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by Digger

(NFL.com News, Final Standings, Playoffs)

Three NFL Head Coaches were fired within 24 hours of their teams season ending snaps. New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and record setting 0-16 Detroit Lions all canned their field generals after disappointing results.

(Jets Fire Mangini - press conference).

1) New York media hyped Brett Favre's arrival so much nothing less than a Super Bowl would suffice. The Jets soon found themselves with an 8-3 record after back to back big game victories against arch rival New England (34-31) and previously unbeaten Tennessee (34-13). After beating the Titans, newspapers and sports radio were making Super Bowl party plans.

Until.......... The Jets imploded. High's and low's of New York's season rode on Hall of Fame to be Brett Favre's right arm. Favre struggled early on trying to learn the Jets offense and get in synch with his new wide receivers. Easier said than done especially with terrible playcalling. For much of this season, playcalling doomed the Jets. Failing to stick with a ground game against weaker run defenses put way too much pressure on a QB not quite familiar with the offensive scheme. Pass protection was horrendous leading to ill-advised passes often turned into interceptions.

Mancini was not inspirational. Basically, this season boiled down to the Jets only having to win one game against either San Francisco or Seattle to qualify for the Playoffs. Mancini's team was not prepared. It appeared as if no coherent game plan was put in place.. .and if one existed (?) it was quickly abandoned after opening kickoff. The stuggling Niners disposed of NY 24-14 and thanks to many many bad in game decisions by Mancini, NY lost to the lowly Seahawks in Week 16 13-3.

In the Seattle game, late in the 4th quarter the Jets had kicked a 45 yard field goal to close the gap 10-6. The kick was negated by a penalty. Instead of attempting a well within range 50 yard FG, Mancini decided to punt. Many Jets players on the sidelines were visibly upset... as were the thousands calling into Monday's talk radio sessions. Soon after not attempting a 50 yarder, NY had the ball again still trailing by 7. On 4th and short deep in their own territory with time to spare... Mancini instructs his team to go for it... they failed turning the ball over to Seattle in field goal territory. A few plays later, a one score game became a two score game... soon to be final 13-3.

The Jets were not without hope. The final game of the year was against Miami. Once again the Jets were not prepared as former NY QB Chad Pennington, cut after Favre's signing, won the AFC East title in the Meadowlands, 24-17. Miami had perfected the Wild Cat offense and NY wasn't ready for it. Jets defense was less than spectacular all season.

MSN Sports recently wrote an article stating how Mancini was not to blame for any of NY's failures. It was all on Favre. Obviously written by someone not watching Jets games this season. Sure, Favre made plenty of mistakes trying to force the issue late in games. However, it was a total team collapse beginning with the coaching staff. Coaches did not have players ready to play. No motivation coming out of half time breaks. Very bad playcalling on both offense and defense. Defense was not good all year long. Linebackers were ineffective and defensive line was contained too often. Offensive line provided little pass protection and was beaten by blitzes all season. Offensive coordinator didn't design effective protection packages. Line did not open up running lanes for featured backs.

Mancini gone... great move by New York.

2) Cleveland's Romeo Crennel was canned after a very disappointing 4-12 year. The Browns had high hopes after 2007's 10-6 record. These hopes were soon crushed when Cleveland opened the year 0-3. Nine times they failed to score more than 10 points including season ending back to back shutouts. Extremely poor clock management and an inefficient offense soon weakened overplayed defense. It wasn't all Crennel's fault as both #1 & #2 QB's were shelved due to injuries. Plenty of players missed time as Cleveland never had a chance. Crennel was somewhat of a victim here but it was his inability to handle hard times which led to his firing. Talented team should have put up more victories. Season highlight was beating up the Super Bowl Champs on a national tv, 35-14.

Browns now searching for a new Head Coach.

3) 0-16 Detroit Lions!

Congratulations!

Not winning at least one game is quite an accomplishment.

(Rod Marinelli grilled interview)

It's been a terrible year in Detroit. Everything has gone wrong from economics to sports. The Lions made history with its' winless season. This team stunk... nothing else seems fitting. I can't believe an NFL team actually lost every game. But, when watching these guys on the field... it's very believable.

Inept. Coaching, players, front office, ownership, scouts... you name it.. a complete franchise debacle.

Detroit had a few chances for victories. They played Minnesota tough twice (12-10, 20-16) and almost knocked off Chicago (27-23). Otherwise, most games were not nearly as close as scores represented. You know there weren't any teams taking these guys for granted down the stretch either. No team wanted to be the joke of the year losing to these guys. No heart, no plan, no wins.

Not all hope is lost. 2007 Miami finished 1-15. 2008 Miami won AFC East (11-5). However, these Lions have very few similarities to Miami. Don't expect miracles anytime soon. What fans can expect is a new front office and coaching staff in place before the next NFL draft. Lions are slated to have two first round draft selections making this an interesting time for a struggling organization. Much can be done in the '09 draft. #1 overall pick could be traded for 2 lower 1st rounders (netting 3 total 1st round picks).

If the Lions play their cards right they can quickly turnaround this club. They've been in this position before and failed. Well... the failures are long gone. A new regime will soon be named. Plenty of talented NFL personnel are looking for employment. This is a perfect opportunity for a coach to mold a team from bottom up.

---------BREAKING NEWS----------------

While I was typing, the Denver Broncos (8-8) announced Head Coach Mike Shanahan has been fired! Shanahan had been affiliated with the Broncos for 21 years. He was cut loose after Denver's failure to secure the AFC West title by losing their final 3 games including a winner take all finale vs San Diego Sunday night.

Shanahan's first nail in the coffin might have been made against Buffalo (week 16). In a must win game which would have secured the AFC West division title, Denver failed. The Broncos final game was a massacre. San Diego was merciless 52-21.

Shanahan could be well sought after this winter. Many vacancies already on display with a few more soon to follow (Cincinnati, KC, STL).