The Lions fired Jim Caldwell after a 9-7 season. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The NFC North lost half its head coaches Monday morning when the Detroit Lions fired Jim Caldwell and the Chicago Bears followed soon thereafter by ousting John Fox.
Neither move was surprising. There had been plenty of speculation about the job security of both coaches. But the levels of justification associated with the two moves were far different.
[Chuck Pagano is out in Indy but had no chance in this Luck-less season]
In the Bears’ case, there was little choice but to move on from Fox. It simply wasn’t working. The Bears just finished a 5-11 season and were 14-34 in three seasons under Fox. It was clear that they needed to turn over the development of prized young quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to someone else.
The team didn’t do Fox any favors this season by both signing Mike Glennon to a lucrative contract as a free agent and trading up in the NFL draft to get Trubisky second overall. Doing one or the other would have made sense; doing both left the franchise with a lack of clear direction at quarterback entering the season.
Even so, it’s now clear that Trubisky is the Bears’ present as well as their future at quarterback. He didn’t have a great rookie season, by any means. But there were enough good moments to provide hope that he can be a franchise quarterback.
Maybe Trubisky is sufficiently attractive as a prospect to lure New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to Chicago. More likely, it will be someone from the next tier of offensive-minded coaching candidates, someone such as offensive coordinators Frank Reich of Philadelphia, Matt Nagy of Kansas City or Pat Shurmur of Minnesota, or Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
[Patriots secure AFC’s top seed, Ravens knocked out on final day of NFL’s regular season]
Nagy and DeFilippo don’t turn 40 until April and could benefit from the Sean McVay effect. McVay’s success in his first season with the Los Angeles Rams, after being hired as the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, could boost the job chances of other young coaches.
The Lions’ choice was far less clear-cut. They just finished a 9-7 season. Caldwell was 36-28 in four seasons in Detroit and took the Lions to the playoffs twice. They’d been to the postseason once in 14 years when he arrived. Caldwell is the Lions’ winningest coach of the Super Bowl era.
That was not enough, in the Lions’ view. It is believed by many within the sport that General Manager Bob Quinn, who formerly worked in the Patriots’ front office, will hire someone with New England ties. It is thought that the Lions’ top candidates will include McDaniels, Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia and Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker. The name of Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks also is being mentioned.
Whoever the Lions choose had better win and win big. That has been established as the new level of expectation in Detroit. It is a level of expectation not justified by the team’s accomplishments to date.
Read more:
With a new GM and lots of draft picks, it has to get better for the 0-16 Browns. Doesn’t it?
The Patriots are the AFC’s No. 1 seed, and a return to the Super Bowl feels inevitable
For the Jets, five wins are a lot — and enough to keep their coach and general manager
Read Again https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/01/01/nfc-north-turns-over-with-firings-of-the-bears-john-fox-and-the-lions-jim-caldwell/Bagikan Berita Ini
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