It has been quite possibly the most historic week of coaching news in the history of the sport as multiple future hall of famers and coach of the year award winners have lost their job or in the case for Nick Saban, retired entirely. With the names of Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, and Pete Carroll losing their jobs this week it is a stunning turn in a league that has changed since each of those names respectively earned their head coaching jobs in separate eras of the NFL.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say all of these firings come as a bit of a shock to the NFL fans and the community as a whole. Mike Vrabel was a ‘Coach of the Year’ award winner just two seasons ago. Pete Carroll took a rag tag group of players and an reclamation project at quarterback and turned them into playoff contenders in back to back seasons. Bill Belichick stands alone as the greatest coach of a generation and made the playoffs only two seasons ago.
It proves more than ever the league itself works on a “What have you done for me lately?” mindset and has slowly crept towards always wanting to find that new and shiny commodity even at the leadership position. Teams do not want to be left in the dust holding onto to seasons past while allowing the like of Mike McDaniel or Shane Steichen pass them by. While the justification for moving on from these coaches who can obviously still coach at a high level is a bit shallow, it’s a mindset owners feel forced to adapt in such a rapidly changing NFL.
Bill Belichick:
The greatest ever. pic.twitter.com/jqcVBoTelp
— Savage (@SavageSports_) January 11, 2024
In the brashness of the dumping of these coaches comes the full circle nature of the NFL with other teams looking at proven coaches who can build culture as the jewel of their own franchise. From ready to compete teams looking for stability like the Los Angeles Chargers to teams that are in a dire situation hoping for any form of consistent culture like the Carolina Panthers, both of those franchises can ill afford to get it wrong and could very well look the way of Belichick or Vrabel. Not that it is a guaranteed of course that anything works out, but the value of having proven winners who have players that respect them and the winning culture they bring can be invaluable in a modern NFL.
It would be a fool’s bet to guess anything changes with these trends, teams always jump to be the ones to innovate or copycat the winners across the league, and why not? Teams have been looking for their own Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan since they entered the league and for good reason. Each of their proteges seem to be having success in their own right as well. It is just important to remember that in the rush to find the newest ‘thing’ not to leave behind the coaches who have proven to the right choice all along even when they hit speed bumps in their career.
