As is the custom with every Monday following Week 17, a number of NFL coaches will soon be fired. And though we'll know just who and how many will go from the hot seat to the unemployment line on Monday, both the Colts and Raiders have gotten a jump on the annual tradition by canning their HCs on Sunday evening.
For Oakland that means the end of Jack Del Rio's tenure. Del Rio was hired by the team on January 14, 2015 and had a 25-23 regular season record in his three years there, ending his run with a 6-10 mark this season. His best campaign undoubtedly came in 2016 when Oakland went 12-4 to make their first postseason since the year they got spanked in the Super Bowl by the Bucs (2002-03). Unfortunately (if you're a Raiders fan, at least) they lost their only playoff game last season by a 27-14 score to the Texans. Despite that Del Rio was rewarded with a four-year extension this past February, though we now have a pretty good idea of just how concrete that extension really was.
As for the Colts, they fired Chuck Pagano, who had been with the team for the past six years. Pagano made the playoffs in his first three seasons with Indianapolis, but they finished this season with a 4-12 record which was by far their worst with him as their sideline general. The main factor that caused the Colts to suck so much this year was likely a shoulder injury that caused quarterback Andrew Luck to miss every game. But, as you know, the NFL is a ruthless business, and a 4-12 run almost always puts your butt on the hot seat whether it's reasonable or not. Despite that bad finish (oh, while also battling leukemia) he ended his Indy run with a 53-43 record.
According to ESPN, the Raiders intend to pursue one of their ex-coaches, Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden, and they also intend to persuade Gruden to leave the booth by giving him an ownership stake in the team.
Sounds interesting.
