Do Super Bowl Coaches (Mike Shanahan/Jon Gruden) Get Free Passes?

After hearing that Head Coach Mike Shanahan had been fired by the Broncos, I started wondering if Jon Gruden, another former Super Bowl winning coach, should be fired as well. While thinking about Gruden’s situation, an even bigger question rose in my head.

How many NFL head coaches like Gruden and Shanahan get free passes because they previously took their team to the Super Bowl?

If you look at most of the coaches who led their teams to a Super Bowl appearance in the last decade, they have lasted longer than most other coaches would have in their recent situations. Here is example of some coaches who fit this scenario.

Brian Billick/Ravens

He lasted seven years after he won the Super Bowl in 2001, despite the fact he only won one playoff game before he got fired last year.

Jon Gruden/Buccaneers

He’s lasted six years since winning the Super Bowl in 2003 despite having zero playoff wins and three seasons in which his team finished with a below .500 record.

Mike Shanahan/Broncos

He lasted 10 years after winning his last Super Bowl in 1999 despite having only one playoff win and one division title. As much as I love Mike Shanahan, winning only one playoff game in 10 years is unacceptable and he is more than deserving of being fired.

Jeff Fisher/Titans

He’s lasted nine years since he appeared in the 2000 Super Bowl despite winning only two playoff games.

Andy Reid/Eagles

He’s lasted four year since he appeared in the 2005 Super Bowl, despite having one playoff wins until this past Sunday and two last place finishes in the NFC East.

There are two commonalities that all of these coaches share. One commonality is that all these coaches’ teams more often than not win in the regular season. However, the other unfortunate commonality is that these coaches’ teams have also lacked playoff success after appearing in their last Super Bowl.

How many coaches who never took their team to a Super Bowl would still have a job if they had similar recent playoff success as many of the coaches I mentioned above?

If Eric Mangini can get fired after going 23-25 the last three seasons with one playoff appearance, then why does Jon Gruden who has gone 45-51 with two playoff appearances in the last six years still have a job?

How come former Chargers Coach Marty Schottenheimer, who went 14-2 in his last season, got fired after five years of coaching due to a lack of playoff success, but the coaches above lasted for longer even though most of them had more than five years of playoff failure after their super bowl appearance?

If Marty had taken the Chargers to the Super Bowl in any of his five seasons he would surely still be coaching in San Diego.

Although sometimes, as it appears to be for the Eagles and Titans this year, leaving these coaches in command despite their lack of recent playoff success can pay off. However, if the Titans and Eagles don’t win a game in the playoffs this year, are we still going to say it was the right decision?

It seems to me that once a coach appears in the Super Bowl, besides a few exceptions, they essentially get a free pass for an extended period of time, even if their team lacks playoff success.

However, do these coaches really deserve the free pass they are getting?

I believe that a coach that has been to a Super Bowl has proven that they can be a successful coach in the NFL and therefore deserve more slack than other coaches who haven’t proven anything.

However, there is a fine line between getting some slack and just getting a free pass. It seems to me that too long after most head coach’s teams appeared in the Super Bowl, they are still only being judged by what they did in their past while there lack of recent success doesn’t get criticized or mentioned enough.

I haven’t heard enough about Jon Gruden even being on the hot seat even though his team completely collapsed at the end of the season losing four straight games; including a seven-point loss to the Raiders that would have clinched a playoff spot in Week 17.

People need to forget about what Gruden has done for the Buccaneers franchise and judge him objectively. There’s a point where a team and a coach simply need to part ways.

It should have happened a long time ago with Shanahan, and it probably should have happened to Andy Reid if he hadn’t somehow miraculously made the playoffs.  

I think the main problem is that once a team finds that coach who finally has what it takes to help their franchise win, they don’t want to try and search for another great coach, even if their current coach seems to have lost his winning way.