It's Coach Season (Not Duck Season)

Looks like some owners are starting their New Year's resolutions a bit before the ball drops.

The 2012 regular season has ended which means that it's time for some firings across the NFL. The most notable one is Andy Reid being fired by the Eagles after 14 years as their head coach. Philadelphia set the bar high for Andy Reid this year but the Eagles could not come close to reaching it. They went 4-12 (which is worse than 8-8), struggled to win the games they had won, and were certainly way off of making the postseason. Reid lead the Eagles to 5 NFC title games and one Super Bowl appearance but the team has noticeably dropped off the last couple of years and that cost him his job.

Another big firing was Norv Turner of the Chargers along with GM A.J. Smith. This firing came 6 years too late as Turner should never been hired nor should anyone have replaced Marty Schottenheimer. The Chargers failed to make the playoffs each of the last 3 years and San Diego is glad to see him leave.

Perhaps the biggest surprise firing was Lovie Smith. The Chicago Bears fired him after a 10-6 season in which they were just short of making the playoffs. Looks like that last second field goal that Adrian Peterson help set up for the Vikes cost Smith some Love. Smith was 81-63 as the Bears head coach and did manage to get the Bears to a Super Bowl a while back but failing the make the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row cost him big especially considering the team started the season out 7-1.

As for other notable moves, Arizona fires Ken Whisenhunt after a disastrous 5-11 season. Three straight years of failing to make the playoffs along with the trying to find Kurt Warner's replacement has now lead to finding a replacement for Whisenhunt. The Kansas City Chiefs fired Romeo Crennel after one season in which the team went 2-14. They keep GM Scott Pioli but are looking for a new head coach. General Manager of the New York Jets Mike Tannenbaum has been fired but Rex Ryan will remain as head coach. Pity the owner Woody Johnson hasn't realized yet that no Ryan can be a successful head coach in the NFL. Last one I'll mention is that GM Gene Smith of the Jaguars has been fired. Coach Mike Mularky could be next but it's clear that the new owner Shad Khan wants a new direction for this team. Could that be with Tim Tebow?

So many firings today on this Black Monday that I can't but help but wonder where some of these fired coaches will end up. Andy Reid will likely get a job somewhere but it isn't a sure thing. Romeo Crennel will probably go back to being a coordinator for some other NFL team. As for the others, we'll see.