Rex Ryan, Mike Smith and Marc Trestman all fired on Black Monday in the NFL
The Black Monday bloodletting has begun.
A day after the New York Jets finished their worst season since 2007, an on-the-field embarrassment compounded by absurdity and clumsiness off it, the owner Woody Johnson meted out the consequences: a full overhaul at 1 Jets Drive.
As expected, Johnson fired the team's iconoclastic coach, Rex Ryan, who restored the Jets to relevance by leading them to two AFC championship appearances before presiding over four consecutive nonwinning seasons without a playoff berth. Johnson also dismissed General Manager John Idzik, whose poor personnel judgments and inability to quash the perception of the Jets as dysfunctional cost him the trust of the fan base and of the owner, and ultimately a job he had held for less than two years.
The moves reflect Johnson's dissatisfaction with the team's direction as much as its performance: a 12-20 record in the Idzik era. They also amount to a tacit admission of a mistake Johnson made by insisting during the interview process 23 months ago that the new general manager retain Ryan as coach. Such a demand winnowed the pool of candidates, costing the Jets a chance to hire executives with stronger résumés. It also created an awkward partnership between Idzik and Ryan, who operated on different timelines – Ryan in the present, Idzik in the future he thought he had.
After endearing himself to fans and players with his audacious confidence and his insistence that the Jets — his Jets — would be feared for years to come, Ryan departs six years later as a man humbled by his team's downfall. Counting the postseason, the Jets were 50-52 under Ryan, who is the only coach in franchise history to have guided the Jets to consecutive appearances in the conference championship game.
But he never did reach the Super Bowl, nor did he ever dislodge his longtime rivals, the New England Patriots, from atop the A.F.C. East. He finished 4-9 against the Patriots, including a victory in the 2010 playoffs, and 16-21 in the division, including 1-5 this season.
A search for a new general manager and coach will begin immediately. Johnson will be guided by the former NFL general managers Charley Casserly and Ron Wolf. Johnson has hired only coaches with defensive backgrounds — Herman Edwards, Eric Mangini and Ryan — and with the Jets in need of someone to groom their next quarterback, whoever that may be, this time he might prioritize offense.
Among NFL assistants, potential candidates could include the Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, the Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, the Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, the Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson; the Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and the Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase. In the college ranks, Gus Malzahn of Auburn, Jim Mora of UCLA and Brian Kelly of Notre Dame could merit looks.
FALCONS FIRE SMITH
Mike Smith was fired as the Atlanta Falcons' coach, one day after the end of his second straight losing season and a 34-3 rout by the Carolina Panthers before booing fans at the Georgia Dome.
Team owner Arthur Blank said more changes could come. He said general manager Thomas Dimitroff will be part of the search for a new coach, but then could have his status reviewed.
"We want that (search) process to play out," Blank said. "It will help us determine if we'll make any other changes to the structure of any other parts. ... Hiring the coach is the first move but may not be the only move."
Blank said firing Smith was "the most difficult decision I've had to make." Blank said he met with Smith on Monday, and the meeting ended with an exchange of warm emotions.
"The last thing he said was 'I love you' and I said the same thing," Blank said.
Atlanta had a 66-46 regular-season record with Smith and won two NFC South titles. But this season ended at 6-10. Before Smith was hired, the Falcons never had back-to-back winning seasons. He immediately raised expectations with an 11-5 finish in his first season. The Falcons won 10 or more games in four seasons under Smith, including 13-3 finishes in 2010 and 2012. Smith reached 50 wins in only 71 games, the third-fastest pace since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
Smith, however, had a 1-4 record in the playoffs. Following a trip to the NFC championship game in 2012, the Falcons have fallen to 10-22 the past two seasons.
Blank left open the possibility a playoff berth might have saved Smith's job.
"I had not made a decision if we had won what our next step was going to be," Blank said.
Ultimately, Blank decided Smith was not the right coach to take the Falcons to the Super Bowl.
"Can that individual take you to the next level?" Blank said of his appraisal of Smith. "If your answer is no in your heart or hearts, you have to put away your personal feelings."
Blank said he had no timetable for hiring a new coach.
BEARS CLEAN HOUSE
The Chicago Bears fired general manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman, making sweeping changes after missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.
Trestman is out after going 13-19 in two seasons while Emery lasted just three years. Trestman is the first Bears coach fired after only two seasons since Paddy Driscoll in 1957. Before joining the Bears, Trestman spent five years as the head coach of the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, leading them to a pair of Grey Cup championships. But Trestman found he couldn't duplicate the success he enjoyed in the CFL with Chicago.
The Bears went 5-11 in a mostly miserable season, never challenging for the NFC North lead after the first few weeks as quarterback Jay Cutler and the rest of the offence struggled mightily.
Trestman, who was hired to get the most out of Cutler, decided the team needed a spark even with the Bears out of contention, so he benched the highly paid quarterback in favour of Jimmy Clausen for the second-to-last game of the season against Detroit. Cutler wound up starting the final game after Clausen suffered a concussion against the Lions, adding another chapter to a season-long soap opera.
Giving Cutler a big contract after last season when the franchise player tag was an option is looking like another miss for Emery, as is the three-year contract extension Marshall got in May. The trade that brought him from Miami before the 2012 season actually appeared to be a hit his first two years in Chicago as he was reunited with Cutler. But the drama combined with injuries that limited him and ultimately cut short his season changed the perception.
Along with the many distractions throughout the year, there was a huge regression by the offence this season. Chicago went from second in scoring to 23rd this year despite having all its starters back, and the fact that the man Trestman beat out for the job, Bruce Arians, is rolling along with the Arizona Cardinals does not make the hiring look any better.
With files from the New York Times, Reuters and the Associated Press