As the NFL regular season ended, some surprise changes happened like Nick Saban retiring, Bill Belichick being fired, and Pete Carroll being fired arguably the best head coaches in football history.
“Black Monday,” the day after the end of the NFL regular season in which the firings of coaches traditionally begin, approached shortly after midnight as Arthur Smith, Atlanta Falcons Head Coach, was let go. He was criticized for not utilizing his young talent and was begged by the community to be fired. Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans head coach, was fired also after having back-to-back upsetting seasons. Before that, however, he led the team to four consecutive winning seasons. Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers Head Coach, was fired even before Black Monday due to his incompetence as head coach despite a lot of young talent. The Carolina Panthers also fired the head coach Frank Reich, burning through their fifth coach in the past two seasons.
The two most shocking departures were yet to come. Pete Carroll was one of them; he has taken the Seattle Seahawks to the two Super Bowls, winning one (XLVIII) and losing the other (XLIX). The Seahawks had many playoff appearances and wins under Carroll’s coaching. He had also created arguably the best NFL defense of all time, “The Legion of Boom.”
The other shocking dismissal was Bill Belichick. Through his 24 seasons as New England Patriots head coach, he had won six Super Bowls, 17 AFC East titles, and nine AFC Championships. Bill Belichick produced Tom Brady, the best quarterback of all time, and Rob Gronkowski, the best tight end of all time. Bill Belichick is expected to sign with another team, likely the Atlanta Falcons.
Outside of the NFL, arguably the greatest football coach at all time retired. Nick Saban, who won six national championships, nine conference titles, ten division titles, and four Heisman winners as the leader of the Alabama Crimson Tide, stepped aside. Saban also won the 2003 national championship as the coach of LSU. Many players attended Alabama just to play under Saban; after his retirement, many of his recruits decommitted, and current players entered the transfer portal. After his retirement, former Washington coach Kalen Deboer took over at over Alabama, but indicated that Saban would not be far from the program.
“He’s the best in the business to ever do it,” DeBoer said at his introductory press conference. “I’m just gonna make sure that’s all known. That’s how I feel. 100% access, okay? To everything. I would be a fool if that wasn’t the case. I would be a fool.
