What Head Coach do you predict will be the first to be fired this year?

[CP3MVP]

If you had to pick one

[DontTazeMeBro]

I’ll go with Pete Carroll. Too old school. Think the wheels are finally going to fall off.

[notthatbluestuff]

1 hour ago, DontTazeMeBro said:

I’ll go with Pete Carroll. Too old school. Think the wheels are finally going to fall off.

Bill O'Brien to Seattle in 2022? 😄

[Blackstar12]

Realistically it should be Gruden especially if they fail to make the playoffs again. However Raiders management still thinks highly of him for some strange reason. 

 

[CP3MVP]

1 hour ago, Blackstar12 said:

Realistically it should be Gruden especially if they fail to make the playoffs again. However Raiders management still thinks highly of him for some strange reason. 

 

And his contract makes him highly unlikely to be fired. He could go 3-14 and they wouldn’t can him 

[CP3MVP]

5 hours ago, DontTazeMeBro said:

I’ll go with Pete Carroll. Too old school. Think the wheels are finally going to fall off.

He reminds me of Don Shula in the 90’s TBH. The game had mostly passed him by but is still winning based of the greatness of the QB. The Seahawks haven’t made it out of the divisional round in over 5 years 

[Forge]

3 hours ago, Blackstar12 said:

Realistically it should be Gruden especially if they fail to make the playoffs again. However Raiders management still thinks highly of him for some strange reason. 

 

He's got like 6  guaranteed years being paid by the poorest owner in the sport. That alone is going to really cap the odds that he gets canned any time soon

[diamondbull424]

For me it depends on if Denver lands Aaron Rodgers. If they don’t, I see Vick Fangio getting let go before the season is up.

[///mcompact]

Fangio

[Blackstar12]

28 minutes ago, Forge said:

He's got like 6  guaranteed years being paid by the poorest owner in the sport. That alone is going to really cap the odds that he gets canned any time soon

Sucks for Raiders fans that want him gone. He’s living off past success that happened a long time ago.

[NinerFever]

Mike Mccarthy

[Apparition]

Zac Taylor. He's just looked overmatched by the job. 

[Mr Raider]

7 hours ago, Blackstar12 said:

Realistically it should be Gruden especially if they fail to make the playoffs again. However Raiders management still thinks highly of him for some strange reason. 

 

Highly unlikely Gruden is the first HC fired this season. There will inevitably be a coach that is fired during the season. And while I am in no way saying Gruden has done enough to say he shouldn't have any sort of hot seat or anything, he hasn't been so bad where his seat should be hot enough where firing him during the season before any other HC gets the can, is the likely outcome, or even the right decision for that matter. Baring the team starting off 0-8 or something, Gruden isn't being let go in the middle of the season. For him to actually be fired at all, I think it will take a total implosion of like 2-15 to 4-13 (we won't be that bad). If that happens it will be a pretty clear indication that Gruden has lost the locker room and his message/act has grown thin with the players. His contract still having so many years makes it highly unlikely he is fired even this next off season. Earliest I can see is probably after the 2022 season baring the total collapse. And frankly even with his short comings I don't think he has been so bad in his 3 years with the Raiders that he should be at the top of lists of coaches that should have the hottest seats regardless of what the contract looks like or whatever. His first year was a total tear down, new system, all that. We were very bad. His second year he sees improvement in the team to a 7-9 record, and he improved by a game to 8-8 this past season. We have basically been an average team overall the past couple of seasons, with two straight seasons of playing like a good team the first 8-10 games and playing poorly down the stretch. That can't happen again this year IMO and justify him coming back, but Gruden is one of the least likely of the head coaches to be fired during the season. 

12 hours ago, DontTazeMeBro said:

I’ll go with Pete Carroll. Too old school. Think the wheels are finally going to fall off.

I could definitely see it after the season, but Seattle would have to be much worse than I believe they will be this season for Carroll to be fired first. He's built up enough equity, and still reliably puts out teams that win 10+ games and gets in the playoffs that will keep him from being the first HC to get the axe. His stint in Seattle has probably earned him the right to be let go after the season ends as a fire of trying to get back over the hump and try and fresh voice, not give him the axe in the middle of the season where they will likely still be competing for the post season. 

[KingOfNewYork]

Only candidates IMO to be fired are Taylor(CIN), Nagy(CHI). McCarthy(DAL), Kingsbury(AZ), Fangio(DEN) and Zimmer(MIN)

Everyone else either just hired their coaches or have a long enough track record that they'll get the full season and then "mutually part ways"

The guys listed above all have huge expectations to either win big or show huge improvement. If I was a betting man I'd say Fangio as he has the most unsure QB position of them all. Teddy is good but how consistently good will he be. Nagy has a rookie so all it takes is the rookie spark to save his job but Fields isn't a good passer ATM by NFL standards so there's question marks all over. Dalton is a solid pro, can he be a Fitz like for Chicago. McCarthy needs to win, Kingsbury has a loaded roster, Zimmer needs to win and Taylor needs to have Burrow playing a pro bowl level and scoring points. If he does that he's safe. 

In short Fangio or Nagy. 

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by KingOfNewYork

[Mr Raider]

For my pick on the first HC to be let go this season, I will throw out 2 or 3 names I think are most likely (most likely being first listed) and another guy I think in most circumstances would be the top choice but has a more unique situation that will kind of be the trump card over the others because only one has the same type of piece (and it's the most important aspect in all of football, the QB position, a highly drafted first or second year guy at that). But what will separate the two is the fact one of them is coming off a serious injury where they were beat up, and the other guy hasnt been great but has still won a decent amount and taken his team to the playoffs. From most likely to least likely. 

Zac Taylor - Someone else mentioned him a couple posts before this one, and I am inclined to agree. It may not be totally fair, he hasn't exactly had a roster flooded with talent, but the bottom line in the NFL is that you dont get to make it much further than 2 1/2 seasons or so with a winning percentage in the .200's very often. He doesn't have much he can hang his hat on and point to and feel confident it's something that will buy him more time. Outside of Burrow, who got a serious injury year one. I do feel for him in the sense the Bengals have been rebuilding and just not super talented, but a lot of the things you can question most with him go much deeper than just having enough talent to win a lot of games. Playing in that division isn't going to lend to a lot of wins this upcoming season either. He seems like the fairly typical HC that was hired to be the big potential lottery ticket if he makes something out of very little, but is far more likely to be the guy brought in to be there for the rebuild before being let go for someone more proven to help the young franchise QB take the next step. 

Vic Fangio - Fangio is a really strong defensive mind, and I actually think Denver has a pretty good roster overall, but there have been long lasting concerns that Fangio is a DC that can be great at that, but isn't HC material. And regardless how good he may be as a HC or getting a defense to play well, he has an uphill battle keeping his job while starting Lock or Bridgewater. Those guys just aren't going to produce at the level that will be needed to show the team is moving in the right direction. Especially in a division with Mahomes and Reid, Herbert coming off a great rookie year, and a QB in Carr who I believe is a top 12-14 type QB that is miles better than Lock or Bridgewater, and the Broncos overall have struggled in the division. I just don't think they will be able to overcome that limitation to the degree necessary to have the type of success needed to keep his job. And a rough start could easily jump start the process of moving on. I would feel much stronger in Fangio sticking around had they taken Fields. I think it would have helped save his job long term with how good I believe Fields will be and how well constructed the rest of the team is. But that likely wasnt a decision Fangio got final say on. 

Mike Zimmer - I really like Mike Zimmer the HC. I think most teams can do a lot worse than him as your HC. I think he has proven throughout his time in Minnesota that he can be a coach that can get your team into the playoffs without elite QB play. He always has well coached teams. He's in the top half of the league in terms of winning percentage among active head coaches, but when you start comparing him to other coaches that have had the job for 5-7 years, he doesn't have as much success in terms of the post season and such like those other long tenured head coaches. I feel like his seat was pretty warm at the end of the year, and if the Vikings start off poorly throughout the first half of the season, I don't think Zimmer survives. The Vikings are one of the toughest teams for me to predict this year, I could see them having a 5 or 6 win season, or winning 10 or 11 games and making the playoffs, but I'm going to lean closer to the former, and while it won't all be his fault and he will have done a lot of good, after so many years and potentially seeing it as his ability hitting the ceiling with that current team, it could easily lend itself to the front office wanting to start fresh. Get a new voice in the locker room and kind of start over in a new direction. 

Matt Naggy - Naggy for me would probably be at the very top of the list for me, had they not taken Justin Fields that is. I had Fields as my #2 QB, and I think Fields presence will buy Naggy at least the entire season unless Fields just looks terrible and the team totally implodes. Pace is on just as hot a seat and won't get to hire the next HC should he fire Naggy, and even an impatient owner will usually try and avoid rushing to make a decision that leads to a high first round QB (particularly one where you traded future picks to go up and get) having to deal with instability and turnover with their coaching staff. Fields will buy them more patience, and if he is as good as I think he will be he will likely buy them more than just getting through the season. Naggy himself has inspired little confidence from me, but I believe Fields, a great wideout in Robinson, sound running game, and a defense that has been consistently really solid to very good will keep them from totally bottoming out. But how little faith I have in Naggy still lands him in my top 4. I don't find it impossible to envision Naggy waiting too long to start Fields rolling with Dalton, having a bad start, and things snow balling from there to the point even Fields injecting youth can't overcome. I don't think it's extremely likely, hence why he isn't number 1, but I am not totally ruling it out either. 

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Mr Raider