The NFL season is heading into Week 17 and while many teams will be looking forward to the playoffs, even more are looking towards what many call Black Monday, as a number of coaches are on the hot seat this season and rumors have names like Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan, Jason Garrett, Leslie Frazier, Dennis Allen, Mike Munchak, Rex Ryan and Tom Coughlin as names that could get axed.
The Texans will be looking for a new head coach already and they could be joined by a number of teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, NY Jets, Oakland Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, on Black Monday. According to Pro Football Talk, the Redskins look like a team ready for a new head coach, as the coordinators for the Redskins spoke about their jobs a bit and sounded like men on their way out. The report says that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett spoke about the season and spoke about the team in past terms, possibly hinting that they could be let go after the season.
There is a chance that the team will keep Mike Shanahan because he is owed so much money and in that case Daniel Snyder may have him fire both his coordinators so that at least someone's head rolls after the way this season played out. Even if Washington wants to fire Shanahan, there is a chance that they may not do it because of the contract he has. The Redskins are the top team out there that could fire their head coach and there could be a ton of options to hire out there, including Bengals coordinators Jay Gruden and Mike Zimmer, Lovie Smith and many others, such as Bill O'Brien from Penn State. The team is a mess and they need a coach that gets along with Robert Griffin III.
The Vikings are about to go into a very tough situation, as they will play the next two seasons outside in the cold in Minnesota's college team stadium as their new one gets built and with the team likely rebuilding, it could be hard to find a quality coach. Frazier has done a good job with the team over the past few years and he should remain in place due to the upcoming situation, but that doesn't mean the Vikings won't fire him anyway. The Vikings have Adrian Peterson and that always gives them a chance, but getting a top coach into that situation will be rough.
The Oakland Raiders are another team that probably shouldn't fire their head coach but may do it anyway, as Dennis Allen was given a rough situation and while he went 4-12 last season and could do that again, he should get another shot. A name like Jon Gruden is out there and he will get mentioned until the Raiders make a move, but with the team he has, Allen deserves at least one more year. Reggie McKenzie has worked to get rid of the bad money and now the team has the chance to play a bit with cash and Allen should get another shot.
Black Monday could be very dark this season.