DETROIT LIONS - JIM SCHWARTZ
Jim Schwartz was hired to turn around the Detroit Lions and he did it for three seasons.
He failed to keep the Lions going in the right direction the next two years - and it cost him his job.
The Lions fired Schwartz on Monday, one day after their late-season slide ended with a loss at Minnesota. He had two years and nearly $12 million left on his contract.
Schwartz informed the players of the decision during a team meeting.
''I feel awful for him,'' Lions center Dominic Raiola said. ''I feel like we let him down.''
Team President Tom Lewand said the search has begun for what he thinks is one of the most - if not the most - attractive opportunities for a head coach in the NFL.
''I can verify that by the number of calls we have already gotten since the announcement was made,'' Lewand said. ''Going through a thorough process is extremely important. That doesn't necessarily it has to be a long process.''
The Lions also let offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and wide receivers coach Tim Lappano seek other jobs, saying the rest of the staff is under contract, including some assistants for the 2014 season.
Detroit flopped to a 7-9 record this year after a 6-3 record start put the franchise in a position to win a division title for the first time since 1993.
''That is the reason we are sitting here having this conversation,'' Lewand said.
Schwartz was 29-51 over five seasons, including a 10-6 mark in 2011 that lifted the Lions to their only postseason appearance this century. The former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator was hired in 2009 when Detroit was coming off the NFL's first 0-16 season.
''Jim inherited a very tough job,'' Lions general manager Martin Mayhew acknowledged.
Schwartz led the Lions to two wins in his first year, six the next and to double digits in victories two years ago for the first time since 1995 to help them end an 11-year postseason drought.
The Lions lost their last eight games last year after a .500 start. They collapsed again this season with four straight losses and six in a seven-game stretch - blowing fourth-quarter leads in each setback - after they took control of the NFC North race. Detroit and the 2000 San Diego Chargers are the only NFL teams since 1940 to lose fourth-quarter leads in seven games in a season, according to STATS.
''From where we were in 2008 to where we are now it's a big difference,'' quarterback Matthew Stafford said. ''We owe a lot of that to him. He's a really smart guy and helped us get to where we are. Obviously, we didn't win as many games as we needed to or as we should have this year.''
The Lions took on the personality of their demonstrative and emotionally charged coach and that wasn't always good news for them.
When Detroit ran the ball instead of having turnover-prone Stafford throw late in regulation of its 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in Week 16, the crowd reacted with a loud chorus of boos. Schwartz responded by looking away from the field and screaming something toward the stands.
Schwartz negated a video review and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct by angrily throwing a challenge flag last season when Houston's Justin Forsett scored after two Lions tackled him, leading to a defeat during an eight-game, season-ending slide. The previous year, Schwartz had a heated exchange with San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh and had to be separated following their postgame handshake.
''The stuff that happened with Harbaugh just was an incident,'' Detroit guard Rob Sims said. ''The stuff with the fans just was an incident. That's not an everyday occurrence.''
Schwartz was 12-32 in games in November or later for a .273 winning percentage that was the worst for a coach in five-plus straight seasons with a team since Denver's Lou Saban won one-quarter of those late-season games from 1967-1971, according to STATS. His .363 winning percentage overall with the Lions is the worst by an NFL coach in his first five full seasons since John McKay won fewer than 30 percent of his games with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976-1980.
The Lions gave Schwartz an extension entering the 2012 season, when he had one year left on his four-deal worth about $11 million.
The second contract made him the longest-tenured coach the franchise has had since Wayne Fontes led the Lions from 1988-96.
Bobby Ross, Gary Moeller, Marty Mornhinweg, Steve Mariucci, Dick Jauron - on an interim basis - and Rod Marinelli all had a chance to lead a franchise with only one playoff victory since winning the 1957 NFL title before Schwartz got a shot to be a head coach for the first time at any level.
The Lions would like to hire someone, who runs a 4-3 defense and has head coaching experience, but they're not going to overlook assistants who fit the profile they're looking for.
''The goal isn't to hire the biggest name or the most popular candidate and win the next press conference,'' Lewand said. ''It's to win football games in 2014 and to win a championship.''
WASHINGTON REDSKINS - MIKE SHANAHAN
Mike Shanahan reached into the presidential playbook for his Washington Redskins farewell address, plucking a line that would fit nicely into the concession speech of a candidate who couldn't win re-election.
''We're better off today,'' the coach said, ''than we were four years ago.''
Whether the Redskins are actually better off, or whether Shanahan's words are merely the football equivalent of political rhetoric, he won't be around to prove the point. He was fired Monday after a 3-13 season, his plan to restore professionalism and consistent success to the franchise having disintegrated into a sea of tension and losing.
''Four years ago,'' general manager Bruce Allen said, ''we thought we did the right thing. ... Unfortunately, today, our results aren't what we hoped.''
Shanahan was dismissed after a morning meeting with Allen and owner Dan Snyder, a formality expected for several weeks as Washington wrapped up its worst season since 1994. The coach went 24-40 in four Redskins seasons and had one year remaining on his five-year, $35 million contract.
''Redskins fans deserve a better result,'' Snyder said in a statement released by the team.
Snyder was not available for further comment. He is now seeking his eighth head coach for his 16th season as an NFL owner - a span that includes just four winning seasons, two playoff victories and seven last-place finishes in the NFC East.
Allen, however, said that Snyder is ''still one of the great fans'' and isn't the source of the problem.
''It's not Dan calling the plays, it's not Dan picking the plays. It's the people he's hired,'' Allen said. ''It's our job to actually turn this team into a winner.''
Allen also announced a new power structure, saying the team's next coach will not have the all-encompassing role held by Shanahan. Allen said he has an ''open list'' as he begins the search for a replacement, including NFL and college coaches, but that he will assume of the duties of having final say over the roster.
''That power will be with me,'' Allen said.
Shanahan had a five-minute turn at the podium, thanking fans, players, reporters and Snyder. The coach did not take questions but instead defended his efforts to rebuild the Redskins while repeating his assertion that an NFL-levied salary cap penalty hindered his ability to improve the roster even more.
''Any time you take a look at some of the cap situations that we went through, it's always tough to have depth,'' Shanahan said. ''And that's what I thought really hurt us this year.''
Asked if he agreed with Shanahan that the team is better off than four years ago, Allen said: ''In ways, yes.''
''There is a nucleus for success,'' Allen said. ''And we saw it just a year ago.''
Shanahan's career regular-season record is 170-138 over 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders, Denver Broncos and Redskins. He captured Super Bowls titles with the Broncos in 1990s, but he won only one playoff game over his final 10 years in Denver and was fired after the 2008 season.
He came to Washington in 2010 and went through two losing seasons before selecting quarterback Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 overall draft pick. A season-ending seven-game winning streak propelled the Redskins to 10-6 record in 2012, their first division title in 13 years.
But Griffin was injured in the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks and required major knee surgery days later, setting the stage for a year of conflict as the quarterback vowed to return in record time and felt empowered enough to openly challenge some of his Shanahan's decisions.
Griffin returned for Week 1 of the regular season, but he wasn't the same dynamic player who won the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 2012. He was benched for the final three games of the season.
Griffin also declined to answer reporters' questions Monday. In brief remarks, he said that Shanahan ''has taught me a lot in just two years.''
Also dismissed Monday were eight assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the head coach's son.
Snyder's search for a new coach presents plenty of intrigue. He's tried nearly every angle: the hot college coach with no NFL experience (Steve Spurrier), the franchise icon (Joe Gibbs), the promising youngish coordinator (Jim Zorn) and the established demand-control-over-everything big names (Marty Schottenheimer and Shanahan).
Shanahan demanded contractual control over all football matters when he joined the Redskins, and he repeatedly emphasized the need to run a disciplined organization with a sense of decorum. Snyder met Shanahan's requests to upgrade the Redskins Park facility, spending millions on a new practice bubble and other amenities.
Shanahan weeded out the disgruntled players but ultimately was unable to stymie what he called the ''circus atmosphere'' that has permeated the Redskins under Snyder.
Leaks, rumors and power struggles were just as bad as before, as were the losses. The Redskins' season-ending eight-game losing streak is their longest in more than 50 years. Shanahan leaves with the same regular-season winning percentage (.375) in Washington as Spurrier and Zorn.
''Any coach, any organization knows in pro sports you need to eliminate distractions,'' Allen said. ''Instead, we created our own distractions. And it distracted from our play on the field.''
MINNESOTA VIKINGS - LESLIE FRAZIER
Leslie Frazier's admirers were all over the Minnesota Vikings locker room and throughout the organization.
Credited with keeping the team on an even keel and eliciting maximum effort through several rough stretches of his three-plus seasons, Frazier rarely spoke a pessimistic word. In the NFL, though, even the class acts have a hard time staying when the losses pile up. The Vikings fired Frazier on Monday, one year after they made the playoffs and one day after they finished a 5-10-1 season.
''It's a harsh business,'' safety Harrison Smith said. ''As a player, we all love coach Frazier, as a coach, as a man. You can't meet a better guy. And also as a player, we didn't make enough plays on the field. So you just feel like you let him down a little bit.''
After going 10-6 in 2012, the Vikings were done in by a leaky late-game defense and ongoing instability at quarterback. Frazier finished 21-33-1 in three-plus years, including 8-22-1 outside the Metrodome.
Speaking to the team shortly after his dismissal, he received a round of applause on his way out.
''It was a somber moment. Everybody was really kind of quiet and really just took it all in,'' cornerback Chris Cook said. ''I feel like everyone is sad to see him go.''
Frazier wasn't available for comment, but after the season-ending win over Detroit on Sunday he urged the front office to honor the remaining season on his contract and made a point to mention the quarterback problem and a lack of depth the Vikings had this year while expressing pride in the job he'd done.
Hired by Brad Childress to be the defensive coordinator in 2007, Frazier interviewed for seven NFL head coach openings over a three-year span. His chance came with the Vikings when Childress was fired in the middle of a messy 2010 season. Chairman Zygi Wilf and President Mark Wilf made the decision to give Frazier the job for good in 2011, and the owners made the final call on Monday to fire him, general manager Rick Spielman said, despite pervasive fondness for Frazier.
''He was well-respected in this building. That's what makes the decision so difficult,'' Spielman said.
Spielman touted 13 categories of possible replacements -- college head coaches with NFL experience or current defensive coordinators, for example -- and promised to work swiftly without panic through the interview process.
''Talking to ownership, we will be very busy. I just told them don't plan on any stadium meetings for the next two weeks,'' Spielman said.
The Vikings went 3-13 behind an ineffective Donovan McNabb and then rookie Christian Ponder at quarterback in Frazier's first full season. In 2012, they staged a remarkable turnaround, riding Adrian Peterson to a spot in the playoffs.
Childress had his contract extended in 2009 with the Vikings on their way to the NFC championship game, but they came unglued the following fall. Wary of a similarly expensive over-commitment, the Wilfs merely picked up a fourth-year option on Frazier's deal last January, putting him in a prove-it situation for 2013.
Spielman didn't directly answer a question about whether he gave Frazier a quarterback and a roster he could consistently win with, but he subtly and gently brushed aside the weaknesses the coach noted the day before. Spielman also pointed out that Green Bay and Chicago played for the NFC North title on Sunday despite losing Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler for several games each.
''I feel very optimistic about this young talent that we have on this football team,'' Spielman said.
The Vikings lost four games and tied one this season when they led with 52 seconds or less remaining in regulation, though, so quarterback was far from the only problem. Though veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield was cut last spring to save space under the salary cap, the defense that has been Frazier's expertise faltered badly.
Players, of course, weren't picking that apart. This was one last chance for them to speak highly of the person who happened to be their coach.
''That's a relationship I'll remember and have the rest of my life,'' Ponder said. ''And I wish him luck. He's going to be successful somewhere.''
With two seasons as an assistant under Tony Dungy in Indianapolis, the 54-year-old Frazier came from the same mold, a soft-spoken man of deep Christian faith who has excelled at creating a culture of harmony and respect. So was Frazier too nice to thrive in this league? Defensive end Jared Allen scoffed at the suggestion.
''Don't mistake kindness for weakness. Coach Frazier worked our butts off. Coach Frazier wasn't always just smiles and everything like that,'' Allen said, adding: ''He helped me grow as a man, and for that I'll always be thankful.''
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS - GREG SCHIANO & GM MARK DOMINIK
Greg Schiano believes he changed the Tampa Buccaneers for the better, though not enough to save his job. The embattled Bucs coach was fired Monday after two losing years extended the franchise's playoff drought to six seasons. General manager Mark Dominik was also ousted, ending an unsuccessful five-year stint that produced flashes of hope but far more disappointment than ownership felt was acceptable. 'The results over the past two years have not lived up to our standards and we believe the time has come to find a new direction,'' Bucs co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a brief statement released a day after a season-ending 42-17 loss to the New Orleans dropped Schiano's record to 11-21.
''Mark has been a valued member of our organization for two decades and we respect the passion he showed for the Buccaneers during his time here,'' Glazer added. ''We thank Greg for his hard work and effort the past two seasons, but we feel these moves are necessary in order to achieve our goals.''
In typical Bucs fashion, the reclusive owners of the team announced the third coaching change in five years with a one paragraph statement and did not schedule a news conference to discuss the situation. Schiano had three years and $9 million remaining on his contract.
Schiano thanked the Glazer family for the opportunity to coach the Bucs, and also expressed gratitude to his players, coaching staff and fans.
His biggest regret simply was not winning enough games to reflect the progress he feels the Bucs made under him.
''I think we're leaving behind a football team that is better than when we got here,'' Schiano told reporters at a hotel near the team's training facility.
''It was quite an honor and I enjoyed every day of it,'' the coach added. ''We didn't get it done. I accept responsibility for that.''
Word of the firing broke less than 30 minutes after the team closed the locker room, where players were sorting through equipment and belongings before scattering for the offseason. They met with the coaching and medical staff for exit interviews and physicals. They had not been informed of the dismissals before media was allowed into the room.
Many, including Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, had hoped Schiano would keep his job.
''It's tough for the players to see your coaches go. You never want to see anybody get fired,'' McCoy said after the announcement. ''Me personally, I haven't had any consistency in my career. Third head coach, going on my fifth year and three head coaches. Add up everybody, it'll be six d-line coaches.''
The Bucs went 7-9 in their first season under Schiano, collapsing after a 6-4 start that had the team in playoff contention.
After trading for three-time All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis and signing safety Dashon Goldson in free agency to bolster a porous defense, the team entered training camp this season with heightened expectations.
But a messy split with former quarterback Josh Freeman, an outbreak of MRSA infections in the locker room and reports that Schiano was losing the support of players tiring of his rules and coaching style dogged the team during an 0-8 start that put the coach's job in jeopardy.
Despite having a rookie quarterback and finishing with 16 players on injured reserve, including running back Doug Martin and receiver Mike Williams, the Bucs went 4-4 over the second half of the season. That hardly seemed like progress, though, because the offense got progressively worse and finished last in the NFL in passing and total yardage.
Still, players seemed impressed with the way Schiano held the team together, insisting right up until the end that the coach never lost the locker room.
''In times like that you see a lot of guys crumble, a lot of guys break. You never saw a different attitude with him,'' McCoy said. ''... He's the most consistent thing in the building, I will give him that.''
Schiano was hired in January 2012, leaving Rutgers to take over a team that ended its final 10 games under Raheem Morris on a 10-game losing streak. He inherited one the NFL's worst defenses, but also a young quarterback in Freeman, who won 10 games in his first full season as a starter and became the franchise's first 4,000-yard passer in Schiano's first year in Tampa Bay.
But Freeman's relationship with Schiano soured when the Bucs dropped five of the final six games of 2012, with Freeman's inconsistency contributing to the slide. The fifth-year quarterback was benched and subsequently released after an 0-3 start this season, replaced by rookie Mike Glennon, a third-round draft pick who went 4-9 in 13 starts.
The Bucs have not made the playoffs since 2007 under former coach Jon Gruden. They haven't won a postseason game since their 2002 run that produced the franchise's only Super Bowl title.
Part of the blame for the poor performance rests with Dominik, who was named general manager in 2009 - the year Morris was promoted from defensive coordinator to replace Gruden.
Dominik survived Morris' firing after a 4-12 finish two years ago. But in the end, a spotty draft record, the mishandling of Freeman's situation, and the team's 28-52 mark during a five-season tenure as GM became impossible to overlook.
Schiano said whoever follows him as coach will take over a good team.
''I'm proud of the culture we developed here,'' Schiano said. ''On the field, I think we're closer than people think.''
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