Four Coaches Who Sealed Their Fates With Losses in Week 13
By Liam McKeone
Most teams know who they are and where their season is going by Week 13 of the NFL season. A handful of teams will be looking forward to the playoffs, but the rest are looking towards the offseason, where decisions await that will alter the immediate and long-term future of each franchise.
There was a lot of coaching turnover over this past offseason, and it sure looks like it'll be more of the same this offseason. These four coaches in particular sealed their fates with bad losses in Week 13, and will be looking for new jobs sooner rather than later.
1. Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons
Fans have been clamoring for Quinn's firing for much of the season. The Falcons are talented on both sides of the ball, yet for whatever reason, nothing has clicked this season. The two weeks following their Week 9 bye gave Falcons ownership reason to believe after the defense came alive to keep Atlanta in games, but their Thanksgiving Day loss to the Saints all but ensured an open head coach position in Atlanta.
The Saints walked all over their divisional rivals for most of the night, and the only reason the final score was that close was a pair of miraculous onside kicks from Younghoe Koo. Quinn is supposed to be a defense-first guy, but outside of those two weeks previously mentioned, they've been one of the worst units in the NFL. Whatever he's doing, it's not working, and he should be receiving a pink slip.
2. Doug Marrone, Jacksonville Jaguars
Similar to Atlanta, there's far too much talent on the defensive side of the ball for Jacksonville to be as bad as they are. They were torn to shreds by Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry (again) last week, and couldn't muster even one turnover against the most turnover-prone team in the league in the Bucs. They also let up 28 points at home. Fair or not, that falls on Marrone.
His case isn't helped by the team's offensive downturn with Nick Foles instead of Gardner Minshew under center. Marrone was at the head of the most successful and exciting Jaguars season in a decade, but he hasn't done anything in the two seasons since. The Jaguars are perennial disappointments. Marrone needs to go if they want to turn a corner.
3. Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers
Rivera's Panthers were a fun feel-good story through nine weeks of the 2019 season. After losing to a cellar-dwelling Washington team at home on Sunday, Carolina now sits at 5-7 with little hope of a playoff berth. Kyle Allen and the offense as a whole has struggled in the last month. The Panthers rank in the bottom 10 of most defensive rankings, including points allowed per game, pass yards per game, and rush yards per game.
Now, Rivera didn't get dealt a great hand this season after his superstar quarterback went on IR, and he did an admirable job steering the ship as the team adjusted. He's still a good coach. It's just time for a change; the situation has gotten stale, and a fresh start would be beneficial for both sides.
4. Pat Shurmur, New York Giants
The Giants lost to the Packers by 18 on a snowy Sunday at MetLife, and it should be one of the final games Shurmur coaches if this ownership wants this group of young talent to be their future. Shurmur presumably did not sign up to coach a rookie QB through his first season, but that's how things unfolded, and it hasn't gone too well. Daniel Jones has shown enough flashes that there's hope he can turn into a quality starter someday, but the glaring issues that appeared in his first start remain glaring two months later.
This year's No. 6 overall pick has 22 turnovers so far this season, including an astounding 14 fumbles lost. Yes, he's a young QB working through the kinks, but at a certain point blame has to be put on the coaching staff. Shurmur's speciality is supposed to be offense, but this Giants offense hasn't been good on a week-to-week basis. The defense has been one of the worst in the NFL, hands-down. Again, not everything that has gone wrong this year can be chalked up to Shurmur's coaching job, but he hasn't been nearly good enough to save his job, and this week only solidified that.