The Washington Redskins’ decision to fire head coach Jay Gruden early Monday morning was in no way a surprise. Washington is coming off yet another blowout loss and is 0-5 on the season.
For the most part, it seems that the Skins quit on Gruden and vice versa. The next NFL head coach to be fired is more up in the air.
SportsLine came up with odds after Gruden’s firing, and the second name on the list has to be considered surprising.
- Dan Quinn, Falcons: 3/1
- Jason Garrett, Cowboys: 4/1
- Doug Marrone, Jaguars: 6/1
- Adam Gase, Jets: 10/1
- Pat Shurmur, Giants: 15/1
- Mike Tomlin, Steelers: 20/1
From a pure betting perspective, Quinn makes the most sense. He’s led the Falcons to a 1-4 start. They were just humiliated to the tune of 53-32 by the Houston Texans on Sunday. Though, owner Arthur Blank has proven to be loyal to his coaches in the past and just gave Quinn a vote of confidence.
Garrett’s inclusion at 4/1 is what’s interesting here. His Cowboys are coming off a double-digit home loss to the Green Bay Packers and have dropped two consecutive since a 3-0 start to the season.
Seemingly on the hot seat since he took over as Dallas’ full-time head coach back in 2011, a downward spiral this season could lead to Garrett’s departure. Though, with games coming up against the Jets and Giants over the next month, he could be given a bit of a reprieve. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has also been hesitant to move on from coaches mid-season.
Even then, this tells us a story of a coach that is firmly on the hot seat after leading Dallas to 10 wins and a division title last season.
Of the six listed above, Tomlin has the longest odds to be fired. There’s a reason for this. His Pittsburgh Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season back in Week 2.
This organization has had three coaches since the Richard Nixon Administration. It is not going to move on from Tomlin in the middle of a season.
On the other hand, Adam Gase has led the New York Jets to an 0-4 record in his first season. He just got the Big Apple media treatment following a disastrous blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
At 10/1, putting money on a head coach who is in over his head could make sense.