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Steelers head coach
Bill Cowher
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It’s that time of year again. And I’m not talking about company holiday
parties and stressing out over last-minute Christmas shopping.
Each December, as teams are eliminated from the playoff race, talk turns to head
coaches. Specifically, the firing of head coaches. Who’s gonna stay? Who’s gonna
go?
At the start of the 1999 season, nine teams had new head coaches. Six were the result
of teams firing their coaches. Two teams had to search for a new coach because the old
coach walked away from the job. In the case of the Browns, expansion created one more NFL
head-coaching job.
Nine new head coaches. It was an awfully high number.
Surprisingly enough, it could happen again. In fact, 10 teams have head coaches who
could be packing up their belongings and making copies of their résumés once the season
is over.
The most obvious candidate for dismissal at this point appears to be Mike Ditka in New
Orleans. Da Coach was predicting playoffs after trading away his entire 1999 draft and
first- and third-round picks in 2000 for the right to draft Ricky Williams. Instead, the
Saints will miss the postseason for the third straight year under Ditka. Despite giving
Ditka a contract extension in the offseason, Saints owner Tom Benson has to be thinking
about making a change at the top. He recently issued a statement in which he said he would
take whatever steps are necessary to re-establish the Saints as a winning franchise.
How could Benson accomplish that? I’m thinking Dom Capers. Without a doubt, the
Jaguars’ defensive coordinator will draw interest from teams that have coaching
vacancies. He makes perfect sense to succeed Ditka for several reasons. First, Capers was
a quality head coach with Carolina who was fired prematurely. Because of his stint with
the Panthers, he would bring intimate knowledge of a division foe to the Saints. He also
has a history in New Orleans, having served there as the DB coach from 1986 to ’91.
New England’s Pete Carroll is squarely on the hot seat. After a quick start, his
team hit the skids. If the Patriots fail to win a wild-card bid, you can expect Carroll to
be gone, and there have been rumblings that personnel man Bobby Grier could get a pink
slip too. Some of the names mentioned as possible coaching replacements include Gary
Kubiak, Mike Martz and Bill Belichick.
Bengals coach Bruce Coslet is pulling off his annual late-season run, which seems to
keep him on the sidelines year after year. After replacing Dave Shula midway through the
1996 season, the Coslet-coached Bengals won 7-of-9 games. In 1997, the Bengals started 1-7
but closed out the year winning 6-of-8. Last year the team won in Pittsburgh in the
second-to-last game, which helped Coslet’s cause. This year’s late-season surge
will likely save Coslet once again.
If the Redskins fail to make the playoffs, it’s a lock that Norv Turner will be
looking for a job. Even if the Redskins make the playoffs, doubt surrounds Turner’s
future with the Skins. If they make an early exit from the postseason, Turner still could
be canned. Or owner Dan Snyder may demand that the coach fire defensive coordinator Mike
Nolan, which Turner might refuse to do, leading to dismissal. Turner also could choose to
walk away. While it would be hard to walk away from a team that has as much offensive
firepower as this team has, not to mention three first-round picks next April, word has it
that Turner may want out. Snyder’s demanding demeanor is simply wearing Turner out.
What about Dallas, where owner Jerry Jones may be getting frustrated with Chan
Gailey’s inability to get the offense into high gear? Jones surely will factor in all
of the injuries the Cowboys have suffered, but what happens if the Cowboys fail to make
the playoffs? What happens if Turner, Dallas’ former offensive coordinator and close
confidant of QB Troy Aikman, becomes available? There have been rumors about such a
scenario playing out in Dallas, but I don’t buy it. My book says Gailey stays put.
Perhaps the most interesting situations involve the Jets, Dolphins, Raiders, Steelers
and 49ers. While Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson aren’t in danger of being fired,
they could walk away after the season. The same could happen with Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher
and Steve Mariucci.
The future of Parcells with the Jets depends in part on who wins the bidding war for
ownership of the team. Parcells has refused to comment on his future, but there has been
plenty of speculation over what he will do. Does he walk away from coaching as a loser? Or
does he come back next year and give it another go? Only the Tuna knows. If Parcells does
opt to leave, Belichick is believed to have a guarantee (in contract form) that he can
take over, if he wants to.
As for Johnson, he hasn’t taken this much heat as a head coach since his first
season in Dallas. Last offseason, Johnson considered resigning, saying he wanted to spend
more time with his family. Ultimately he came back, after the club hired his buddy Dave
Wannstedt as assistant head coach. If Johnson opts to go upstairs, or leaves altogether,
Wannstedt likely winds up as the next head coach of the Dolphins.
In Pittsburgh, Bill Cowher’s Steelers have now lost six in a row and are out of
the playoffs for the second season in a row. There have been some comments made by owner
Dan Rooney about his disappointment over the Steelers’ fortunes, and he didn’t
leave out the coaching. While Rooney isn’t expected to fire Cowher, who has three
years remaining on his contract, the coach could ask to be released from his deal. Cowher
has been in Pittsburgh a long time, and there is a school of thought that in NFL coaching,
you can wear out your welcome in one city. Just ask Jim Mora or Marty Schottenheimer. If
Cowher decides to step away, Capers could be attractive to Rooney, as would Steelers
defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
In Raiderland, there are rumors that Gruden and boss Al Davis don’t have the best
of working relationships. It would not be a shocker to see Gruden walk away, which could
open the door for Raiders defensive coordinator Willie Shaw.
Across the bay in San Francisco, Mariucci remains at the helm during a very trying time
for 49ers fans. He won’t be fired, but there have been reports of a power struggle in
the front office, with Marriucci wanting more say in personnel decisions. With a daunting
rebuilding process staring him in the face, Mariuccui could decide to move on, although
that appears unlikely.
So, as this season winds down, only one thing is known for sure: There is going to be a
slew of first-year head coaches again, which appears to be becoming the norm. |
