Thursday, March 28

Vikings, Bears and Dolphins Fire Coaches on NFL Black Monday | NFL


From NFC North to AFC East, the layoffs began almost immediately after the first 17-game NFL season concluded.

The Vikings fired coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman on Monday after an 8-9 season. Their division rival Chicago parted ways with coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace after going 6-11.

And in relative surprise, Miami fired coach Brian Flores, whose Dolphins finished 9-8, including a sweep over arch rival New England.

In fact, the coaching career records for each 130-112-1 total.

However, while in South Florida the Dolphins seemed to triumph with a modest roster, both the Vikings and the Bears were major disappointments this season.

Like the New York Giants (4-13), and general manager Dave Gettleman retired Monday, though they likely would have fired him otherwise.

A major problem for Minnesota and Chicago resides in neighboring Wisconsin: the Packers. While Green Bay is an NFL powerhouse and perennial championship contender, the Vikings and Bears have made more jokes than triumphs.

“We are determined to have sustained success and provide Vikings fans with the Super Bowl championships they expect and deserve,” owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said in their statement after letting go of Zimmer and Spielman.

Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman
The Vikings fired coach Mike Zimmer, left, and general manager Rick Spielman on Monday after an 8-9 season. Photograph: David Berding / Getty Images

Zimmer was 7-8-1 against the Packers, which isn’t bad considering Green Bay’s performance in recent years. He just wasn’t good enough in that division. The Bears under Nagy were 1-7 against the Pack in the oldest rivalry in professional soccer. Nagy, the 2018 Coach of the Year, was simply going the way of his predecessors: Chicago’s last six head coaches have had a losing record against Green Bay.

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There has also been no apparent progress as a quarterback in Chicago, and the defense has taken a step back. The Khalil Mack trade in 2018, Pace’s biggest move with the Bears, got off to a good start and now looks unproductive.

Minnesota’s talent pool seems deeper than Chicago’s, from a well-paid quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​with some success to outstanding running backs and receivers. The payroll has been high, but the 2021 results, and the lack of progression in the rankings, doomed both Zimmer and Spielman.

Flores, however, did not appear to be in danger of losing his job. Flores, one of only three black-headed coaches in the NFL, bounced Miami back from a horrific first half of the schedule, going from 1-7 to 9-8, including game opener and final wins against his former boss at Nueva England.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who kept GM Chris Grier, hinted at communication problems.

“I’ve been looking at this for three years and watching the organization grow,” Ross said. “I think an organization can only function if it is collaborative and works well together, and I don’t think we were really working well as an organization … to consistently win at the NFL level.”

The 70-year-old Gettleman saw the Giants go 19-46 during his tenure and were rarely in contention for the playoffs in that span. New York’s offense was virtually invisible in 2021 despite the team spending in free agency for No. 1 receiver Kenny Golladay and tight end Kyle Rudolph, and then spending a first-round pick on wide receiver Kadarius Toney. .

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“It was a privilege to serve as the general manager of the New York Giants the past four years and to have spent so many years of my career with this franchise,” Gettleman said. “Obviously we have not had the success on the field that I expected, and that is disappointing.”


www.theguardian.com

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