Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano and GM Mark Dominik “have been fired,” according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer. Glazer: “[Buccaneers Owner the] Glazers were really hoping they would be vindicated on Schiano but in the end they fire him and GM” (TWITTER.com, 12/30). ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas wrote the Glazers “are very private.” Yasinskas: “They’re also unpredictable and I’ve found it wise to not even try to guess what they’re going to do. But the one thing I do know with certainty about the Glazers is that they despise being embarrassed.” A 4-12 season “is embarrassing, especially when it’s capped off by a 25-point loss against a division opponent” (ESPN.com, 12/29).
FEELING MINNESOTA: In Minneapolis, Scoggins & Craig write the Vikings fired coach Leslie Frazier on Monday "after a season of promise dissolved in blown fourth-quarter leads and curious quarterback decisions." Frazier, who led the team to the playoffs last season, had one year left on his contract (STARTRIBUNE.com, 12/30). ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, on some reasoning behind Frazier's firing: “Remember this: They are getting ready to build a new stadium. They’re going to be playing the next two years at the University of Minnesota. They have put together a PSL, a seat license committee and they're going to sell their PSLs for the new stadium this year, and sometimes these things drive coaching changes because they're going to want to energize their fan base” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 12/30).
IN THE LIONS DEN: The Lions dismissed coach Jim Schwartz on Monday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter.com, 12/30). In Detroit, Drew Sharp writes if team Owner the Ford family are "truly daring, they might consider pulling the plug on" President Tom Lewand and GM Martin Mayhew as well (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/30). Sharp writes it is "no longer a question of whether" Schwartz "should be fired, but whether the line at the guillotine should stop at him." The "prevailing wisdom" is that Lions Vice Chair Bill Ford Jr. "will make the final call" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/30). However, both Lewand and Mayhew are expected to attend a press conference announcing Schwartz’ firing Monday afternoon (DETROIT NEWS.com, 12/30).
UNCERTAIN FUTURE: In Newark, Conor Orr writes the future of Giants coach Tom Coughlin "was the most pressing topic" after the team's win over the Redskins on Sunday, even if Coughlin "didn’t want it to be." He said, "Don’t ask me that. There will be an evaluation of everything, I’m sure, and we’ll go from there" (NJ.com, 12/30).
