“NFL Firing Days”

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The regular season is over.  The post season is about to begin.  The off season started messy.

6-Wildcard playoff games are coming Saturday-Sunday-Monday.

But the road to the playoffs is littered with firings and controversies.

A look at NFL storylines:

CHARGERS..Everybody is in denial  the day after the hi powered Chargers could not put away a plodding Raiders offense.  Coach Brandon Staley remains defiant he blew the game, by going for a 4th down at his own 18-yard line.   Equally defiant over using a timeout, giving the Raiders a chance to rip off a 10-yard run that moved them closer to a game winning field goal.  We know two things for sure.  The Chargers went (5-7) after a good start.  And the John Spanos-Tom Telesco team has a 9-year record (69-76) and just two playoff appearances.

RAIDERS…Give them credit for grit on defense.  How they managed to stay on the field for 88-snaps against Justin Herbert was an amazing vote of resiliency and toughness.  Josh Jacobs had the kind of game the team was waiting for over the last three years.  If they have any gas left in the tank, they could cause the Bengals some heartburn next weekend.

RAMS…Big play quarterback, big play defense, but still plagued by turnovers and mistakes.  If they can’t run the ball, it puts the ball in the hands of Matthew Stafford, and that means TDs, interceptions, fumbles.  Should go deep in the NFC playoffs, but you never know Sunday to Sunday what you will see.

MIAMI..Stunning firing of Brian Flores, but turmoil on his coaching staff on a yearly basis, lots of coordinator turnover over three seasons, and lack of communication between coaches and players.  He might get hired as a head coach again, he could be a gem of a defensive coordinator.  Oddly, another Bill Belichick assistant who has been fired.

CHICAGO..Total house cleaning.  What a mess.  Matt Nagy started so well and it  burned to the ground after that.  All about quarterbacks, or lack of,  in the Windy City.  Do you realize the Bears have had 39-quarterbacks on their roster since 1989?  GM Ryan Pace went out the door too.

MINNESOTA…End of the run for Mike Zimmer and his GM.  Ownership spent a ton of money of talent, but did not get to the playoffs two years in a row, and the financial commitments will continue.  Lots of talent yet to make a mark in the NFC.

DENVER…It has been awhile since they were any good.  All this failure is an indictment of John Elway’s decision making on hirings.  Years later, they still don’t have an established QB.  The Peyton Manning era was a bunch of years ago.  The Elway era was 20-years ago.  Vic Fangtio will make someone a great defensive coordinator.  Maybe the Chargers should consider this guy.

RAIDERS…Still at least one game left for them, but they have played hard for interim guy Rich Bisuccia.  does that throw a monkey wrench in the potential of a Jim Harbaugh hire?  Stay tuned on the decision that Mark Davis may have to make.

JAGUARS….Interviewing everyone.  Should it be an NFL guy or a college hot shot?  Whomever they get, inherits QB-Trevor Lawrence.

GIANTS..They kept second year coach Joe Judge, but fired GM-Dave Gettleman.  Enough is enough with a (19-46) record since he took over.  They have two high first round picks, have a QB, a quality RB, but little else.  They wasted alot of free agent money too..

SEATTLE…Big question, do they need a different voice?  Has the era of PeteCarroll ended?  Can they fit what is wrong around Russell Wilson?  Meetings this week with ownership.  This bears watching.

Bring on the playoffs.  Still more stories to be told about teams in trouble.

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