Washington head coach Ron Rivera is all but certain to get fired on Black Monday. (Photo by Todd … [+] Olszewski/Getty Images)
Firing season is nearly at hand in the NFL. After Sunday’s games, the regular season will be down to one more weekend, with black Monday coming January 8.
That date means that its time for NFL teams to get out the collective broom and sweep failed head coaches out of the building.
There have been multiple in-season firings, and while Frank Reich may have gotten a raw deal when he was booted out of town by the Carolina Panthers in November, there is little doubt that the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers made the right movies when they fired Josh McDaniels and Brandon Staley, respectively.
The new firings are almost certain to include Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders and Arthur Smith of the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears also has a good chance of being shown the door, and a number of other surprise candidates could get shown the door.
Ron Rivera
Rivera’s days appeared numbered the day Josh Harris bought the Commanders from Dan Snyder. Rivera was one of the few attributes that had made the team acceptable during the Snyder era, but it is clear that Harris wants his own leadership at the helm.
Harris showed patience and class by giving Rivera another season, and there was hope at the start of the year that the Commanders had the talent on defense and the big-play ability on offense with Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson to put together a winning season and a possible run at the playoffs. However, they did not have the quarterback.
The season fell apart quickly for the Commanders and the defense did not come close to meeting expectations. The Commanders lost touch with the Eagles and Cowboys quickly, but falling below the Giants in the NFC East was unforgivable.
In addition to Rivera, Harris is likely to fire general manager Martin Mayhew. The rebuild of the Commanders will begin on Black Monday.
Head Coach Arthur Smith of the Atlanta Falcons has not been able to help his team win one-score … [+] games. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images)
Arthur Smith
The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league. They have regularly put themselves in a position to win games, but they have regularly failed when the game is on the line.
The Falcons take a 7-8 record into their Week 17 game against the Chicago Bears. They have an outside chance at winning the NFC South, but their previous failures in one-score games indicates that they will not make it.
Atlanta’s last 6 losses have been by one score or less, and that should convince long-time Falcons owner Arthur Blank that Smith is nothing but a liability for the team. He will coach his last game in Week 18 against the New Orleans Saints.
Matt Eberflus
The Bears have shown some improvement after a brutal start to the season, but they are still in last place in the NFC North.
The Bears were unprepared at the start of the season and they were buried early with an 0-4 record. As the season progressed, the Bears got in the habit of blowing fourth-quarter, double-digit leads. That happened three time this season.
A good coach is supposed to hold his team together in the 4th quarter, and that’s when Eberflus lost control.
The other issue is quarterback Justin Fields. There are questions about whether the Bears want to keep him going forward in Year 4 despite his remarkable athletic ability. If they decide to stay with Fields, do they really think Eberflus is the best man to help the talented quarterback improve? Very unlikely.
The Bears close the season with a trip to Green Bay. It makes sense that it will be the last game Eberflus coaches for the Bears.
