NFL Coaches who may be fired this offseason

As the NFL coach carousel continues to spin, more and more professional coaches may not have a job come the 2022 season. Every year there are at least 2-3 head coaches fired from teams with losing seasons. The head coach usually becomes the person to blame for all the team’s woes. This sentiment rings true for fans of the Jaguars, Bears, and Texans in the 2021 season. These head coaches have become the punching bag for fans. 

Quite potentially the most surprising turn of events from the 2020 offseason was the hiring of Urban Meyer from Ohio State. Urban Meyer had an impressive college football resume including 3 national championships and only 9 losses in his 7 years at Ohio State. But as many rookie players know, the transition to the NFL isn’t as simple. The same is true for Meyer. In his first year with the Jaguars, Urban Meyer already has more losses than he did in 7 years at Ohio State. With his first year riddled by scandals and mismanagement, the fanbase has begun to question if he should be head coach for the 2021-22 season. However, is it really fair to fire a head coach after one year? Some Jaguars fans think so. Jaguars fan, Nate Geary, states, “If the Jaguars don’t fire Urban Meyer tomorrow… the league should step in.” His clearly satirical tweet demonstrates the mass opinion on the heading coaching position for the Jaguars. As tensions mount in Jacksonville with their 2-10 season, Urban Meyer has begun to play the blame game. He was heard calling assistant coaches “losers” and claiming that he is a “winner.” However, the stats don’t lie, a 2-11 season is far from being a “winner.” Further digging his hole he seemingly benched star RB James Robinson who has been one of the only bright spots for this Jaguars offense. 

The Texans are also in an interesting situation. Midway through the 2020 season, they fired their head coach Bill O’Brien. He was the scapegoat for much of the team’s problems in seasons past, and sometimes deservedly so. Serving in the head coach/general manager role, he had the impossible task of coaching the team to victories as well as managing the teams finances and trades. One of the most notable failed trades of his time was trading away star Wide Receiver, Deandre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals for David Johnson, two second round picks, and a fourth round pick. Although this sounds like a lot, it simply isn’t for the talent that Hopkins had. He made an immediate impact for the Arizona Cardinals, lifting them to their first season at .5oo or above in over 4 years. After trading Hopkins in the offseason, Bill O’Brien led the team to an 0-4 start and this resulted in the ultimate firing of him only 4 games into the season. The Texans were desperate for a new coach and they eventually hired David Culley in the offseason. Being ¾ of the way through the season, he has led the Texans to a 2-11 record with their only wins coming from the Jaguars and Titans. David Culley had a lot to manage however, since their was a mounting QB controversy and a team decimated by incompetent management. The Texans have a big decision to make on whether or not to keep head coach, David Culley, through the next season. 

Bears coach Matt Nagy is quite possibly the most definite firing in this upcoming offseason. After 4 years of coaching the Chicago Bears, he has produced 2 playoff appearances and an overall winning record as head coach. With their 4-9 record the team is all but certain to miss the playoffs this season. The catalyst of his firing is not coming from players or assistant coaches. Mid-November chants began ringing out through the stadiums of Chicago demanding the firing of Matt Nagy, Bears head coach. These ruthless fans were in opposition with the move to start Andy Dalton at quarterback over rookie Justin Fields. Andy Dalton is mediocre at best. He has been shuffled around the league from the Bengals to the Cowboys and now ultimately at the Bears. The calling for his firing is a bit puzzling since this is his first losing season with the team. This sentiment is felt across the league as teams are becoming more and more eager to win right now, rather than develop young players to win in the future. The lack of patience by fans is largely the reason that the Bears and Texans coaches are on the brink of being fired.