Fox’s 2016 NFL Season Preview Part 2: Which Coaches will get fired?

Which NFL coaches will get replaced between now and the Super Bowl in 2017?

Jim Caldwell(replaced by Teryl Austin). Caldwell somehow saved his job with the new general manager and front office regime. If Teryl Austin had left for a NFL head coaching opportunity, then Caldwell probably would have been canned.

The Lions did finish well in 2015 but it was largely smoke and mirrors only now with Calvin Johnson retired, they’re missing a lot of those mirrors to try and repeat the same in 2016. Talent-wise they still have big holes and didn’t do that much to fill said holes with anything other than major risks.

If the defense can’t find another playmaker to go with Ansah, then they’ll continue to give up a lot of yardage and points(they were bottom half in the league in both defensive categories in 2015).

The offense is hoping that a full year with Ameer Abdullah with Taylor Decker at left tackle gives Stafford enough time to find Marvin Jones and Golden Tate. I’m skeptical that they can actually improve under this plan.

So why Teryl Austin? My supposition is that Caldwell starts out very slow, gets canned and Austin is able to improve things enough to finish 7-9. So, in this you can surmise that I believe that Caldwell is the biggest problem with the Lions.

Jay Gruden(replaced by Sean McDermott). I just don’t see it with the Redskins. They surprised even themselves with their division title in 2015 and the players are talking up their chances to be a contender in 2016.

Unless they can do a double somersault and find 2-3 good defensive front 7 contributors it’s hard to see them winning unless they can get up big on opponents late and force them to throw into their corner corps which is quite talented.

The offense is gambling that they can find similar play from Cousins in 2016, only with a less established offensive line and running game. There’s just too many question marks and too many tough games on their schedule(Arizona, Green Bay, Carolina, Pittsburgh, etc).

And with that schedule, 5-7 wins looks very likely. With a number of players, including Cousins likely to be shown the door if this happens, the odds are that Jay Gruden will join them.

Their GM didn’t hire Gruden and there’s been persistent rumors that the only reason Gruden kept his job after the hiring of Scot McCloughan was because Dan Snyder didn’t want to pay him millions of dollars to sit on his brother’s couch at ESPN.

So why McDermott since it would signal a total defensive scheme change? Well, he’s well versed in the NFC East wars since he spent years with the Eagles. Also, the defensive talent on the front 7 is bad enough that doing a total rebuild to fit his defense would almost certainly be a net positive for the team.

Bill O’Brien(replaced by Todd Haley). O’Brien just doesn’t have to win a playoff game to save his job, he has to show a large amount of progress on the offense that the franchise shelled out a lot of cash on to upgrade. It might not be fair to ask him to make Osweiler and Lamar Miller into consistent performers, but those were the decisions he led the team into doing by not addressing those positions in the past.

Can he do this? I’m extremely doubtful. O’Brien hasn’t done much to make me think he’s good enough as an offensive mind to bring out the best in a quarterback or inconsistent running back.

And Nuk Hopkins was always seen as a talent, which is why he was a first round pick. I’d be very concerned that they’re going to depend on a couple of rookie wideouts and a line with a lot of question marks.

Todd Haley has eschewed chances to move up from his offensive coordinator spot back into a head coaching gig But Houston might have some allure for him. He would have some tools to work with and only would be stuck with Osweiler for one season before they could dump/trade him.

Next: Fisher, McCoy and Mularkey

Jeff Fisher(replaced by Jay Gruden). It’s just a horrible sign for Jared Goff(and Fisher) that Case Keenum is the starter at quarterback going into the preseason. Considering how much the Rams gave up to draft Goff and how much the futures of Snead and Fisher now ride on his shoulders, this should be a big red flag.
I wonder how much time Fisher has left. He hasn’t finished better than 3rd in his division despite the bounty of the RG3 trade. And if he can’t post even a winning season in 2016, which I doubt the Rams can do, then he has to be fired along with Snead.

I’m no fan of Jay Gruden as a leader but his offensive schemes are pretty effective when he can run them properly. Goff also seems like a good fit for his offense since he lacks the full arm strength to be a consistent deep striker passer.

The tika-taka of Gruden’s passing game should play into his strengths.

Mike McCoy(replaced by Kevin Sumlin). McCoy is another head coach who’s current career is on life support. The Bolts collapsed to 4 wins in 2015 largely because their offense became incapable of scoring points.

Their defense continued to be lukewarm at best because they refuse to get consistent pass rushers for a 3-4 defense.

They’re hoping that Ken Whisenhunt can bring back the magic he worked in 2013 for the Bolts. But unless their defense improves, its hard to see it working out for them. Now that Joey Bosa is stupidly holding out, the defense might not see any improvement. Bring a book Chargers fans, it might be a long fall and winter.

Sumlin has been pushing for an NFL opportunity since Texas A&M has struggled somewhat compared to how he started there with Johnny Football.  And he can leave for any job on January 1st 2017 without owing TAMU any sort of buyout. unless the Aggies win the SEC west, it’s hard to see Sumlin staying at College Station for any reason.

The pressure will be too great on the college to push him out and Sumlim’s offensive schemes would be very attractive to a team looking for an offensive boost.
Mike Mularkey(replaced by Mike Shula). Mularkey didn’t exactly salvage things for the struggling Titans last season, but Mariota’s play gave him a 2nd chance to get fired in 2016. He’s known as an offensive mind, but his offenses in the NFL rarely finish above 25th in the league.

Unless Mariota takes major steps forward, DeMarco Murray had 1500+ yards and Lewan/Conklin somehow keep the pocket clean, Mularkey might not even make it to week 8.

And their defense is going to need major contributions from their rookie class immediately or they’ll be as toothless as they were in 2015. In short, Mularkey will either suddenly become a genius at coaching or he’ll be a footnote.

Mike Shula has experience as a head coach and with a dual threat quarterback. He simplified and focused the Carolina offense and should be counted on for doing the same for Mariota if he was the hire.

This isn’t to say that Mariota is as talented as Cam Newton, but Shula tailored his offense to Newton’s strengths and he can do the same for Mariota. And he’s also a well established quarterback guru and no matter what else the Titans do for the next 3-5 seasons they need to maximize the return that they get from Marcus Mariota.