It’s playoff week and NFL coaches are losing their jobs: Welcome to the craziest day of the season
Here’s everything you need to know about the playoffs and where to keep track of coaches getting fired.
The playoffs are here! The playoffs are here! The playoffs are here!
Complex machinations took place over 17 weeks to lead to this very instant: 12 teams contemplating, dreamy-eyed, slim hopes of winning the Super Bowl that aren’t nearly as slim as when the season began. You may have some questions. Who is playing who? When do games start? Is there a handy visual representation of all of this somewhere on the Internet? The answers you seek can all be found here.
The playoff picture was relatively set heading into Week 17. There were a few big winners, however. Ben Roethlisberger wrestled a guy in a Steelers win that, coupled with a Jets loss to the Bills, pushed the Steelers into the No. 6 seed. The Broncos got Peyton Manning back in a win over the Chargers that, coupled with a Patriots loss, gave them the No. 1 seed in the AFC. And in the NFC, the Vikings beat the Packers at Lambeau in a title bout that set them up for their first home playoff game since 2009.
This may have been one of the weirdest seasons ever, but it has resulted in an eclectic and unpredictable playoff field that should make January weekends a lot of fun.
BLACK SUNDAY: Monday has been known as “Black Monday” in the NFL as the day when middling teams axe coaches for leading underwhelming seasons. Some teams couldn’t wait to begin searching for new leadership, however.
First, there was the Cleveland Browns, who fired head coach Mike Pettine, their third head coach in four years, and general manager Ray Farmer. The Browns then promoted their general counsel to vice president of football operations, which means that a man who has zero scouting experience now has final say over their 53-man roster.
Not to be outdone, the San Francisco 49ers moved quickly to fire Jim Tomsula, a man who CEO Jed York hand picked to be the 49ers’ head coach not even a year ago after “mutually parting” with Jim Harbaugh.
SUBTWEET: Oh and by the way, Harbaugh is still sore as hell about how things went down in San Francisco.
BLACK MONDAY: News will be pouring in quickly and furiously throughout the day Monday, so you’ll want to keep our coaching rumors tracker handy. And if you need a primer, our own Ryan Van Bibber handily ranked the NFL’s coaching vacancies from best to worst.
DEATH. TAXES. And Jeff Fisher going 7-9. Was this Stan Kroenke’s plan all along? Drive down attendance with a curmudgeon at the helm and creep off to Los Angeles?
PEYTON BACK! Good news for the Broncos: Peyton Manning replaced a healthy Brock Osweiler against the Chargers and helped the offense to a 27-20 win. The (slightly) bad news: That doesn’t necessarily mean the Broncos are better. Head coach Gary Kubiak is remaining noncommittal on naming a starter, but it’s hard to imagine the veteran won’t get the nod.
JOHNNY DONE? Peter King spoke to a source who thinks Johnny Manziel is on his way out in Cleveland. The quarterback reportedly didn’t show up to a mandatory doctor’s meeting Sunday, and when the Browns tried to call him he didn’t pick up. Manziel, meanwhile, reportedly wants to go to the Cowboys, who almost drafted him in 2014.
SELFLESS: Sean Lee could have hobbled through Sunday’s game and earned a $2 million incentive bonus, but instead he sat and saved money for the Cowboys because he didn’t think it’d be fair to the team. Lee has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but the Cowboys have held on to him and praised his leadership, and it’s not hard to understand why.
DON’T TRASH TALK RICHARD SHERMAN: He will pretend to poop on you.
FROM TRICK SHOTS TO TITANS: Alex Tanney took a circuitous path to the NFL that went through YouTube and culminated in a solid outing with the Titans. Hopefully this isn’t the end for the former viral sensation.
NO MO: It wasn’t enough that the Jets were eliminated from the playoffs in the most sadly poetic way possible, but the team also lost defensive tackle (and all around good guy) Muhammad Wilkerson to a broken leg.
TURN DOWN FOR WATT: J.J. Watt reenacted the best sports dance memes of 2015 in one glorious celebration. He also hit a milestone that only Reggie White had accomplished while securing the AFC South title for the Texans. Not a bad week!
DON’T DO THIS: Do not be like Cowboys fans and start the wave while an opposing player is laying motionless on the field.
CHARLES WOODSON: The longtime Raiders defensive back is an NFL legend, and the Raiders honored his last game by creating a beautiful Instagram mural.