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Well, I don't follow the NFL quite like I used to do, so I'll start this thread and let others fill in the gaps.
I'll start with the only division with which I am really familiar: the ol' NFC North, once known as the NFC Central. This geographical change in designation is not ahistorical: Michigan, Wisconsin, and environs were once call "the western territory" until railroads opened up things farther west, thus changing the moniker to "the midwest."
And in that midwest, it looks like Matt Nagy is a walking ghost. Surely Ryan Pace will can him at season's end so he can have a scapegoat for what have been some mighty whiffs on the GM's part. I'm sure Pace is also hoping people will not notice that he was the one that hired Nagy in the first place . . . No worries for Bears' fans, though. Pace can easily re-stock the cupboard with his five picks in the 2022 draft - though he'll have to do so without a first- and a fourth- round pick.
Sheesh. After writing that, seems like they oughta can Pace first and foremost...
On to Minnesota. I have not seen too much about Mike Zimmer's future, but at this point, the guy's been there forever - this is his eighth year - and what does he have to show for it? There always seem to be preseason rumblings that the rough-and-tough Vikes will be extra tough this year, but the team in fact seems to be on the downswing. Spielman, the GM, also somehows seems to get a lot of credit for his draft acumen, but what has he to show for all of that? Still, he seems to be on safe ground somehow. Maybe he'll can Zimmer and be the GM that uses the coach he hired as a scapegoat for his failures. As for Zimmer, the big question is whether, in the context of Viking history, he's better or worse than Denny Green was. Seems like Denny had a bit more success, though I could be wrong there.
Probably Dan Campbell in Detroit gets a pass, as they have less NFL talent there than the universities of Georgia or Alabama do. However, he makes some really, really weird decisions, and his kooky personality, that "he's-hard-nosed-and-tells-it-like-it-is" thing that so many fans seem to adore in their team's coach, may be wearing a bit thin. Still, he'll likely be back next year, though I imagine the team will have to show some pretty serious improvement, or he might end up as the guy that presided over the rebuild so the next coach could come in and look good. We'll see. Perhaps he should take a page from the Matt Patricia playbook and suck up to the team's new(ish) owner, Sheila Ford. Maybe sending her a picture of himself in nothing but his crocs will buy him some time, depending on how big of a man she thinks he is.
Elsewhere in the NFL, I'm not sure who's who or what's what. I'd imagine Urban Meyer is simply twisting in the wind until the season mercifully ends, and he can then be fired so as to be free to go back to Ohio and visit that sweet twenty-something "family" member he was hugging from behind. And maybe Pete Carroll's act in Seattle has finally worn too thin. He's like McCarthy was in Green Bay - his shelf life may be over after a good initial run.
I'll start with the only division with which I am really familiar: the ol' NFC North, once known as the NFC Central. This geographical change in designation is not ahistorical: Michigan, Wisconsin, and environs were once call "the western territory" until railroads opened up things farther west, thus changing the moniker to "the midwest."
And in that midwest, it looks like Matt Nagy is a walking ghost. Surely Ryan Pace will can him at season's end so he can have a scapegoat for what have been some mighty whiffs on the GM's part. I'm sure Pace is also hoping people will not notice that he was the one that hired Nagy in the first place . . . No worries for Bears' fans, though. Pace can easily re-stock the cupboard with his five picks in the 2022 draft - though he'll have to do so without a first- and a fourth- round pick.
Sheesh. After writing that, seems like they oughta can Pace first and foremost...
On to Minnesota. I have not seen too much about Mike Zimmer's future, but at this point, the guy's been there forever - this is his eighth year - and what does he have to show for it? There always seem to be preseason rumblings that the rough-and-tough Vikes will be extra tough this year, but the team in fact seems to be on the downswing. Spielman, the GM, also somehows seems to get a lot of credit for his draft acumen, but what has he to show for all of that? Still, he seems to be on safe ground somehow. Maybe he'll can Zimmer and be the GM that uses the coach he hired as a scapegoat for his failures. As for Zimmer, the big question is whether, in the context of Viking history, he's better or worse than Denny Green was. Seems like Denny had a bit more success, though I could be wrong there.
Probably Dan Campbell in Detroit gets a pass, as they have less NFL talent there than the universities of Georgia or Alabama do. However, he makes some really, really weird decisions, and his kooky personality, that "he's-hard-nosed-and-tells-it-like-it-is" thing that so many fans seem to adore in their team's coach, may be wearing a bit thin. Still, he'll likely be back next year, though I imagine the team will have to show some pretty serious improvement, or he might end up as the guy that presided over the rebuild so the next coach could come in and look good. We'll see. Perhaps he should take a page from the Matt Patricia playbook and suck up to the team's new(ish) owner, Sheila Ford. Maybe sending her a picture of himself in nothing but his crocs will buy him some time, depending on how big of a man she thinks he is.
Elsewhere in the NFL, I'm not sure who's who or what's what. I'd imagine Urban Meyer is simply twisting in the wind until the season mercifully ends, and he can then be fired so as to be free to go back to Ohio and visit that sweet twenty-something "family" member he was hugging from behind. And maybe Pete Carroll's act in Seattle has finally worn too thin. He's like McCarthy was in Green Bay - his shelf life may be over after a good initial run.
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