Jack Del Rio was the first to go after being fired by the Jacksonville Jaguars only eleven games into the season. Tony Sparano wasn’t far behind getting fired two weeks later by the Miami Dolphins which leaves the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only Florida franchise still coached by the person that started the season with them. That may not be for long though.
The rumors out of Tampa are that Raheem Morris would have been fired by now but there would not be enough coaches left to run the team. Plus management doesn’t feel that there is a suitable candidate among the leftover coaching staff who would make a suitable interim coach. With that in mind look for Tampa management to complete the trifecta once the season ends.
There are three states that house three NFL teams a piece. The New York Giants, New York Jets and Buffalo Bills all call the state of New York home. The San Diego Chargers, San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders share the state of California while the Jaguars, Dolphins and Bucs all reside in Florida.
It’s unprecedented to see all three teams in a state change head coaches in the same year but the 2012 season could be a first. It has indeed been a miserable year for pro football in Florida.
The Jacksonville Jaguars looked as if they could have challenged for the AFC South crown this season with all of the turmoil that the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans were going through. The Colts knew before the season started that they would miss their star quarterback Peyton Manning for a sizeable portion of the year and that they would have a difficult time coming by wins.
Meanwhile the Titans were changing their head coach and starting quarterback to start the new season. Without a full offseason to get everyone on the same page they knew the road would be difficult in the beginning. Things got bleaker when Tennessee’s superstar running back Chris Johnson sat out of camp due to a contract dispute and started off slow once he finally did make it back with the team.
All that stood in Jacksonville’s way was the Houston Texans…….and of course Jacksonville themselves. Jack Del Rio would confound everyone including the players on his own team by cutting his starting quarterback David Garrard only days before the start of the season.
That would leave the inexperienced Luke McCown and rookie Blaine Gabbert as his remaining options at quarterback….yeah seriously. That’s why it was not a surprise how the situation ended. I’m sure that even Del Rio knew it wouldn’t be long before he would join Garrard in the unemployment line.
Not much to say about Miami though. They weren’t really expected to leapfrog the New England Patriots and the New York Jets but they were expected to show some improvement. Sadly the Dolphins would start the season 0-7, guaranteeing that Sparano would be job hunting next season also.
Tampa Bay on the other hand was the only Florida team that actually had a winning record last season. Although the Bucs placed third in their division last season, they went 10-6 on the year. On top of that they had the leagues’ youngest roster coming into the season and an up-and-coming quarterback who they thought was going to lead them into the playoffs this year.
It’s funny how much change a year can bring about. The Buccaneers are dead last in their division this season at 4-11. To say that Morris’s job was in jeopardy would be a major understatement at this point. It’s really just a matter of time.
So let the countdown begin. Tampa’s last game of the season will be on January 1st in Atlanta. The Atlanta Falcons are fighting for their playoff life right now so regardless of how they fair in New Orleans on Monday, the Falcons are looking at their home game against Tampa as a must-win game. Will Morris’s players help him go out with a whimper or a bang? Then again at this point does it really matter?
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and also writes for both The Penalty Flag and Outside The Redzone. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @Sportmentalist.
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