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In our previous article we discussed ‘Black Monday’--the Monday after the end of the NFL regular season and the traditional ‘day of reckoning’ for pro football coaches. Professionally competent coaches are more concerned about the playoffs and their candidacy for ‘Coach of the Year' Bad coaches have heard repeatedly throughout the season that they’re on the ‘hot seat’ and that they’re reminded constantly of their dubious situation by the media.
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Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Doug Marrone found out through the media on Saturday that he would be fired on Monday morning. BetOnline.ag has set odds on the number of coaches fired on ‘Black Monday’ along with the rest of the week. The first two coaches to be dismissed were Cleveland Browns’ head coach Freddie Kitchens and New York Giants’ head coach Pat Shurmur. More dismissals are expected as the week progresses.
The discussion now turns toward the coaches that teams will hire as a replacement. So far, only one new hire has been reported and even that one isn’t official as of the time of this writing. The Washington Redskins are expected to hire former Carolina Panthers field boss Ron Rivera. Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder fired team President Bruce Allen almost immediately on Monday morning. There’s a very good chance that Allen’s ouster was a condition given by Rivera for him taking the Redskins job. You can be certain that Rivera will demand far greater control of personnel decisions than his predecessor Jay Gruden and he’s in the position to do so.
So what about the other teams looking for head coaches? In this and subsequent articles we’ll look at the BetOnline.ag propositions for the head coaching hire for several NFL teams. We’ll start with the Cleveland Browns:
CLEVELAND BROWNS NEXT HEAD COACH
The Browns would be quick to approach Ron Rivera if his deal with the Redskins were to fall through. That’s not likely to happen—Redskins’ owner Dan Snyder is well aware that Rivera is the best head coaching candidate available. There are several names that have been floated for every team that needs a head coach including New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Baltimore Ravens OC Greg Roman and former Green Bay Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy has already interviewed with Carolina which might have more to do with his availability than anything else. The other three coaches mentioned work with teams that are alive in the NFL playoffs.
The Browns have requested permission to interview all of the previously mentioned head coaches with the exception of McCarthy—McCarthy spent the year out of football after leaving the Packers so no one needs to ‘grant permission’ for him to speak with teams. Cleveland has reportedly also requested permission to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski along with a lesser known name, Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The media has kicked around the names of several college coaches including former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and Baylor head coach Matt Rhule. Of the three, Harbaugh is the most realistic choice—he’s got NFL experience and took the San Francisco 49ers to the 2012 Super Bowl while compiling a solid 44-19-1 as their head coach.
Now lets look at the BetOnline.ag board. Josh McDaniels is favored at +200 followed by Kevin Stefanski, Urban Meyer and Mike McCarthy all at +500. Meyer is probably overvalued at this price and Stefanski is probably a more viable choice than McCarthy. McDaniels is an Ohio native and his dad was a legendary high school coach in the state. He’s got ties to the area and the personnel on hand would make the job intriguing to him but no value on him at the price.
Greg Roman and Robert Saleh are priced at +700. All indications suggest that Roman is a much more realistic possibility than the price suggests so we’ll definitely take a position on him. Roman also attended nearby John Carroll University. Another good value is Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy who has been linked with several teams. He’s priced at +1200 for the Browns job and that’s a nice price for a viable candidate.
