The end of the NFL season is upon us now so that means only one thing. It’s firing time for coaches whose teams underperformed or didn’t make the playoffs.
First up on the list is Rod Marinelli. He was fired by the Detroit Lions today after guiding the team to an 0-16 record. You can’t really fault him though because it was actually Matt Millen (already fired) who gave him crap for players to work with. Marinelli was 10-38 in 3 seasons with the Lions.
Second up on the list is former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. He was canned today by the Cleveland Browns after the finished with a 4-12 mark. Crennel was 24-40 in 4 seasons with the Browns.
Third up on the list is another former Patriots defensive coordinator, Eric Mangini. He was promoted to defense coordinator of the Patriots when Crennel left and was there one year before being named head coach of the New York Jets. He was fired today after failing to lead the Jets to the playoffs. Mangini was 23-26 (0-1 playoffs) in 3 seasons.
The Browns have expressed interest in former Steelers head coach and current CBS analyst Bill Cowher but he has said he’s not interested in the position but hasn’t returned out a return to coaching in 2009.
The Browns are also asking the Patriots for permission to speak to Patriots vice president of personnel Scott Pioli about their opening GM position after Phil Savage was fired on Sunday. Pioli can leave the Patriots if he is offered final authority on personnel decisions something he doesn’t have with the Patriots. Bill Belichick handles the final decisions for the Pats.
And in some good coaching news, Mike Singletary had the interim tag removed from his title and is now the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Singletary took over for Mike Nolan who was canned after 7 games and led the 49ers to a 5-4 record. For that, he was rewarded with a 4 year contract.
