The Monday following the end of the NFL season is a tough time for a lot of people. Players are coming to the realization they may have played their last game. Some fans won’t see their teams in action for another eight months. For coaches, this day is called Black Monday. Every year, a handful of coaches are released from their contracts following a disappointing season. This year, so far, we have four open spots, but only one has come on Black Monday. Of the four openings, which of the 2020 head coaching vacancies is the most appealing?
Washington Redskins
The Redskins fired Jay Gruden on Oct 7, just five weeks into the 2019 season. At the time, Washington was 0-5, bringing Gruden’s record to 35-49-1. Since then, the Redskins finished the year 3-8 with interim HC Bill Callahan.
Washington has some pieces in place on the field. They drafted QB Dwayne Haskins in the first round of last year’s draft. His rookie year was an interesting one. He wasn’t expected to start at all this year, but poor choices from the coaching staff and injuries to Case Keenum gave him playing time. With the offense not totally designed around him, and the mid-season changing of the guard, Haskins didn’t necessarily flourish. Extrapolating his stats from just his seven starts this season, Haskins was on pace to throw for 2,800 yards, 16 TDs, and 7 INTs. This isn’t spectacular, and it’s not horrendous. He needs to be given more opportunities.
While the next coach has a first-round pick QB, the rest of the team looks pretty shaky. Aside from rookie Terry McLaurin, none of the WRs seemed to stand out. Jordan Reed missed the entire season with a head injury that’ll likely end his career. RB Derrius Guice played in only five games after dealing with a torn meniscus, an MCL sprain, and two IR designations. In his two years in the league, he’s been on IR three times. Trent Williams held out most of the year, and upon his return, was immediately put on the Non-Football Injury List, as he battled with team’s medical staff. Josh Norman had another bad year in Washington and was essentially benched for the final six games of the season.
On top of all those questions surrounding the players, the biggest question of all may come from the owner’s box. Dan Snyder has been a problem that’s plagued the franchise since he purchased the team in 1999. Under his ownership, the Redskins have gone 142-193-1 and have won the NFC East only three times. His management style and desires to run football operations have negatively impacted the team greatly. They may have fired their de facto GM, President Bruce Allen, but Snyder is the real problem in Washington.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers fired Ron Rivera on December 3, 13 weeks into the 2019 season. At the time, Carolina was 5-7, bringing his record to 76-63-1 in his nearly nine seasons with the team. They finished the last four games 0-4 under interim HC Perry Fewell.
It was speculated that QB Cam Newton was still injured entering the season. After just two weeks, he was sat, and it was later revealed that he suffered a Lisfranc fracture. He was placed on IR, finishing the season having started only two games. Backup QB Kyle Allen looked promising at points in the season, but down the stretch, the original magic began to fade away, as he threw 10 INTs in his final five starts. By the end of the season, Allen was benched for rookie Will Grier who didn’t show anything either.
Rivera wasn’t really the one to blame in Carolina. It’s hard to blame a coach when he loses his starting QB. It was just the time for his tenure to come to an end, as they’d been trending downward the last three seasons.
The next coach will have a big decision to make with Cam Newton. A healthy Cam is still a solid NFL quarterback. The problem arises when he’s not able to move the way he used to. His arm is still good enough, though. Luckily, the next guy will also have the best RB in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey to rely on.
Cleveland Browns
What a difference just four short months can make. Heading into the 2019 season, I believed that the Cleveland Browns had enough talent to win the AFC North. Hell, I still believe that. However, what they lacked was leadership and experience from the coach. Freddie Kitchens was in over his head, and it cost the Browns their season. In past years, specifically in the Hue Jackson era, 6-10 would’ve been considered a success. But, after the improvements last year and this past offseason, it seems like a huge disappointment.
Myles Garrett’s incident seemed to be a defining point in their season. It was a moment of rage and frustration that overcame Garrett and led to the assault to Mason Rudolph. From that point on, the Browns only two wins came against the Bengals (who’d they later lose to) and the Dolphins.
The amount of talent the Browns have on the roster is incredible. They have a first overall pick QB, two top-15 WRs, two 1,000-yard rushers at RB, a first-round TE, a first overall pick DE, a Pro-Bowl second-year CB, and a collection of other talented pieces. Any coach with any ability will help Baker Mayfield reach his full potential with all of these targets around him.
Whoever the next head coach is will either have to have a background in offense, or they’ll need to hire a stellar offensive coordinator. Both sides of the ball have a lot of talent, but they need someone to help put it all together. We saw what Baker was capable of his rookie season. It’s inside of him somewhere. Someone just needs to find it and rip it out.
New York Giants
Pat Shurmur was 9-23 in his two seasons with the New York Giants. Oddly enough, it’s the exact same record he ended with after two seasons with the Cleveland Browns earlier in the decade. I’m never a fan of firing a guy after less than three years, but in this case (and Kitchens as well), I understand it. He’s done nothing to bring confidence to the football team, and you don’t want to drag your young QB through another year just to make a change later. Now is the right time to make this move.
This year, the Giants made the move the decision to go with their rookie QB, Daniel Jones, over Eli Manning after the veteran struggled early in the year. In his starts, Jones was on pace to throw over 4,000 yards with 32 TDs and 16 INTs. One aspect he really needs to work on, however, is his ball security. Jones fumbled a league-leading 18 times this season. Not all of that is on him, as the Giants offensive line is still pretty poor, but 18 times is ridiculous.
On offense, the Giants have one of the best RBs in the league in Saquon Barkley, a talented TE in Evan Engram, and some decent WRs in Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton. On the other side of the ball, there are some talented, young pieces as well including Jabrill Peppers, Dexter Lawrence, and Leonard Williams. Luckily, the Giants will have money coming off the books from Eli Manning that they can use to continue solidifying the offensive line and adding more talent on defense.
There’s a lot of potential here, but it’ll really come down to how the next coach feels about Daniel Jones. A candidate would have to really like Jones and think they can continue to help him grow to take this job. It’d also take a lot of trust in GM Dave Gettleman who’ll be staying put for now, but who knows what the future holds for him. If it were up to Giants fans, he’d probably be gone yesterday.
So, who is it?
It has to be the Browns. There’s just too much talent to pass up on. You almost have to jump on it right away. The one draw back is that the division may belong to Lamar Jackson as long as he’s around. Also, don’t forget that the Bengals are probably attempting to draft their franchise guy this year, and Ben Roethlisberger may be back as well to solidify the Steelers again.
In order:
- Browns
- Giants
- Panthers
- Redskins
Should the Cowboys job become available, I think that’d be the second-most appealing. However, in that situation, like the Redskins, there’s an overreaching owner that’d definitely impact how I view the scenario. But, based off talent alone, Dallas would be a clear second.