This is what’s called Black Monday in the NFL. The season is over and therefore a bunch of coaches get fired. Two of those to get their walking papers today are Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz and Minnesota Vikings coach Leslie Frazier.
Neither is a surprise.
Although the Vikings played some decent football down the stretch, they finished the season at 5-10-1. Overall, Frazier was 21-32-1. He took the team to the playoffs once — in 2012 — but they lost that game to the Green Bay Packers.
In fact, that was Frazier’s only winning season. In 2012, the Vikings finished 10-6 and finished second in the North. That fluky season was buoyed by Adrian Peterson’s 2,000 yards rushing. Every other season under Frazier, the Vikings finished right where they belong — last.
Frazier was largely doomed by having to roll with a shitty quarterback named Christian Ponder. That, and a declining defense.
Frankly, we don’t care who’s coaching the Vikings because they’re not going to be good for a while.
Detroit is a different story.
They’ve got plenty of talent. They just had an idiot running the show.
The Lions were arguably the most talented team in the North this season. They were in first place in the division for much of the season, but lost six of their last seven to finish 7-9.
Schwartz actually inherited that 0-16 Lions team. He slowly brought them back to respectability, making the playoffs at 10-6 in 2011. That was the lone highlight, though.
Overall, Schwartz was 29-51 and his teams were largely known for being undisciplined and lacking chemistry.
The Lions’ opening will be one of the most attractive this offseason — plenty of weapons on offense and stout up front on defense.
One name you’re going to hear is former Bears coach Lovie Smith. Another is Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
With the right coach, the Lions might just be a threat to the Packers next season.