Four NFL head coaches lost their jobs Monday, the day after the 2018 regular season ended. Here’s the rundown:
Cincinnati Bengals
CINCINNATI — The Bengals fired coach Marvin Lewis on Monday, ending a 16-year stay in Cincinnati that included seven playoff appearances without a single postseason win.
The move ends the second-longest head coaching tenure in the league. New England’s Bill Belichick is in his 19th season.
Lewis leaves Cincinnati with an 0-7 mark in the postseason, the worst in NFL history. The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season. They are tied with Washington for the fifth-longest stretch of futility in league history.
A third straight losing season punctuated by plummeting attendance prompted change-resistant Mike Brown to finally cut ties with Lewis, whose loyalty and close working relationship with the owner brought him repeated contract extensions even as the playoff losses mounted.
The Bengals (6-10) lost in Pittsburgh 16-13 on Sunday and finished last in the AFC North for just the second time under Lewis. Attendance at Paul Brown Stadium has fallen to the second lowest in the league, ahead of only the Los Angeles Chargers, who play in a small, temporary stadium.
Arizona Cardinals
TEMPE, Ariz. — The Cardinals fired Steve Wilks on Monday after just one season as head coach.
Wilks’ firing followed a 3-13 season, the franchise’s worst record in 18 years and the worst in the NFL this season.
Wilks, 49, was hired after Bruce Arians retired following five seasons in Arizona.
After Arizona’s last-second 27-24 loss at Seattle on Sunday, players seemed unanimous in their desire for Wilks to be given a second season.
“I’ve let it be known, I love the man,” star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “I think he’s an unbelievable coach. It’s been a tough year, and we all understand this is a results business, but it’s hard for me to separate the business from the personal. I’ve got a heart, and I’m human. I really like coach.”
Denver Broncos
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Vance Joseph was fired as coach of the Broncos on Monday after back-to-back double-digit losing seasons.
Joseph met with general manager John Elway after completing a 6-10 season and was dismissed with two years and about $6 million remaining on his contract.
“I spoke with Vance this morning and thanked him for all of his hard work as our head coach. Although we decided to make this change, I believe Vance is a good football coach who has a bright future in this league,” Elway said in a statement ahead of his news conference scheduled for later Monday.
“Vance made a lot of strides and deserves credit for how hard and competitively the team played this season. There’s always going to be a high standard here — the bottom line is we need to win more football games. We’re excited about the foundation that’s being built and look forward to putting in the work to get the Broncos back on the winning track.”
Despite that foundation, the Broncos’ job isn’t what it was just two years ago when Joseph replaced Gary Kubiak, who stepped down a year after leading Denver to the Super Bowl 50 championship.
The Broncos are mired in a three-year playoff drought. There’s a family feud as the Bowlens publicly haggle over the future of the franchise. Joseph never was fully empowered to run the football team as Elway dictated many of the assistants that were hired. And the team hasn’t had a title sponsor on its stadium for several seasons.
Joseph, who’s expected to be a candidate for the Cincinnati Bengals’ job that opened Monday with the firing of longtime coach Marvin Lewis, thanked the Broncos for giving him his first NFL head-coaching job.
“It’s disappointing not being able to finish what we started, but I’m incredibly proud of the players and coaches for how they fought and worked every week,” Joseph said in a statement. “I also appreciate the support staffs who put in countless hours behind the scenes helping our team. This is a special place with great fans. Holly and I, along with our entire family, truly enjoyed being part of this community and wish the Broncos all the best.”
Miami Dolphins
MIAMI — The Dolphins’ coaching carousel is spinning again.
Adam Gase was fired Monday after going 7-9 in his third season with the team. Gase confirmed his dismissal in a text message to The Associated Press.
Owner Stephen Ross made the move after Gase went 23-26 with the Dolphins, who missed the playoffs for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons.
The next coach will be the Dolphins’ 10th since 2004, including three interim coaches. Stuck on a treadmill of mediocrity, they’ve finished with six to eight wins in nine of the past 10 seasons, and haven’t won a playoff game since 2000.
Most preseason prognosticators predicted the Dolphins would finish with a losing record, and a wave of injuries complicated Gase’s task. The Dolphins lost 13 key players to season-ending injuries, including two top offensive linemen; their best run stopper; top cornerback Xavien Howard; and dynamic receivers Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill missed five games.
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