5 NFL head coaches lose their jobs on Black Monday
Mike Shanahan is out as the Washington Redskins' coach and executive vice president.
The team fired him after a meeting Monday morning, one day after the Redskins finished a controversy-filled 3-13 season with a 20-6 loss to the New York Giants.
'Redskins fans deserve a better result,' owner Daniel M. Snyder said in a statement issued by the team.
'We thank Mike for his efforts on behalf of the Redskins. We will focus on what it takes to build a winning team, and my pledge to this organization and to this community is to continue to commit the resources and talent necessary to put this team back in the playoffs.'
Shanahan, 61, was 24-41 in four seasons with Washington. He led the Redskins to the playoffs last season, but they lost in the wild-card round to the Seattle Seahawks - the game in which quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a major knee injury.
That set off the chain of events in which Shanahan drew criticism for his handling of Griffin's health after a previous knee injury. Griffin returned to start this season after an arduous rehab period but looked like a shell of himself, and the pair's relationship deteriorated in highly public fashion.
Shanahan benched RG3 with three games remaining in the season, starting Kirk Cousins and saying he made the move to protect Griffin's health.
'We are going to take a smart, step-by-step approach to finding the right coach to return the Redskins to where we believe we should be,' Redskins executive vice president/general manager Bruce Allen said in a statement. 'We will analyze accurately and honestly all of the decisions that were made over the past year.'
Shanahan had one year remaining on his contract. He won back-to-back Super Bowls with John Elway and the Denver Broncos after the 1997 and '98 seasons but has only one playoff victory since, and that also occurred with Denver.
From left to right: Mike Shanahan, Rob Chudzinski, Leslie Frazier, Jim Schwartz and Greg Schiano were all fired on Black Monday.(Photo: Wire photos)
Minnesota fires coach Leslie Frazier
The Minnesota Vikings have fired coach Leslie Frazier after three-plus seasons.
'We have tremendous respect and appreciation for Leslie and what he has done for the Minnesota Vikings,' Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said in a statement issued by the team early Monday morning.
'He stepped in and established a strong positive culture here and he has been the consummate professional as our head coach and in this community. Making this change is difficult, but what we determined is best for the organization.'
Frazier, 54, was 21-32-1 and led the Vikings to a playoff berth after the 2012 season. But they lost in the wild-card round against the Green Bay Packers and struggled mightily in Frazier's other two full seasons, finishing 3-13 in 2011 and 5-10-1 this season after Sunday's win over the Detroit Lions.
'Unfortunately, we did not achieve consistent success and did not achieve the progress we expected,' Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement. 'We believe a coaching change is needed to help build a successful team moving forward.'
Frazier, a former Indianapolis Colts assistant coach, had one year left on his contract - an option year the Vikings exercised in January rather than giving him the multiyear extension he had expected. He was promoted on an interim basis after Brad Childress' firing in November 2010, then given the job after the Vikings finished that season 3-3.
Frazier's push to trade for quarterback Donovan McNabb after the 2011 lockout and other disagreements over personnel matters led to Spielman's promotion to general manager after that season.
It is expected Spielman will have a strong voice in hiring the team's next coach.
Buccaneers fire coach Greg Schiano, GM Mark Dominik
A midseason rally wasn't enough to save Greg Schiano's job, and he ended up taking Mark Dominik with him.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired their coach and general manager Monday morning.
'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,' Buccaneers co-chairman Bryan Glazer said in a statement issued by the team.
'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. 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.'
Lions fire Jim Schwartz for failing to reach the playoffs
A late-season collapse has cost Jim Schwartz his job as head coach of the Detroit Lions.
The Lions fired Schwartz on Monday, a day after they finished the season at 7-9, a disappointing finish considering the Lions' 6-2 start. Detroit lost six of its final seven games and was eliminated from the playoffs a week ago after a loss to the struggling New York Giants.
The team will hold a news conference later Monday with team president Tom Lewand and general manager Martin Mayhew scheduled to talk with reporters.
Schwartz met with team officials Monday morning before a final meeting with his players.
Schwartz was 29-52 in his five years as the Lions' coach after inheriting a team that had gone 0-16 in 2008, the season before his arrival. He led the Lions to the playoffs in 2011, the team's first postseason berth since 1999.
Missing the playoffs this season clearly sealed his fate given the team's hot start, talented roster and major injuries to the quarterbacks on their biggest NFC North rivals, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears.
Browns fire head coach Rob Chudzinski after one season
The Cleveland Browns didn't wait until Black Monday to make a coaching change.
In a somewhat surprising move, the Browns dismissed rookie coach Rob Chudzinski on Sunday night, about six hours after Cleveland's season ended with a 20-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns, who were 4-5 at their bye week and on the fringes of the AFC playoff picture in early November, lost their final seven games and extended their postseason drought to 11 seasons.
'We appreciate Chud's passion for the Browns, and we have great respect for him both personally and professionally,' the Browns said in a statement. 'We needed to see progress with this football team. We needed to see development and improvement as the season evolved and, unfortunately, we took a concerning step backward in the second half of the year.'
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