NFL coaching bloodbath at end of regular season

With the NFL regular season only in the books by 48 hours, underachieving teams have already begun to wield the axe to get rid of their head coaches.  On Monday, three teams fired their head coaches with a fourth meeting his professional demise on Tuesday.

Perhaps the least surprising dismissal came in Detroit, where head coach Rod Marinelli took the fall for the Lions’ historically inept 0-16 season.  Marinelli inherited a mess left by former team president Matt Millen, but displayed characteristic class after his firing was announced and refused to pass the buck on any of the blame.  He certainly didn’t mince words when asked to comment on his situation:

"I've said it all year long, 'It starts with me. You can't go 0-16 and expect to keep your job”

Also losing their jobs were Marinelli’s top assistants—defensive coordinator Joe Barry, assistant offensive line coach Mike Barry, secondary coach Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Joe Cullen.  Offensive coordinator Jim Colletto was demoted to offensive line coach.

Curiously, the Lions’ ownership chose to reward the front office with promotions after the 0-16 season as Tom Lewand was promoted to team president and Martin Mayhew to general manager.  They’ll now embark on a search for their sixth head coach since 2000.

In Cleveland, Browns owner Randy Lerner fired not only head coach Romeo Crennel but GM Phil Savage.  The Browns dismal 4-12 finish clearly demonstrated that wholesale change was needed with the club.  Cleveland has already been spurned by their first choice to replace Crennel, as former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher informed Lerner that he wasn’t interested in the position.

The Browns reportedly are considering Eric Mangini, who was fired by the New York Jets on Monday after a 9-7 finish.  Mangini’s dismissal was somewhat surprising, as the Jets certainly improved on 2007 4-12 mark and the coach was forced to play a mercenary QB when Brett “The Gunslinger” Favre came out of retirement.  Some sources are suggesting that Favre helped orchestrate Mangini’s ouster as part of a scheme to get Paul Holmgren to move from the Jet City to the Big Apple.  Mangini is highly regarded around the league and given the circumstances surrounding his dismissal may find himself back in business quicker than any of the other newly unemployed coaches.

On Tuesday morning, the Denver Broncos fired head coach Mike Shanahan after 21 years with the organization.  Shanahan left an impressive 146-89 record and two Superbowl championships behind as Broncos head coach, but had struggled in the postseason since John Elway’s retirement and was only 24-24 in the last three seasons.  The last straw was apparently the team’s December collapse, where they lost four straight games and gave up the title in the NFL’s weakest division to the San Diego Chargers.