NFL Coaching News

It’s been more than a week since Black Monday saw the NFL’s open head coaching positions rise to six. Now, all these days later, we are at seven and holding steady, and there are a number of coordinators that are now on the move.

Eagles Fire Pederson

It is definitely unconventional to give everyone else a week’s head start when searching for their next head coach. But that’s what the Eagles did by firing Doug Pederson a full week after everyone else fired their head coaches.

Pederson won a Super Bowl in Philadelphia, but the team has been in a backslide ever since. This season, their Super Bowl odds dropped fast, as they lost their very first game to a Football Team from Washington.

Carson Wentz also seems to be on the outs as the team’s franchise quarterback, though his franchise-high salary remains. That will be a handicap for at least another year for the new head coach.

Bears Sticking With Nagy

Sneaking into the playoffs in the last week of the season appears to have saved Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy’s job for another season. He will not be fired.

What did happen, however, is the retirement of the team’s defensive coordinator, Chuck Pagano. The Bears defense has been terrific under Pagano, while the offense has been in the bottom third of the league the last two years with Nagy calling plays.

Also sticking in Chicago is general manager Ryan Pace, the man who selected quarterback Mitchell Trubisky ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the 2017 draft. Need we say more, Bears fans? Good luck.

The Bears will pick 20th in the coming NFL Draft, and online sportsbooks say that BYU quarterback Zack Wilson could fall to them in the first round.

Seahawks Fire Offensive Coordinator Schottenheimer

A difference in philosophy has led to a parting of ways between Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and third-year offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. “Let Russ Cook” was the battle cry to begin the season, and it started quite well.

Through October, Seattle was one of the best teams in the NFL, and Russell Wilson was making a run for his first MVP award.

But the offense hit a wall in the second half of the year and was terrible in the playoff loss to the Rams. So Schottenheimer is out, and Carroll declared the end of “Let Russ Cook” by saying that he would run the ball more in 2021.

Bradley New Defensive Coordinator in Las Vegas

After four years as the defensive coordinator of the Chargers, Gus Bradley is moving four hours up Interstate 15 and taking over the defense of the Raiders.

Even with the yearly list of injuries that plagued the Chargers, Bradley’s defenses have been in the top 10 in the league in each of the last three years. He’s also done particularly well against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, which is no doubt a big reason the Raiders wanted him to stay in the AFC West.

In 2020, the Raiders defense ranked 30th in the NFL. The Raiders pick 17th in April’s draft, and the online betting prediction is that the top defensive players will all be off the board when the Raiders pick.