NFL Week 12 Discussion Thread (Thanksgiving!!)

[BeerBaron]

[Fernando]

The Ron Rivera gets fired game.

[BeerBaron]

Probably Brandon Staley too. A primetime fuckup against a tough team in the Ravens may finally be too much.

[Splat]

Steelers fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

[Zak]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

Probably Brandon Staley too. A primetime fuckup against a tough team in the Ravens may finally be too much.

I hope he starts going crazy like joe judge did.

[nepg]

Patriots vs Giants game of the century

[BeerBaron]

Originally Posted by Splat

Steelers fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Way past due. Not going to be an attractive job if they're set on Pickett. He's not quite as bad as Mac Jones, but he seems very limited to run a full NFL passing scheme.

Originally Posted by Zak

I hope he starts going crazy like joe judge did.

All time great clip.

Originally Posted by nepg

Patriots vs Giants game of the century

Huge top of the draft implications. With four wins, the Giants are basically out of #1 and maybe #2 condideration. If the Pats can't beat the DeVito Giants, they probably don't win again.

[BeerBaron]

"Coaching Hot Seat" update:

Out:
- Josh McDaniels

Red Hot:
- Brandon Staley - The seat is on fire. That press conference meltdown confirmed it. If they lose at home in primetime on SNF, especially in gutting way they tend to lose, he's done. Has to be.
- Ron Rivera - Hard to see him having a job Friday without a shocking upset of the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. That Giants loss, to a 3rd string rookie UDFA, was about as bad as it gets.
- Todd Bowles - The wheels are off. Shockingly, it's his defense that has been a much bigger problem than their offense.
- Bill Belichick - Shocking, but it feels like it's only a matter of time. I cannot imagine him returning to the Patriots next year.
- Robert Saleh - The Rodgers injury probably gets him some reprieve, but sticking with Zach Wilson as long as he did was a mistake. Even a middling veteran street FA probably picks up a couple more wins with that defense.
- Frank Reich - Tepper is not happy and is apparently checking the interest/availability level of some big names coaches (Belichick, Tomlin). If they pick up a few wins and can get Young to show something, he could still save himself, but it's looking unlikely.
- Matt Eberflus - As the roster is getting healthier, coaching is becoming the obvious biggest issue. It appears that Ryan Poles will stick around past this year, but he should make a coaching change. This isn't working.

Needs to make conference championship:
- Mike McCarthy - The Eagles and refs did everything the could do to hand the Cowboys that game, and they still lost. But as I've said before, the regular season doesn't really matter. He has to make a playoff run to stay.


Needs to make the playoffs:
- Arthur Smith - Falls in that classic "coaches who haven't made the playoffs in their first three seasons very rarely get a fourth historically" category.
- Dennis Allen - Currently in a comfortable lead in the league's worst division. Ride that out and he should be back for 2024.
- Sean McDermott - Failing to make the playoffs, a real possibility in the loaded AFC, means he'll be out. Hell, he might need to win at least one playoff game too to be safe.

Heating Up:
- Mike Vrabel - The questions were there from reporters and he didn't sound overly confident in his responses. With last year's GM change, a HC change is definitely on the table.
- Matt LaFleur - This is more like setting your oven to "warm" that an actual hot seat, but it needs to be mentioned. They're coming off a win over an imploding Chargers, but this season and last have been disappointments.
- Zac Taylor - The slow starts are more excusible when you have Joe Burrow. Without Joe Burrow, with a brutal schedule, they may not win again. He probably doesn't get fired, but will need to have a great year next year to stick around.

Cooling Down:
- Brian Daboll - Could he really go from Coach of the Year to fired in the span of a season? The injuries probably help him to avoid all of the blame, but even healthy, this was not a good football team. They've regressed, they need a QB, and down to 3rd/4th stirngers at the position now, it's hard to see them getting many (any?) more wins. Even if he survives, expect him to start 2024 on one of the hottest seats in the league.
- Kevin Stefanski - Watson, who he never seemed to mesh with, getting hurt may have been a blessing in disguise for his job. Ride that defense to a playoff appearance, live to coach again in 2024.

Interim Watch:
- Antonio Pierce - 2-1, with that one loss being a competitive one to loaded Miami, gets you some consideration for sticking around. They have a tough schedule ahead, however. If he can keep them competitive, after the disaster that ensued when they moved on from their last interim coach, he should get another year.

First year, could be a scapegoat:
- Jonathan Gannon - Can never be sure with a tanking team.

First year, probably safe:
- Shane Steichen
- DeMeco Ryans
- Sean Payton

Safe barring disaster:
- Kevin O'Connell
- Dan Campbell
- Mike McDaniel
- Doug Pederson

Very safe: (Made or won a Super Bowl with their team)
- Nick Siranni
- Kyle Shanahan
- Sean McVay
- Mike Tomlin
- John Harbaugh

Only if they retire or "get retired":
- Pete Carroll - Seems unlikely to go anywhere unless the season completely bottoms out (there is a realistic possibility that they lose their next four with a brutal schedule) until new ownership comes in.
- Andy Reid - While unlikely, it's not impossible he could choose to retire after any given season, especially if they win another SB.

[Fernando]

Put Demeco and Sean Payton up a tier. Regardless what happens the rest of the year, they're not getting fired. They've made chicken salad out of chicken shit already.

[Zak]

Originally Posted by Fernando

Put Demeco and Sean Payton up a tier. Regardless what happens the rest of the year, they're not getting fired. They've made chicken salad out of chicken shit already.

Agreed and I'd even move them up 2 tiers especially Demeco.

On edit: if the second tier up is SB win or appeared then up one tier.

[Fernando]

Originally Posted by Zak

Agreed and I'd even move them up 2 tiers especially Demeco.

On edit: if the second tier up is SB win or appeared then up one tier.

Yeah the dumb qualifier of the SB thing is why i said one, but there's realistically no way either one gets fired at this point.

[Fernando]

Also, Kareem Jackson suspended 4 games for that hit on Dobbs. I don't know how guys like him can just continue to do the same retarded shit every game. Just suspend him for the season the next time, he's gonna get someone seriously injured.

[McGee]

A week ago I said that Taylor Rapp was going to get somebody hurt soon playing the way he does. It ended up being himself, these dudes are just too reckless out there

[BeerBaron]

Firing Canada is the first time the Steelers have made an in-season coaching change since 1941.

I wonder if Tomlin could look to get out after the season. There have been reports for years now that some of the Steelers minority owners have been looking to move on but it never makes it past the Rooneys. Tepper reportedly wanted to try to trade for him last year, but the Steelers made a strong run to end the season with a winning record and he stayed.

Could be a win-win for the Steelers if they can convince Tepper to trade for him this year, if they're seriously thinking about moving on anyway. Instead of just firing him (or a "mutual parting" or forced resignation or however it's worded), they could pick up some picks from the Panthers while still moving on.

He did win a Super Bowl and had another appearance, but they're getting further and further in the rearview mirror while the product on the field isn't Super Bowl quality anymore (and hasn't been for years).

[Fernando]

If Tepper has any interest in making the Panthers relevant, he needs to start holding on to some draft picks as opposed to trading them.

[BeerBaron]

I don't disagree, but he's demonstrated this exact type of behavior before and shows no signs of stopping. He "broke the curve" of NFL coaching salaries with what he gave to Matt Rhule and fired him. He reportedly made the decision to draft Bryce Young. He reportedly pursued (and may still be pursuing) Tomlin. Belichick is another name that has been mentioned as being on his list.

[Lil Quip]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

Firing Canada is the first time the Steelers have made an in-season coaching change since 1941.

I wonder if Tomlin could look to get out after the season. There have been reports for years now that some of the Steelers minority owners have been looking to move on but it never makes it past the Rooneys. Tepper reportedly wanted to try to trade for him last year, but the Steelers made a strong run to end the season with a winning record and he stayed.

Could be a win-win for the Steelers if they can convince Tepper to trade for him this year, if they're seriously thinking about moving on anyway. Instead of just firing him (or a "mutual parting" or forced resignation or however it's worded), they could pick up some picks from the Panthers while still moving on.

He did win a Super Bowl and had another appearance, but they're getting further and further in the rearview mirror while the product on the field isn't Super Bowl quality anymore (and hasn't been for years).

Not sure the Steelers dumping Tomlin can ever be called a win for them. They are kind of paper tigers at 6-4, but I just envision them signing Cousins and hopefully getting their offensive guys to buy back in. Plus he makes WR happy because he does get his passing yards.

[Brodie]

I just don't see Tomlin going anywhere, that all feels like empty shit they always push. Yeah they aren't elite but he's not the GM. He's not the one forcing Tomlin to have had shitty QBs ever since Ben's arm died. He's not the one unable to coherently draft offensive lineman.

[Forenci]

Yeah, to be fair BB, you've mentioned the minority owner wanting Tomlin our for like two years now, haha.

Steelers certainly need to make some improvements, but it's rough when you're literally too good every year to even have a chance at a top QB. Feels like their best bet is getting in a veteran (Cousins?). Or wait for a big QB draft (maybe this year?) to snag someone in the mid-to-late first or second round, like Penix who can actually develop into a legit QB.

[BeerBaron]

At some point you have to pull the plug. That SB win was in 2009. The last appearance was in 2011.

They haven't truly been Super Bowl contenders since "Ben's arm died" and, while he's done an admirable job of keeping them from bottoming out completely, they clearly aren't contending this year even if they stay afloat enough to sneak into the playoffs.

And that's why I worded it "if Tomlin could look to get out after the season". Maybe he makes the decision and not the Steelers for a mutual separation. Tepper will make him the highest paid coach in NFL history if he wants. He'll give him a budget for any assistant coaches he wants, he'll give him final say if he wants... That might be more appealing at this point in his career than running it back with the same declining Steelers team.