NFL Week 9: Dallas Cowboys and 4 Other Teams That Have Quit on Their Coach
Eight weeks are officially in the book and we are at the point in the season where some teams playoff hopes are remote at best. If you're the Buffalo Bills or Carolina Panthers next season couldn't come soon enough.
Although those two teams have two of the worst records in the league their win-loss totals reflect talent more than effort. Buffalo has taken Baltimore and Kansas City to overtime the past two weeks, but come up short both times.
Carolina has the youngest roster in the league and is in the process of rebuilding.
Wade Phillips' Dallas Cowboys on the other hand are not rebuilding and yet they possess the same record as the Panthers despite Super Bowl expectations.
It's clear the team has quit on Phillips. He doesn't have a hold of the team and his laid-back demeanor doesn't command respect of a locker room, especially when the losses start to pile up.
The true determinant of a head coach in the NFL is not how players respond to them when they're winning, but instead how they perform when the team is struggling and has their backs up against the wall.
Last year the Pittsburgh Steelers were coming off a Super Bowl victory yet they underwent a number of injuries and failed to make the postseason. Not once did anyone question whether or not the Steelers quit on Mike Tomlin despite the team's struggles.
The same can't be said for Phillips. His time in Dallas is winding down and it's likely his players won't be giving maximum effort to help boost his resume.
Don't worry Wade, you aren't the only coach whose team has given up on him. Without further ado, here are four other teams who have lost faith in their leader.
Minnesota Vikings
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Not only are the Vikings 2-5 but Brad Childress made a power move and waived Randy Moss in a season where the Vikings motto has been "All-in". Moss' post game rant after the loss to New England was unacceptable and Childress had to do something about it.
Letting him go was the wrong choice and it clearly will strain his relationship with his players even further. Moss is a respected veteran among peers who has opened up field for other players, especially Percy Harvin. It will be a tough sell for Childress to convince this team that letting a dynamic deep threat go will help them win football games on Sundays.
Even if Moss is a distraction sometimes, waiving him created an even bigger distraction than if Childress would have worked things out behind closed doors. In this instance Childress' ego got in the way and if Minnesota hadn't already quit on him they definitely will after this fiasco.
It's back-to-back weeks that the Vikings' coach has had a feud with a player. Before Moss, it was Chilly's annoyance with Brett Favre's decision-making in the Green Bay game. Childress threw Favre under the bus in his press conference another move that likely didn't sit well with a team composed of mostly veterans.
All of this may be irrelevant since the Vikings postseason chances are slim at best. With or without Moss this team would have quit on Childress eventually it just happened to happen sooner than later.
San Francisco 49ers
2 of 4
The Niners got a win in London over the Denver Broncos to improve to 2-6. It may seem like Mike Singletary escaped the hot seat for a little while, but he is going to need to do more than beat the Broncos to secure his job and gain the confidence of his team.
Singletary's tenure as the 49er coach has been strange to say the least. When he isn't going on post game rants or pulling his pants down during halftime speeches he seems like he could be an OK coach. But then you watch a San Fran game and you come away with a different opinion.
His no-nonsense style seemed to be embraced by the Niners at first, but then you can't help but wonder if it's worn thin judging by the inconsistent performance of the team. Either way it's clear he doesn't have a full grasp of the locker room and despite continued statements that his team will make the playoffs it isn't going to happen.
It will take at least nine wins to get a wild card and even if San Fran pulls off the feat they have a disadvantage in the tiebreaker seeing as they are 0-5 in conference play.
Unlike Childress and Phillips, Singletary still has some hope to win his team back. If the 49ers finish strong and finish 8-8 it may buy the former Chicago Bear one more season.
Denver Broncos
3 of 4
Josh McDaniels began his head coaching career with a bang starting 6-0 with a win over his mentor Bill Belichick 20-17 in OT a season ago. My oh my how things can change.
Since that 6-0 start the Broncos are 4-14 over the end of last season into the beginning of this year's unremarkable start. While McDaniels isn't on the hot seat yet he should be because his team seems to be doing everything in their power to get him on it.
Losing to the Oakland Raiders isn't that bad this year as they have finally turned a corner and become a competitive team after years of futility. But losing 59-14 is a whole different story.
No team in the NFL is 45 points better than another and the only reason a game can end up with a score like that is if they quit. What makes this even worse is that this took place in Denver! If McDaniels didn't have three years left on his contract he wouldn't be coaching this team right now.
It seems his team knows that to and is doing their best to force Pat Bowlen to find a new leader.
On a side note: how many more New England coordinators need to be hired as head coaches before we realize that Belichick is the real genius and is the reason the Patriots have been so successful over the years?
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Cincinnati Bengals
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Last but not least is Marvin Lewis. Lewis has been roaming the sidelines for the Bengals over the past six years and has made the playoffs twice. That sounds pretty good until you look further into the numbers and realize that outside of the two division titles he has won the best the Bengals have finished is 8-8.
In fact his overall record as a head coach is 58-60-1 putting him under .500. Last season's playoff appearance bought him more time on the sidelines, but will it last past this season?
Cincinnati got hammered by the Patriots in Week 1 and in typical Lewis fashion his team bounced back to beat a very good Baltimore Ravens team at home misleading many. The Bengals followed up the win over the Ravens with a win over the Panthers to improve to 2-1.
Since then, Lewis' Bengals have lost four straight including back-to-back three-point losses to Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Good coaches win close games, especially against beatable teams.
The biggest problem for Cincy is their inability to put together a complete game. Either they jump out early and crumble or fall behind and surge back when it's too late. Regardless of how they lose they keep losing, which is a clear sign of lack of focus from a team that when is clicking can be dangerous.
It appears Terrell Owens has tuned out his head coach and is more concerned with his stats that he'll be able to flash when he becomes a free agent after this season. Chad Ochocinco on the other hand seems more preoccupied with being an entertainer than a football player.
Both have mentally checked out and if they've checked out that means others will. It's time for Lewis and the Bengals to separate and go their own ways because both could use a fresh start.
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