Seattle Fires Jim Mora

This past Monday was traditionally called "Black Monday," but last Monday was more like a shade of gray. There weren't many firings and many coaches that were in trouble of losing their jobs, held onto them. A coach that flew under the radar this season was Seattle's Jim Mora. He didn't have a good season and today Seattle fired Mora. Did Seattle fire Mora to try and go after Bill Cowher or another big name or was it time for a change?

Seattle Seahawks CEO, Tod Leiweke, announced today that they will fire Jim Mora, even though Leiweke openly endorsed him six weeks ago. The team's general manager, Tim Ruskell, stepped down mid-season so they will be looking to fill both positions. Mora took over the head coach duties once Mike Holmgren stepped down, but he was the "head coach in waiting" for two seasons before taking over as head coach. Seattle has went 9-23 over the last two seasons and it was time for an overhal in Seattle. Although the timing is quite coincidental since Bill Cowher is rumored to be looking to coach in 2010, but with Buffalo being his only option, it was unlikely that he would take the Bills job. The Seattle job seems more likely, since he would have total control. The one reason why it would be unlikely is because of the geographical location of Seattle. Cowher stepped down as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers because he wanted to be closer to his family, who reside in the Carolina region.

It's is unknown who Seattle will target since they could be looking to upgrade every position on the field. They had a long stretch of success with Matt Hasselbeck as the quarterback, but with two injury-plagued seasons, a change at head coach could mean the end of his reign as the starting quarterback. A youth movement needs to happen on offense since the wide receiving corps is getting "long in the tooth" and the offensive line has holes. They do have Justin Forsett and Deon Butler on offense, but they still need grooming. The defense had issues in 2009 stopping the run and doing the little things on the football field. Seattle's offense didn't give their defense very good field position, so the blame falls on both sides of the ball for Seattle.

Jim Mora is a solid secondary coach and he should latch onto a coaching staff very soon. He had a rough go in Seattle with the Michael Vick saga taking place on his watch. Mora didn't inherit a very good team when he took over in Seattle, I don't blame Mora, I blame the former GM Tim Ruskell and Mike Holmgren for leaving him with a bad team.

Eric Mangini Still Not Fired?

The Cleveland Browns fired GM George Kokinis yesterday, but head coach Eric Mangini is still the coach. I don't know how this can happen, considering that Mangini actually picked Kokinis to be the GM. I don't know a situation that has ever worked out when a person picks his own boss. How long does Mangini last in Cleveland?

I have seen my fair share of Cleveland Browns games since I moved to Columbus, Ohio three years ago. I thought the team last year was a joke, but they can't even score points this year. They completely quit on Brady Quinn and decided to put Jake Delhomme Jr. (Derek Anderson) in as a permanent starter. If a QB goes 2 for 17 in one of the first games as a starter, I don't know how many keep that role. It happened against the Bills, who to the Browns defense, made Mark Sanchez look like a, er, rookie. Nevermind, Anderson should be benched and just like the Titans did with Vince Young, the Browns need to see what they have with Quinn.

One of the reasons why many speculate that Quinn is not the starter is because he has a bonus in his contract that if he takes more than 50% of the snaps this season he gets $11 million dollars. I know that is a large number and it could be wise for a team not to spend money, but are the Browns a football team or an accounting firm? If your job is in jeopardy, wouldn't it be wise to play your best players?

The Browns are in bad shape. I have really been back and forth about which team is the worst team in the NFL. I think the Browns are definitely in the conversation with the Rams, Redskins, Lions, Raiders, and Jaguars. The Redskins and Browns are so bad that when I watch them, they make me feel bad for them. I'm not supposed to feel sad during an NFL game. These players are making more a year than I will this decade and they are grown men, yet I think they probably need a hug after most games.

I hope the Browns get better, if that's with Mangini, so be it, but I hope that it is soon. I get most Browns and Bengals games here and I am tired of watching horrible, sloppy football on Sundays. Is firing George Kokinis enough for Cleveland fans not to do a protest and leave their seats vacant at kickoff on Monday Night Football? I sure hope so, because it's not about the personnel anymore, it's about an entire franchise that seems to have lost the connection with the hard-working, blue-collar fans that pay for tickets.

Speak Before You Think Monday

After a long weekend, it is easy to do or say something that is completely insane. Your mind isn't right on a Monday. You are still thinking about how you should have gotten that blonde's number at the bar or how your team still has a shot at the National Championship, even if you lost a nationally televised game 35-3 (sorry Buckeyes, i live in your territory and I shouldn't be so ill, but it's real talk). Here is a few observations of things people are saying or what they have done without thinking things out clearly.

- The Milwaukee Brewers fired Ned Yost. Really? Before the Brewers hired him, they hadn't had a winning season since dudes named Yount and Molitor were sporting the yellow and blue gear. I know that they imploded last season, but the team was full of rookies, I am not sold that they are used to the long Major League season. You can't make much of an argument that they are tanking again this season, because they haven't been in first place since the beginning of the season. Milwaukee is realizing that they only have Sabathia and Sheets for this one season and they will not be able to sign them, so they must win now. Rickie Weeks has been a disappointment so far and J.J. Hardy is not consistent. The trade talk has already started about Prince Fielder, they realize that they can't win every game with their offense and your #1 starter cannot be Dave Bush or Manny Parra. Fielder is set for abitration soon and he will also grant a huge contract when free agency comes around. The Brewers may still make the playoffs, but now they have to combat the Phillies/Mets, whoever doesn't win the NL East, and Houston. Not a smart move by the upper management in Milwaukee, Yost will get a job next season, either as a manager or a high-profile bench coach.

- Carlos Zambrano is back. I'm a Chicago Cubs, everyone who reads this blog knows this is true. Historically, Zambrano is extremely good on a long rest. He nearly had a no-hitter mid-season this year after he took some time off for injury. He may throw another gem next time out too, but it's too soon to say he is back. Houston evacuated a hurricane and their minds were not 100% on baseball. The game was also played in Milwaukee, which is Wrigley Field North. If you go to any Cubs/Brewers game, the Cubs fans/Brewers fan ratio could learn in Chicago's favor, let alone Houston fans versus Chicago fans. Also, Ted Lilly took a no-hitter today into the 7th inning against Houston and the last few games I watched Lilly pitch, he looked horrible. Zambrano needs his last few starts to be solid for me to be sold.

- Ohio State still has a shot at that National Championship. Even if OSU runs the table in the Big Ten, the best they can do is a birth in the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, if USC loses a game or two, they will meet there. I don't see USC losing any games, but there is a Pac-10 team that usually gives them a close game or beats them (i.e. Stanford, Oregon State). The Buckeyes do have a chance to turn the season around, but that would mean Todd Boeckman would lose his job as starting quarterback. Terrelle Pryor looked pretty good against USC, but it was a too tough of a test for a true freshman to face. Beanie Wells may have made this game closer, but he wouldn't have won the game for Ohio State. Wells would have helped them have some ball control and help manage the clock. The score would have been around 27-10, still an embarassment. Ohio State has no shot at making the BCS Championship game, so I do not want to hear about a slim chance, there is no chance.

- The Minnesota Vikings will still make the playoffs. They are 0-2 and it looks like the NFC North will be very solid this year. I know that they lost to the Packers and Colts, two teams that are playoff caliber, but the way they played in those games didn't look like a playoff team to me. Adrian Peterson should have ran all over Indianapolis, which he did, but never got into the endzone. Tavarius Jackson isn't a starting quarterback in this league, yet. He may be a starter in the future, but with the kind of talent this team has, minus wide-receivers (they really don't have any #1 receiver), they need an establish quarterback to spread the defense and let Peterson run amok. The Bears are better (they play them twice), the Lions can score points, something Minnesota has trouble with (they play them twice, the Packers own them (they play them again), and they play the AFC South (which is one of the best divisions in the league). I would suggest that you look at the remaining schedule of the team before you put them in the playoffs, Mike & Mike.

- Denver Broncos is the best team in the AFC. They have looked impressive so far this season, but they played the Raiders and a San Diego team that haven't found themselves without Shawne Merriman. Eddie Royal has been a huge surprise, Brandon Marshall caught about a million pases this week, and Jay Cutler looks like John Elway. The NFL loves to scheme and take players out of the game, I'm guessing the next few weeks that teams will start pressuring Cutler more and make the young quarterback think faster on his feet. They will have to run the ball more, which may fall into Shanahan's lap, but this core of Denver running backs aren't Terrell Davis or Clinton Portis, it's Selvin Young and a few castoffs from other teams. Denver looks like they will win that division, it looks to be very weak, but they are not the best team in the AFC. They will have to beat New England, Indianapolis, or Pittsburgh to garner that honor.