Quote:I've heard a bunch of media types (both reporters and ex-jocks) talk about how it almost never does any good to fire a coach in the middle of a season. They're all missing the point. I don't want Gus fired now because I really believe it will save our season. Our season is toast, whether Gus remains the coach or not. I want him fired now because I don't want the front office getting wishy-washy as the offseason approaches.
My nightmare scenario is this: We find ourselves at, say, 1-12. Then, with absolutely nothing at stake, we end up winning our last 3 meaningless games to finish 4-12. As bad as that record looks, I guarantee there would be a bunch of people inside and outside the organization saying, "But they finished the season on a high note!" and "They'll have momentum going into next season!" and "The players are finally beginning to respond to Gus's system!" Management has second thoughts about firing Bradley and we end up watching the same clown show for another year.
Fire him now. It won't get us a better record this year. But it will ensure that we don't repeat this mistake next year.
Granted the Panthers had more wins than us (6-10 in his first season), but they could have fired Ron Rivera in 2012 when they were 1-6 after week 8, or 2-8 after week 11, but they stuck with him and they finished the season 7-9, winning five of their last six games and they could have won the game they lost.
Some speculated he would be fired after 2012, but they stuck with him after they turned it around at the end of that season. But again the Panthers could have fired him after a slow start in 2013, they were 1-3 after week 5 and looking like they were goin to struggle. They stuck with Rivera and they went on an eight game winning streak, and finished their season 12-4.
Fast forward to last season, they started ok at 3-2-1 at the end of week six, but they ended up going on a six game losing streak. Again, they could have been justified firing Rivera, instead they gave the team stability and kept him in charge and they finished their season 7-8-1, won their division for the second consecutive time, and won a game in the play offs.
What I am trying to highlight here is the fact that the Panthers could have followed your route by firing Rivera mid-season to prevent one of those late season win streaks that gives front offices a reason to get "wishy-washy" and keep the head coach for another season. But if they had fired Rivera in 2012, they may never have done as well as they did the past two seasons, or as well as they have started this season. If they fired him in 2013, there's no guarantee they would have gone on that long winning streak with only one more defeat that season.
Now I'm not saying Gus is the right man for the job, but if we keep him and this team finishes the season 6-10, 7-9, or even 8-8, that would show that the players finally started to get the job done on the field. Like I said in a previous post, it is not all Gus' fault. He doesn't tell Blake to make a bad read and throw an interception. He doesn't tell his defense to miss tackles. He doesn't tell Myers to choke when going for a game winning field goal. So if his players actually did their job and executed well, took their chances, this team could have a better record than it does now. And if they manage to do that for the rest of the season, they will have a chance to put a fair few wins on the board. Even a 6-10, 7-9, or 8-8 season may not keep him in a job (teams have fired their head coaches for that), but if we fire him mid season we'll never know if he could have turned it around and helped us to similar success that the Panthers have found under Rivera. He may not do that, but we should give him the season to see what this team can do under his stewardship.
