I have developed an interest in several sports in the past five years. When I started working at the newspaper, I was still into basketball. I couldn’t tear myself away from the TV during college basketball season in February.
During the NBA playoffs, I watched many games. My brother and I watched hockey on TV when we were younger, so I’m familiar with many greats from that era.
My father has always been interested in NASCAR, so I watched many Tigers games while growing up. My passion for football has waned over the years, so I’ve had to change my sports-watching habits. I spend most of my free time catching up on movies and TV shows I’ve been meaning to watch for ages.
But if I had to pick a second-favorite sport, I’d cheat. The NFL offseason is one of the most exciting times of year for football fans.
They spend hours discussing trades and free-agent signings. These signings could make the team stronger or weaker. Last season was hectic in this regard.
Some big trades were made. Lots of money was spent on free agents by teams looking to make a championship run in 2018.
NFL executives would like to see the number of coaching dismissals decrease. I’d also like to see a decline in the total number of firings.
Of course, even if that happens, there will still be some “Black Monday” coaching changes every year. As the NFL regular season is ending this week, I wanted to write about the current state of coaching in the league.
The Arizona Cardinals offered head coach Kliff Kingsbury a contract extension. Even though the team’s record was poor, they had been so long without making the playoffs.
The team’s first year with the extension didn’t go well, as they went 4-12, and their quarterback got hurt. They also struggled on offence, even though they had several weapons. Injuries on offense have caused the bad season, but Kingsbury is in trouble because of how he has called plays and made decisions. He is the most likely person who hasn’t been fired yet to be fired.
There are many coaches who could be fired, but most of them are in new positions or coaching bad teams. Arthur Smith of the Atlanta Falcons and Dennis Allen of the New Orleans Saints are examples.
Both men have only been with their teams for one year, and their teams could be doing better. Josh McDaniels of the Las Vegas Raiders is another example.
He has only been with his team for one season, but he has had problems with his offense all season long. There were rumors a few weeks ago that he would be fired, and then the team opened up its offense a bit more. As a result, he will be back next season.
Allen will have to deal with the Sean Payton drama during the off-season. The Saints still own Payton’s rights, but he is in talks to coach several NFL teams.
The Saints are likely going to want a big trade package to get Payton back. Why not just let him coach the Saints again? It will be talked about a lot during the offseason.
The Panthers, Colts, and Broncos have already fired their head coaches. The Cardinals are likely to make a change, too. Smith and Stefanski deserve some recognition.
What should the Houston Texans do with head coach Lovie Smith? The team needs a lot of help, but it is close to contending for a playoff spot. I wonder if the Texans will fire Smith this season, but he may be gone before next year.
Stefanski has had a lot of drama this year, with the quarterback change and a losing season. Since Watson returned from suspension, he has yet to look that great.
But Stefanski will probably make the playoffs next year. For now, he won’t be blamed because this year has had too much drama.
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