NFL Head Coach Firings: Marvin Lewis In Cincinnati, Adam Gase In Miami, Vance Joseph In Denver, Steve Wilks In Arizona
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL head coach firings are coming fast and furious on Monday morning, just hours after the conclusion of the 2018 regular season.
After Dirk Koetter of the Bucs and Todd Bowles of the Jets were fired Sunday night, the duo now has company.
The biggest shocker came in Cincinnati, where Marvin Lewis was sent packing after 16 seasons at the helm of the Bengals. Though Cincinnati finished a disappointing 6-10 this year, the second-longest-tenured coach in the NFL did appear to have a job for life.
In less surprising news, the Dolphins have axed Adam Gase, the Broncos fired Vance Joseph, and the Cardinals fired Steve Wilks after just one year on the job.
The Dolphins finished 7-9 this season, and in three years under Gase, they went 23-25. They made the playoffs in 2016, his first year, but lost 30-12 at Pittsburgh.
The Broncos finished this season at 6-10, bringing Joseph's record to 11-21 in his two years on the job. That's a significant decline from the previous two seasons under Gary Kubiak, when the Broncos went 21-11 in the regular season and won a Super Bowl.
And then there is Wilks, who led the Cardinals to a 3-13 record after they went 8-8 in Bruce Arians' final season in 2017. Wilks helped the Cardinals secure the No. 1 overall pick in next spring's draft, but has kindly been shown the door.
The firings on Monday now make it so that eight NFL teams -- a full 25 percent of the league -- are in need of new head coaches for the 2019 season. From a New England perspective, where the longest-tenured head coach doesn't appear to ready to retire, the openings present opportunties for teams to poach either offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores from Bill Belichick's staff. The Packers and Browns have reportedly already requested an interview with Flores, while the Packers have come calling for McDaniels.
