DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Coach Firings

Let's see you defend firing a HC who won 11 games and led a team to the playoffs having to start four different QB's in order to hire a different HC that led his team to 4-13.

Winning coaches get fired all the time. Lovie Smith had a 10-6 record with the Bears the season he was fired at season's end. He had a 9-year record of 81-63 at .563 (better than Stefanski's 4-year record). Lovie had 3 playoff appearances while winning the NFC North 3 times (none for Stefanski) and had 1 Super Bowl appearance. Lovie had 3 more years of NFL HC experience with TBB (2) and HOU (1) never finishing better than 6-10. Though winning is important, having the ability to get your team to win those big games that will get you over the top is equally important. I would suspect that's the exact reason why rumors are flying around about a coaching change coming in PHI and/or DAL if they lose this weekend.

That's the big question now, does Stefanski really have the ability to take the Browns to the next level - so far, not so much.

Yeah, with Flacco and a decimated roster, not so much. So you wish to bring up one of only a very few times it's even happened in the NFL? I think thou doest protest too much. "Look, I found an anomaly!"

With all this talk the last few weeks about KS being a candidate for Coach of the Year you'd think he'd be safe from all the BS talk about getting fired. How man coaches faced the injury mess he did and still came out with an 11-6 record and a playoff spot with 5 different QB's and RB by committee?

Just a guess on my part, but I'd say Kevin is safe. I do suspect they will go out and get a REAL OC.. I just think that he being both the HC and OC (I know, not in title) is just a bit too much. I do hope that Schwartz is staying put.

It’ll be interesting to see if Dallas has an opening after getting drubbed at home. Jerry doesn’t like to be embarrassed.

You're really going out on a limb, there.

I was speaking of "safe from the BS talk"!

Of course he's not getting fired.

Wow!!! You really want to fire the possible coach of the year. A coach that dealt with more injury issues this year than any other team and still got that team to the playoffs? I really believe that at the start of the season the Browns had the best roster in the NFL. Thank you Andrew Berry!!! Then the injuries piled up. That great roster that Berry pit together couple with very good game plans each week by Stefanski this team found a way to get to the post season.

Let's not forget Stefanski found a way to beat the Niners with PJ Walker. They beat the Ravens at Baltimore with a Houston Texans practice squad Left Tackle and a 3rd string right tackle. The season did not end the way we wanted. But it sure went better than it really should have. That was Stefanski coaching that did that. Stay healthy and this team would have had home field and would still be in playoffs this year.

Lovie was fired after starting the season 7-1 and then missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.

Not that the actual context matters when you can cherry-pick some of your endless, mindless stats. With that said... the Bears went on to ONE winning season in the next eleven.

Any other dazzling stats to support firing Stefanski?

How 'bout some more "winning coaches are fired all the time" examples...

j/c...

How much longer are they going to prop up Tomlin?

He didn't lead us to the playoffs, Flacco did. If not for Flacco we would still be running flea flickers with DTR and double reverses.

Facts don't matter for your argument? Sounds about right.

It was getting later in the game, and the defense had plenty of time to settle in and they didn't. The engine that had brought the team this far (the defense) was playing like crap. He tried something other than handing it back to their offense who was probably going to march right back down the field.

I'm curious what you think the proper adjustment should've been. Your defense (the reason you're here in the first place) is having a bad day. Your #5 and #6 OTs are getting smoked when they pass block and you haven't had a run game since like halfway through the season. So what is this magical adjustment that KS failed to do?

KS coached his tail off this year. Making the playoff was "the next level" given the injuries this year. Our starting QB and LT (off the top of my head) weren't on the team when the year kicked off.

I'm glad Falcco was making the play calls and running practices while preparing the team all week. I had no idea.

I heard Flacco also taught the team how to apply some of Mac's rehab procedures as well, helping players return to the field faster.

There may be something to that. I mean Flacco did stay healthy for six full starts. It had to be what they're calling "The Mac Magic!"

I mean, if you're going to believe he's the one exclusively responsible for the playoff run, may as well go all in.

Those criticizing Stefanski needs to keep this in mind. Joe Flacco was 1-9 in his last 10 starts before playing for the Browns. Stefanski coached Flacco to a 4-2 record as Browns starter. Those wanting to give Flacco all of the credit for the late season run and rob Stefanski of the credit for taking a badly beaten-up football team with the Texans practice squad player as Left Tackle, A Quarterback and Running Back that was not on an NFL roster to start the season on a late season playoof push might want to know that stat.

Flacco was not even on the team when Stefanski helped guide a team with a QB that had 0 TD's and 6 INT's to wins over the San Fransico 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts. Then if not for the defense giving up a late game TD a win on the road vs Seattle. All of those teams had winning records and 1 was the top seed in the NFC.

That is coaching. Plain and simple.

Deshaun Watson 4-1
Joe Flacco 4-2
PJ Walker 2-1
Dorian Thompson Robinson 1-2
Jeff Driskel 0-1

Don't forget the chess match against the Steelers. An absolute work of art from the coaching standpoint.

I wonder if the Browns had a record of 7-10 or 8-9 this past season, if there would be so much controversy among fans. I think those records would have been more appropriate for all of our in-season injuries.

Since we made a late season run, more was expected because many fans assumed Flacco would continue to ball out. The Houston drubbing to me was what more games we could have experienced this past season. But we good plans by coaches and players gave a performance that exceeded the sum of their parts.

As with anything, I think some would rather lose than be wrong.

I had pointed out before to those that think Stefanski & Berry suck, that if they both suck, shouldn't we be 0-17.

If Berry is so bad at developing a roster, then Stefanski must be a good coach.

If Stefanski is a lousy coach, Berry would need to be a genius at player acquisition to produce the record we did.,

j/c...

Early 2024 NFL Season Predictions:

Cowboys lose in first round of playoffs.

Hmmm......Chicago is looking at the USC QB coach for Offensive Coordinator AND they also have the #1 pick where they could draft USC QB Caleb Williams?

Yes - things that make you go hmmmm...

I don't really get the Mitchell firing. All the RB's we have love the guy,. They appear to be willing to run through walls for him.... And they proved they can get the job done. I'm confused by this

100% agree. I don't like this one bit.

I'm surprised that both Philly and Dallas are standing pat

Agreed. Really have respect for him; not sure what had to be done better or differently, because I thought he was a high quality part of the coaching staff. What was a realistic expectation given the injury cards we were dealt this season? I am surprised and upset; this hardly seemed a step forward in any sense to me. He has reliably supplied some qualities like those you point out; his replacement has a high bar, and I wonder about the missing intangibles.
Thanks for your dedication and hard work, coach!

I don't know that I'm right here but based on my perspective of the history of coach firings maybe my viewpoint is a bit skeptical. Often times my perception of these things is that when an NFL FO fails in providing proper depth they blame the coach, certain coaches or even an entire coaching staff takes the fall for a lack of talent.

Of course in all honesty I can't predict how Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong or even John Kelly would have done with different coaching. So it could be that this FO feels that these RB's could have been better coached. But for them to believe that they must believe that they gave Mitchell good RB's and he lacked the ability to develop them and get the most out of them.

Whether it was Mitchell's failure to develop them or their lack of being competent NFL RB's is up to the opinion of each poster here. I can see how people may feel differently about that.

Saw a YT talking head segment say it was all over leaks.

The irony there being that any knowledge of the sort would be the result of a leak.

Harbaugh is going to the Chargers!!