Since most NFL coaching vacancies have been filled, I think it is interesting to observe the situation that exists in the AFC East. The Patriots hired Bill Belichick in 2000; he has been “the football guy” in New England since then. After going 5-11 in his first season with the Pats, his teams have never had a losing season – or even one with a .500 record – to this day. Moreover, the Pats have had double-digit wins in 16 consecutive seasons. The organization has been a model of consistency and consistent success.
It is interesting to look at the other three teams in the AFC East from 2000 to the present:
- Buffalo Bills: At the end of the 2000 season, Wade Phillips was fired. Since then, the Bills have had 9 head coaches – including two interim head coaches who took over when the guy in charge was fired before the season ended. None of those 9 head coaches since Wade Phillips – including the current incumbent – has posted a winning record. The Bills have had 10 head coaches since Belichick arrived in New England and the Bills’ record has been 127-177.
- Miami Dolphins: In 2000, the Dolphins hired Dave Wannstedt as their head coach; he lasted 3.5 seasons in Miami. Since then, the Dolphins have hired and fired 8 head coaches and they are one of the teams still in search of a new coach as of this morning. The Dolphins have had – including interim head coaches – 9 head coaches since Belichick arrived in New England and the Dolphins record has been 144-160.
- New York Jets: In 2000, the Jets hired Al Groh as their head coach; he lasted 1 season in NYC. Since then, the Jets have had 4 head coaches – and just hired the guy the Dolphins just fired. The Jets have had 5 head coaches since Belichick arrived in New England and the Jets record has been 141-163.
The Pats have had one guy in charge for 19 seasons and their record has been 225-79. The rest of the division has had a total of 24 guys in charge over the last 19 seasons and none of the teams have been able to break even on the field over that period of time.
Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com said over the weekend something that I have been preaching for several years now. He said that NFL GMs on unsuccessful football teams tend to get a pass from the owners for the lack of success while coaches get the axe for on field futility. You can point to several current examples – Cardinals, Jets, Bucs – but I think the most blatant example is here in Washington where Danny Boy Snyder has run through 8 head coaches over the last 20 years and 2 GMs. Only one coach in those 2 decades left with a record at .500; that was Marty Schottenheimer who was fired after one season with an 8-8 record; every other coach – including the second coming of Joe Gibbs – left DC with a losing record.
The first Skins GM of this period was Vinnie Cerrato. Looking back at some of the drafting decisions made in his tenure is comedy gold and he was the architect of some disastrously bad free agent signings too. He actually had his own radio show on the sports talk station that Snyder owned in this area; he took time to prepare for and do that show while the team was languishing below .500 on the field. Cerrato lasted about 10 years and was replaced by Bruce Allen who has distinguished himself by continuing the losing record of the team but not making a public spectacle of himself while that is going on. In fact, he has not spoken to the press in almost 600 days. D.B. Cooper is easier to find than Bruce Allen.
Here is a link to Jason LaCanfora’s column on CBSSports.com. I think it is high time we all start to look at the roster-builders for unsuccessful teams when we are handing out blame for why there is a lack of success.
I don’t know what is going on in Pittsburgh, but it would seem as if the Steelers are trying to raise their public profile. There is an inordinate amount of drama emanating from that franchise – over and above the drama that has seemed to be the norm under Mike Tomlin’s regime there. I like Mike Tomlin; he seems like an intelligent man who is far more open and revealing than 99% of his peers. I also think he is a good coach even though his teams are not always the most disciplined squads. But the last year or so has been over the top there:
- The LeVeon Bell contract hassle in the offseason was far too public and the questions about when he might or might not return to the team once the season began were far too numerous.
- Several offensive linemen basically said they did not care if Bell came back to the team or not. That is atypical for an NFL team…
- The running back position was cobbled together with James Connor and others when he got hurt. The running back position may not have been what it might have been with LeVeon Bell there, but it did not embarrass the team. So, now that the coach-shuffling season is on, the Steelers decided to fire the running backs coach. Say what?
- Antonio Brown is a diva; lots of WRs are divas; lots of very good WRs are divas. But there have been diva WRs who managed to stay short of getting into open arguments with the star QB and – reportedly – throwing a football at him in practice such that the two needed to be “sent to time outs”. Evidently, the problem is so fundamental here that the Steelers are exploring a trade for Brown even though it will cost them about $20M in dead cap space next year.
- In order not to take sides in a dispute where I clearly do not know enough to take sides, it seems perfectly clear to me that Ben Roethlisberger is not demonstrating anything related to leadership skills in this mess – and maybe he is part of the unfolding and public drama in Pittsburgh?
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers need to get all of this tied down and under control. For the last several years, the only team the Steelers had to worry about were the Ravens; the Browns stunk, and the Bengals always invented new ways to inflict wounds upon themselves. The Ravens are still a worthy rival AND the Browns now have a young core of very talented players.
Finally, Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times had this comment about the Antonio Brown situation with regard to his teammates in Pittsburgh:
“Steelers’ star receiver Antonio Brown skipped practice and went incommunicado in the days leading up to the team benching him for the season finale.
“Probably not the fade pattern his coaches had in mind.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
Is Curmudgeon going to talk now about the thirteen other NFL clubs that are in twisting vertical descent after a disastrous season?
Tenacious P:
Don’t know if there are 13 teams that are in such a disastrous state – relative to the expectations that existed for those teams at the beginning of the 2018 season – as the Steelers. Yes, the Jags are in that basket; I have been on their case for months. Yes, the Titans are in that basket – – although the expectations for the Titans were not nearly as high as they were for the Steelers. Yes, the Giants may be in that basket; and yes – maybe – the Broncos are in that basket. But I am hard-pressed to come up with anywhere near 13 teams that are in turmoil after underachieving to the degree that the Steelers did.