Coaches Dennis Green, Jim Mora Jr. Fired
Happy New Year (not) for AZ Cards head coach Dennis Green and ATL Falcons head coach Jim Mora today. I don’t think it was a big surprise to either of them, but I can’t imagine getting fired is a particularly pleasant way to start the New Year. I know AZ had high hopes for Coach Green. He’s always been one of my favorites. I used to follow him very closely when he was with the Vikings, rarely missing a press conference or radio show. And I finally got to interview him one year on an NFL Conference Call (I used to do one/week back in the day. Now I do mostly one-on-ones for BPR.) He only had one losing season in 10 years in Minnesota. But, his three-season record in the desert was 16-32. That spells “Not For Long” in the NFL. Especially with the talent there. So, the Cards will pay him $2.5 million to buy out the final season of his four-year deal. It’s not a bad paycheck for doing absolutely nothing. I still think Coach Green is a good football coach and I think he can be successful somewhere else in the future (even though I expect him to take at least a year off). You certainly can’t lay all those losses at his feet, but as the on-field leader of that organization, he is ultimately responsible.
As for Coach Mora, it’s a case of “What have you done for my lately?” You can’t rest on past success for long in this league. And while he took the Falcons to the NFC Championship game two years ago, his last two seasons have been less-than-impressive, losing six of eight to close 2005 at 8-8 and finishing 7-9 this season. I enjoyed his youthful (45-year-old) attitude when the Falcons were winning, but he seemed to be more of a punk the last two years. Almost immature in his behavior. Nevertheless, it was his lack of on-field success that did him in. Like Coach Green, I think Jim Mora Jr. will be back on the sidelines in the near future. In fact, I expect him to take on some kind of assistant coaching duty sooner than later.
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POSTED IN: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons
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