys, the worst 11-win team ever, have the Eagles number.

Patriots over Ravens - This is going to be a close one. The Ravens could even win it, but we'll go with the more experienced Brady at QB.

Cardinals over Packers - I'm not impressed by the Packers rout of the Cardinals last week. Kurt Warner will be playing a full game and the Cards' defense is vastly underrated.

Up Up and Away

Look up in the sky. It's a bird, it's a plane, no..it's Super Joe. Born Joseph Girardi in Peoria, IL, by day he is mild mannered, okay, not so mild, manager of the New York Yankees. By night, he's Super Joe, rescuer of car accident victims and teacher of proper sliding techniques.

What's that you say? Sliding techniques. Seems that Jets QB Mark Sanchez can't slide properly on his right side. He tweaked a knee on Sunday when he awkwardly went to the turf. So Rex Ryan put up the Bat signal.

Ryan, who with father Buddy, could run a public relations firm (well, a "self" public relations firm) if he ever left football, called up Yankees president Randy Levine for some help. Expecting a sliding coach, as if someone walked around with that title, Ryan was shocked when Super Joe showed up.

Manned with a rubber mat, Super Joe worked with Sanchez on the practice turf in Florham Park. Sanchez is now ready to steal second base...er, pull up short of that on-coming linebacker.

Good work Super Joe!