Players also don't like to lose their starting jobs, even if it is just for a meaningless game.

Contract incentives

Those reasons all make sense, thanks. I guess its tough to align everyone's incentives in a situation like this.

I am going to the Jets game Sunday, my wife was given a luxury suite through a vendor. I for one am glad Rodgers is playing.

Chargers gon’ Charger

:banghead:

Hopefully the Saints will take care of the Steelers tomorrow.

Well with a little Luck and some dumb penalties committed by the Giants D, the Colts are still in the playoff hunt.

Holy shit that texans catch.

Record 470 yards passing for Foles today-not bad for a backup. :)

Larry Fitzgerald adds his first ever passing TD, a 32 yarder to David Johnson to his Hall of Fame Resume

Genious here decided to bench Aaron Rodgers in a fantasy title game, for a 2 QB league. Yeah...



Honestly seemed like him sitting down in the second half was in play, right?

Boy, the rest of the AFC teams REALLY want the Chiefs to have the #1 seed. Hopefully they can seal that up tonight.

My opponent had been starting Prescott all week (1 QB League), and this morning he swapped Rodgers in. My solace is that I was probably losing anyway, but still...

Hard to blame you for benching him, they'd been steaming garbage for weeks.

Browns would be foolish not to just make the Gregg Williams thing permanent. He’s been coaching his ass off.

My kid controls his fantasy league destiny in part due to ... C.J. Anderson.

It's a crazy world.

Awesome catch by saints #13. Thomas I think?

I was there. Wife got a luxury suite through work. Hell of a game.

it feels like a trap

I dunno. He's enough of an also ran that of you keep him on a 3-5 year deal and just whack him after next year of you miss the playoffs. Maybe you can't get Harbaugh or a similar level guy this year anyways. Guys are performing and the team is probably at where they should be. I guess maybe if you just think Williams is replacement level, which may be accurate, it's not like he's Hue Jackson. That's a giant upgrade.

Dola- if Kitchens has the offense as good next year and is getting sniffs at HC jobs then you whack Williams absent a conference championship

Nobody wants it apparently.

The AFC race has gone crazy. New England and Houston are still alive for the #1 seed, even Baltimore and Tennessee are still alive for the #2 seed. I'm digging through all the possible scenarios and it's both fun to do and giving me a bit of a headache.

AFC picture
Kansas City
KC win -> KC #1
KC tie + LAC loss/tie -> KC #1
KC tie + LAC win -> KC #5
KC loss + LAC loss + NE loss/tie + HOU loss/tie -> KC #1
KC loss + LAC loss + NE loss/tie + HOU win -> KC #2
KC loss + LAC loss + NE win + HOU loss/tie -> KC #2
KC loss + LAC loss + NE win + HOU win -> KC #3
KC loss + LAC win/tie -> KC #5
* KC has common games tie-breaker over LAC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU+KC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over KC
* HOU has strength of victory tie-breaker over KC

New England
NE win + KC loss + LAC loss -> NE #1
NE win + LAC win/tie -> NE #2
NE win + KC win/tie -> NE #2
NE tie + HOU loss/tie -> NE #2
NE tie + HOU win -> NE #3
NE loss + HOU loss + TEN loss/tie + BAL loss/tie -> NE #2
NE loss + HOU loss + TEN win + BAL loss/tie -> NE #3
NE loss + HOU loss + TEN loss + BAL win -> NE #3
NE loss + HOU loss + TEN tie + BAL win -> NE #3/4 (depends on HOU-BAL sov/sos)
NE loss + HOU loss + TEN win + BAL win -> NE #4
NE loss + HOU win/tie + BAL loss/tie -> NE #3
NE loss + HOU win/tie + BAL win -> NE #4
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU+KC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over KC
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE+IND
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE+TEN
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over IND
* TEN has head-to-head tie-breaker over NE
* BAL+HOU have conference record tie-breaker over NE (BAL-HOU undecided)
HOU leads strength of victory tie-breaker vs BAL:
HOU:71.5+DEN+DAL+WAS (wk17 results)
BAL:71+BUF+OAK (wk17 results)
if tied, BAL has strength of schedule tie-breaker over HOU

Houston
HOU win + NE loss/tie + KC loss + LAC loss -> HOU #1
HOU win + NE loss/tie + KC win/tie -> HOU #2
HOU win + NE loss/tie + LAC win/tie -> HOU #2
HOU win + NE win + KC loss + LAC loss -> HOU #2
HOU win + NE win + KC win/tie -> HOU #3
HOU win + NE win + LAC win/tie -> HOU #3
HOU tie + NE loss -> HOU #2
HOU tie + NE win/tie -> HOU #2
HOU loss + IND-TEN tie + NE loss + BAL loss/tie -> HOU #2
HOU loss + IND-TEN tie + NE loss + BAL win -> HOU #2/4 (BAL-HOU sov/sos)
HOU loss + IND-TEN tie + NE win/tie + BAL loss/tie -> HOU #3
HOU loss + IND-TEN tie + NE win/tie + BAL win -> HOU #3/4 (BAL-HOU sov/sos)
HOU loss + IND/TEN win -> HOU #6
* IND has division record tie-breaker over HOU
* TEN has division record tie-breaker over HOU
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU+KC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU
* HOU has strength of victory tie-breaker over KC
* BAL+HOU have conference record tie-breaker over NE
* BAL-HOU undecided
HOU leads strength of victory tie-breaker vs BAL:
BAL:71+BUF+OAK (wk17 results)
HOU:70.5+NYJ+DEN+DAL+WAS (wk17 results)
if tied, BAL has strength of schedule tie-breaker over HOU

Baltimore
BAL win + HOU loss + IND/TEN win + NE loss -> BAL #2
BAL win + HOU loss + IND-TEN tie + NE loss -> BAL #2/3 (BAL-HOU sov/sos)
BAL win + HOU loss + IND/TEN win + NE win/tie -> BAL #3
BAL win + HOU loss + IND-TEN tie + NE win/tie -> BAL #3/4 (BAL-HOU sov/sos)
BAL win + HOU win/tie + NE loss -> BAL #3
BAL win + HOU win/tie + NE win/tie -> BAL #4
BAL tie + PIT loss/tie -> BAL #4
BAL tie + PIT win + IND-TEN tie -> BAL #6
BAL tie + PIT win + IND/TEN win -> BAL no playoffs
BAL loss + PIT loss -> BAL #4
BAL loss + PIT win/tie -> BAL no playoffs
* PIT has division record tie-breaker over BAL
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE+IND
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE+TEN
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over IND
* BAL has head-to-head tie-breaker over TEN
* BAL+HOU have conference record tie-breaker over NE
* BAL-HOU undecided
BAL leads strength of victory tie-breaker vs HOU:
BAL:71+BUF+OAK (wk17 results)
HOU:70.5+NYJ+DEN+DAL+WAS (wk17 results)
if tied, BAL has strength of schedule tie-breaker over HOU

LA Chargers
LAC win + KC loss/tie -> LAC #1
LAC win + KC win -> LAC #5
LAC tie + KC loss -> LAC #1
LAC tie + KC win/tie -> LAC #5
LAC loss -> LAC #5
* KC has common games tie-breaker over LAC

Indianapolis
IND win + HOU loss + BAL loss/tie -> IND #3
IND win + HOU loss + BAL win -> IND #4
IND win + HOU win/tie -> IND #6
IND tie + PIT loss/tie -> IND #6
IND tie + PIT win + BAL loss -> IND #6
IND tie + PIT win + BAL win/tie -> IND no playoffs
IND loss -> IND no playoffs
* IND has division record tie-breaker over HOU
* IND has head-to-head tie-breaker over TEN
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE+IND
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over IND
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over IND
* PIT has common games tie-breaker over IND

Tennessee
TEN win + HOU loss + BAL loss/tie + NE loss -> TEN #2
TEN win + HOU loss + BAL loss/tie + NE win/tie -> TEN #3
TEN win + HOU loss + BAL win + NE loss -> TEN #3
TEN win + HOU loss + BAL win + NE win/tie -> TE #4
TEN win + HOU win/tie -> TEN #6
TEN loss/tie -> TEN no playoffs
* TEN has division record tie-breaker over HOU
* IND has head-to-head tie-breaker over TEN
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over NE+TEN
* TEN has head-to-head tie-breaker over NE
* BAL has head-to-head tie-breaker over TEN

Pittsburgh
PIT win + BAL loss/tie -> PIT #4
PIT win + BAL win + IND-TEN tie -> PIT #6
PIT win + BAL win + IND/TEN win -> PIT no playoffs
PIT tie + BAL loss -> PIT #4
PIT tie + BAL win/tie -> PIT no playoffs
PIT loss -> PIT no playoffs
* PIT has division record tie-breaker over BAL
* PIT has common games tie-breaker over IND



NFC picture
New Orleans
#1 seed
* NO has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR

LA Rams
LAR win/tie -> LAR #2
LAR loss + CHI loss/tie -> LAR #2
LAR loss + CHI win -> LAR #3
* NO has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR
* CHI has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR

Chicago
CHI win + LAR loss -> CHI #2
CHI win + LAR win/tie -> CHI #3
CHI loss/tie -> CHI #3
* CHI has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR

Dallas
#4 seed
* DAL has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI

Seattle
wild card
SEA win/tie -> SEA #5
SEA loss + MIN loss/tie -> SEA #5
SEA loss + MIN win -> SEA #6
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over MIN+PHI
* SEA has head-to-head tie-breaker over MIN
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over PHI

Minnesota
MIN win + SEA loss -> MIN #5
MIN win + SEA win/tie -> MIN #6
MIN tie -> MIN #6
MIN loss + PHI loss/tie -> MIN #6
MIN loss + PHI win -> MIN no playoffs
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over MIN+PHI
* SEA has head-to-head tie-breaker over MIN
* MIN has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI

Philadelphia
PHI win + MIN loss -> PHI #6
PHI win + MIN win/tie -> PHI no playoffs
PHI loss/tie -> PHI no playoffs
* DAL has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over MIN+PHI
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over PHI
* MIN has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI

Matt Millen got a heart transplant this morning. He’s only 60. Which means he was my age when he was ruining the Lions

I still think it's pretty incredible that the Colts started the season 1-5 and can still possibly get a home playoff game. If this team was healthy they could make a good Superbowl run.

Hiring the interim is always a risky proposition - you have to figure out how much of the success is just the new coach (or getting rid of the terrible old coach) bounce, whether he'll take the team forward with a whole offseason to mould things his way, etc....

With that being said, I think where this Browns team is right now and the fact that Williams almost certainly would have been a HC candidate again a few years ago if not for Bountygate, I can't see the Browns doing any better this offseason.

Assuming you can keep the rest of the staff together including Kitchens, I think it's probably the right move. Continuity for a young QB is pretty important, especially one that has responded once the coaching change was made. Assuming that Cleveland isn't too cheap to make a change if it doesn't work out after a season or two. The other alternative would presumably be take a chance on a young assistant from another team, which feels like it's even more of a trap.

Isn’t Williams maybe the most successful interim head coach in recent history? Normally mid season promotions do REALLY bad. I mean Arians was kind of a different situation, since that team was stacked and the HC was just sick. I don’t see how you could promote Kitchens this rapidly. I think maybe John Harbaugh would be the only hire ever with any less coordinator experience.

DJ Swearinger's release comes at an interesting time. I'd take him on the Patriots over *checks depth chart* Keoin Crossen & Obi Melifonwu.

I think he has to go through waivers and is under contract for next year, so I think it's probably unlikely that a playoff team gets him.

So, at the tail end of the MNF game, the Raiders kicked a pointless long FG, which served to put our league title game as a TIE. ESPN doesn't seem to have any field to enter in the means to break a playoff tie (?) so we... hmmm.. split the 1st and 2nd pace prizes and declare co-champions? Seems un-American.

The default on ESPN is that the higher seeded team wins/advances.

How do playoff tie breakers work? - ESPN

Cardinals picked him back up off waivers.

It's weird to see the Packers get booed off the field at halftime.

Kiko Alonzo needs to be suspended at some point for his cheap shots.

Preferably for at least 3 games. Not helped by the fact he was apparently joking around with the announcers about taking cheap shots at QBs before the game.

In more bizarre news, the brain trust that brought you the Blake Bortles extension is back in Jacksonville. WTF.

AFC picture
Kansas City
KC win -> KC #1
KC tie + LAC loss/tie -> KC #1
KC tie + LAC win -> KC #5
KC loss + LAC loss -> KC #3
KC loss + LAC win/tie -> KC #5
* KC has common games tie-breaker over LAC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU+KC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over KC
* HOU has strength of victory tie-breaker over KC

New England
KC loss + LAC loss -> NE #1
LAC win/tie -> NE #2
KC win/tie -> NE #2
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU+KC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over KC

Houston
KC loss + LAC loss -> HOU #2
KC win/tie -> HOU #3
LAC win/tie -> HOU #3
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU+KC
* NE has head-to-head tie-breaker over HOU
* HOU has strength of victory tie-breaker over KC

Baltimore
BAL win -> BAL #4
BAL tie + PIT loss/tie -> BAL #4
BAL tie + PIT win + IND-TEN tie -> BAL #6
BAL tie + PIT win + IND/TEN win -> BAL no playoffs
BAL loss + PIT loss -> BAL #4
BAL loss + PIT win/tie -> BAL no playoffs
* PIT has division record tie-breaker over BAL
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over IND

LA Chargers
LAC win + KC loss/tie -> LAC #1
LAC win + KC win -> LAC #5
LAC tie + KC loss -> LAC #1
LAC tie + KC win/tie -> LAC #5
LAC loss -> LAC #5
* KC has common games tie-breaker over LAC

Indianapolis
IND win -> IND #6
IND tie + PIT loss/tie -> IND #6
IND tie + PIT win + BAL loss -> IND #6
IND tie + PIT win + BAL win/tie -> IND no playoffs
IND loss -> IND no playoffs
* IND has division record tie-breaker over HOU
* IND has head-to-head tie-breaker over TEN
* BAL has conference record tie-breaker over IND
* PIT has common games tie-breaker over IND

Tennessee
TEN win -> TEN #6
TEN loss/tie -> TEN no playoffs
* IND has head-to-head tie-breaker over TEN

Pittsburgh
PIT win + BAL loss/tie -> PIT #4
PIT win + BAL win + IND-TEN tie -> PIT #6
PIT win + BAL win + IND/TEN win -> PIT no playoffs
PIT tie + BAL loss -> PIT #4
PIT tie + BAL win/tie -> PIT no playoffs
PIT loss -> PIT no playoffs
* PIT has division record tie-breaker over BAL
* PIT has common games tie-breaker over IND



NFC picture
New Orleans
#1 seed
* NO has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR

LA Rams
LAR win/tie -> LAR #2
LAR loss + CHI loss/tie -> LAR #2
LAR loss + CHI win -> LAR #3
* NO has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR
* CHI has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR

Chicago
CHI win + LAR loss -> CHI #2
CHI win + LAR win/tie -> CHI #3
CHI loss/tie -> CHI #3
* CHI has head-to-head tie-breaker over LAR

Dallas
#4 seed
* DAL has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI

Seattle
wild card
SEA win/tie -> SEA #5
SEA loss + MIN loss/tie -> SEA #5
SEA loss + MIN win -> SEA #6
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over MIN+PHI
* SEA has head-to-head tie-breaker over MIN
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over PHI

Minnesota
MIN win + SEA loss -> MIN #5
MIN win + SEA win/tie -> MIN #6
MIN tie -> MIN #6
MIN loss + PHI loss/tie -> MIN #6
MIN loss + PHI win -> MIN no playoffs
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over MIN+PHI
* SEA has head-to-head tie-breaker over MIN
* MIN has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI

Philadelphia
PHI win + MIN loss -> PHI #6
PHI win + MIN win/tie -> PHI no playoffs
PHI loss/tie -> PHI no playoffs
* DAL has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over MIN+PHI
* SEA has conference record tie-breaker over PHI
* MIN has head-to-head tie-breaker over PHI

Updated after early games

Poor play call on 4th down, regardless of what the play was. On 4th and a foot why did he have Foles in the shotgun?

This scoreboard watching is nerve wrecking. :)

I don’t really understand the risks teams are taking leaving their starting QBs in the game today. Dak played the entire meaningless game vs the Giants, and Goff and Mahomes are both still in with huge leads against terrible teams that have almost zero chance of coming back.

Continuity is nice, but one unlucky play and kiss goodbye to any chance of playoff success. Doesn’t make much sense to me.

So the Bears, playing on the road, hold the Vikings offence to 49 yards in the first half. Now, if the Bears happen to lose this game, that means they get to play the Vikings again next week at home. I'm wondering if this is factoring into their play in the second half so far.

Cousins stat line is impressive: 15 of 20 for 80 yards

He’ll be cashing some nice paychecks though.

Interesting...
Bears win/tie -> Bears vs Eagles
Bears lose + Seahawks win/tie -> Bears vs Vikings
Bears lose + Seahawks lose -> Bears vs Seahawks

A month or so ago I wasn't expecting playoffs.

Wow. Baker flat out missed a couple of easy throws there that would have had them in FG range.

Man, I was really pulling for the Browns there.

Last game of the regular season:
Indianapolis wins -> Indianapolis #6
Tennessee wins -> Tennessee #6
IND-TEN tie -> Pittsburgh #6

Worth noting that Mariota is out for the Titans. Have to figure that gives the Colts a huge advantage.

AFC
1. Chiefs 12-4
2. Patriots 11-5
3. Texans 11-5
4. Ravens 10-6
5. Chargers 12-4
6. Colts 10-6 or Titans 10-6 or Steelers 9-5-1

NFC
1. Saints 13-3
2. Rams 13-3
3. Bears 12-4
4. Cowboys 10-6
5. Seahawks 10-6
6. Eagles 9-7

Coaches have started to get the ax-Koettler out in TB, expected Bowles out soon for Jets

My beloved Cards had one job today-play like they had all season and the #1 pick was theirs-and they almost blew it. They have so many holes, not sure there will be a player good enough to keep them at that spot. Need to trade down and get more picks I think.

Giving the recent history of hiring decisions by TB, I figure it'll be a coin toss for them to hire Hue Jackson or Jeff Fisher next.

I was kinda rooting for the Browns there-but that would mean Pittsburgh making the playoffs, and I really don't think they deserved a playoff spot this season. On the other hand, dare I say it-Browns have /finally/ found their franchise QB.

Marvin Lewis might be available too.

Not a single team finished the season with an 8-8 record. Minnesota 8-7-1 and Cleveland 7-8-1 were closest. A novelty since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Not counting 1987 (15 regular season games) and 1982 (9 regular season games), of course.

Not sure I agree. I assume that you are referring to the throws from the 39-yard line.

The first down throw to Njoku was broken up by a great defensive play.

Regarding second down, even though it hit him in the hands and he probably could have made the catch, I agree that this throw could have had better placement. I conversion here would have put them in field goal position.

I thought the pass on third down to Njoku was fine and am not sure if he could have thrown it any better (not saying that he couldn't, I'm just not sure how).

I thought Mosley just made a really nice pick on 4th down.

I'm somewhat surprised that they didn't go for the field goal on 4th down. What are the odds of a 57-yard field goal? Is it worse than 4th and 10?

Nice start for the Colts*

*though I probably just jinxed them

Well that wasn't a lucky throw

Ugh, the Colts have no one to blame but themselves if they lose this game.

Did the league put out some pronunciation update to Mariota's name? Al seems to really be punching up the TA all Italian-like.

They ain't waiting for "Black Monday"-Jets fire Bowles

Was in Atlantic City yesterday.

Did a 5 team parlay before I left for $175. Would pay just over $4600. The 5 teams

Chiefs
Eagles
Rams
Colts

and...

Alabama team total over 48.5.

So it looks like I am going to miss because Alabama couldn't get one more TD when it looked like they would destroy them early.

Feels as if Atlanta should be lower than 14

2019 NFL Draft Order: Full List of Picks for Every Team After Week 17 | Bleacher Report | Latest News, Videos and Highlights

Maybe he's been hanging out with Giada?

Fournette has his remaining guarantees voided and looks to be headed down that Trent Richardson path

I guess if the Raiders are going to have a booth man as their head coach, might as well have a talking head as your GM...

Oakland Raiders hiring Mike Mayock as General Manager

Jacksonville keeps their head coach and GM

Marvin Lewis has used all his lives.

Miami fires Gase
Broncos fire Joseph


can't find an official source yet but looks like Cards have fired Wilks, which would be a mistake after just one season I think.

Cincy your long torment is over at last. And there was much rejoicing?

Hue Jackson has been mentioned, couldn't be serious could they?

Next step complete.

Now we just need them to hire Marvin & the Bungles to hire Hue

It's now official.

That was a very strange Patriots season, and probably their worst team since 2009.

They lost 5 games to non-playoff teams, Gronk was a corpse, Brady has declined, the defense is old, and the offense stalled a lot. Yet they somehow still went undefeated at home, beat the Chiefs and Bears and Texans, got a bye, and would have gotten the #1 seed if not for the Miami Miracle. And they're setup pretty well now in a weak AFC. Their best shot is obviously someone else knocking off the Chiefs (and getting the AFC Title game at home), and maybe avoiding the Ravens or Chargers in the divisional series.

Atlanta fires all three coordinators

Pretty tough deal for Wilks. GM should have been gone first as far as I can see. With that being said, Wilks didn’t exactly give off the air of knowing what the hell he was doing, so maybe a complete cleaning of house would have made more sense.

I've always wanted to see the draft "experts" like Mayock and Mel Kiper become GMs just to see if they really do know what they're talking about.

Falcons fire all three coordinators, but keep the coach and GM. I think this just means Quinn and TD is gone next year.

Meanwhile in Tampa they are going to pay Jameis over 20 million next year and only hire a coach who commits to playing him as the starter. Is there something in the water in Florida that forces front offices to pay a ton of money to really shitty QBs?

Remember when Lovie was fired so Koetter could be the guy to develop Jameis?

I thought the Buccs might be intentionally firing their coach, specifically to give themselves an excuse for finally getting away from Jameison. Shows what I know.

NFL News: Bengals request interview with Patriots OC Josh McDaniels - Cincy Jungle

This needs to happen.

I'm surprised McDaniels is getting mentioned this much this off-season. I didn't think the Indy thing would prevent him from getting looks, but he really didn't impress this season. A lot of it was Gronk playing at about 60% & Edelman also having some drop issues (I think the Brady decline is again vastly overstated), but there were some really weird personnel decisions along the way (going away from James White & Chris Hogan during the Josh Gordon era, not having Gordon in for our last play vs Pittsburgh, etc) and pretty much all our losses except Miami (& maybe Pittsburgh since a lot of that was execution & the 4 3rd down drops) where we came out with one game plan and never made an adjustment when it wasn't working. Plus whether there's an unofficial promise he'll succeed Belichick or just the implication he's not going to be cheap, so idk why the Bengals are interviewing him.

Flores is young, seems solid, but is still very unproven/hard to separate how much is him vs Belichick, and our ex-DC's track record are so abysmal as HC's good luck if a team pulls the trigger on him.

It's also a yearly thing at this point, and we again have the bye so it's not as pressing, but I wish the NFL would put a moratorium on interviewing coaches still in the playoffs. It's not like college & you have almost a full month after the super bowl until FA starts.

In good coaching news for the Patriots, Mike Tomlin will be back with the Steelers. Antonio Brown upset with Steelers, skipped practices before final game

I'm sure they can blame this on Le'Veon Bell too.

AB almost has to get traded. Love him but we can move on if even by just using some of the excess Bell cap rollover space. Would like a first and third, who knows though. Also Tomlin back is expected but not a fan of the status quo. I’d like to move on from Roethlisberger. I don’t think we have a QB on the roster who is even competent but a new Ben deal is going to be 27m per and fixing our defense and going cheap at QB could rebuild us fast. Or just bottom out for Tua.

I'm mystified that Tomlin is still employed (and felt that even before the weirdness of this AB situation).

He has morphed into the latest version of Jeff Fisher and Marvin Lewis in that he is inexplicably still employed despite his team playing well under their talent level.

I don't know if I agree with that at all, to be honest. He's never had a losing record, made the playoffs 4 straight years and missed it by a hair this year. Some bad losses sure, but are we saying Ben is such a transcendent QB that they should be in the Super Bowl every year? If anything this year showed that Bell and to a lesser extent AB are products of the system.

He's not as bad of a coach as either Lewis (by a decent bit) or Fisher (by a lot). But his teams underperform often to my admittedly spotty and unconfirmed memory.

And if Bell and AB (and Big Ben?) are system players (not an argument I necessarily agree with but I will roll with it for now), then isn't an indictment on the system that the franchise hasn't seen more success since 2008 or whenever that last Super Bowl was?

I'll take Tomlin and his success year after year over pretty much anyone except Belichick. The Steelers have made the playoffs 8 out of 12 years he's been the head coach. There's not too many teams that can say they've done the same thing over the same time frame.

I think it was pretty clear this year's offense was mostly scheme. The talent was mostly White, Michel and Edelman coming off an injury. Gronk was mostly injured and the Gordon experiment messed with the flow (esp for guys like Hogan and Dorsett). They were still 5th in yards and 4th in points despite facing six of the top 10 scoring defenses. I'd say that's a pretty good accomplishment by McDaniels and Belichick. Heck, the leader in passing TDs caught was White and 3rd was Cordarrelle Patterson (tied) - who's mostly a gadget guy.

I agree here. Plus, I think you feasted on some bad offenses/QBs. NE averaged around 30 PPG allowed to the playoff/near playoff teams you faced (Bears, Titans, Colts, KC, Houston, Pit). Facing Miami, Buffalo and the Jets crap offenses six times really made your numbers look better.

Yeah, I can see that. But it's also a little unfair to successful assistants if you have to wait until February to interview. Most teams like to have a their head coach settled on by the Super Bowl. You only have a few weeks before tags are set and FA begins in March. Throw in the combines and it is nice to have a staff right when the SB ends. Plus, if you make a team wait until Feb for the SB coaches, there may not be that many assistants left if other teams were able to fill their spots in early January.

Not sure how you can knock Tomlin. He's currently 2nd among all active coaches in win percentage behind only Belichick. By the time we hit the midway point of next season, he'll be 6th all-time in win percentage among coaches who have coached in 200 games. Ahead of him will be Halas, Belichick, Shula, Paul Brown and Tony Dungy. He's got a better win percentage in the playoffs than Dungy, Brown and Shula (albeit extremely marginal in some cases).

In 12 seasons, he's never been below .500! They've won 54 games over the past 5 seasons, an average of 11 wins a year.

Ben Roethlisberger has missed 18 starts in Tomlin's tenure as head coach. in those games, the Steelers have a record of 10-8! With their backup quarterback!

From a numbers perspective, he does look good on paper......however, think there are other factors to look at.

* His first couple of years winning including the super bowl had talent/systems left over from previous leadership

* In game decisions are very questionable at times. Makes the craziest decisions to challenge calls that have little chance of being reversed

* Unwilling to make changes...I get it that Pittsburgh likes stability, but when things don't work you need to fix it. Didn't make a move to replace the kicker until the last game of the season when he cost a number of games and was the worst kicker.

* Appears to have no control over his players. Over the last few years, always drama with someone.

* Plays down to the competition....it's great that the Steelers are competitive with the good teams, but they also need to win the other games too. It seems rarely they blow out anyone, most games seems like a nail biter even when you think the game is won.

* Although statistically the defense looks decent on paper, if you watch all their games the defense in recent years seems to always give up the big play. How many times does the opponent convert 3rd and long on Pittsburgh? They seem to always have low turnover ratios. For the life of me I don't know why all opponents just don't throw the ball 100% of the time against them, always someone open. Needs to make leadership changes to get the best out of the talent.

* Special teams are always a joke. Look at the fake punt against the Saints. First, bad decision to even try it. Second, they have a guy in motion that basically gave the play away.

etc.

So yes Tomlin has good stats on paper and has won a super bowl and won a number of playoff games. I wonder how many more playoff games and super bowls they could have won if different coaching leadership in place to motivate the team and get the most out of the talent. With the roster the Steelers have had, they should have been more successful.

I am not a person who likes a lot of coaching changes and love stability, but when you start to see signs and not maximizing what you have, I really do think they need to start thinking how much more room to give him.

Let's be honest here though, most teams would kill to have a coach like Tomlin. Who are you going to replace him with? Hue Jackson?

Tomlin has had a top 5 or so QB his entire tenure. That can’t be understated. Hue Jackson could get this team to the playoffs. Tomlin is basically Colts Jim Caldwell.

I hear that a lot, but what specifically about Tomlin? Yes, no arguing on paper he has done well. But is that because of him specifically? Or is it the overall organization structure/system and talent (Ben is a future HOF QB)?

Don't get me wrong, wouldn't necessarily want Hue Jackson.....but could Hue and other coaches succeed just as well as Tomlin in the right system? Just haven't really seen what is Tomlin's specialty and/or stamp on the team. His in-game coaching decisions are head scratchers and off-the field stuff now catching up to him. I suspect if Tomlin moved on to another organization, he wouldn't nearly have the same level of success unless surrounded with the same circumstances as Pittsburgh. Do you really think he could turn around Tampa, Miami, and the Bengals?

You are insane if you think Hue Jackson could get the Steelers to the playoffs.

Do you think Tomlin coaching the Raiders or Browns (like Hue did) would have seen those teams become elite and constant playoff contenders? No chance.

Again, I am not trying to defend Hue, just saying the circumstances and systems has a lot to do with a coach having success or not.

Tomlin absolutely would have had success with the Browns this year. Gregg Williams went 5-3 with them after Hue got off to a disastrous start. You think Tomlin would do worse?

Please explain to me what specifically Tomlin brings to the table. Yes, the team he has coached has had success, but I would argue that is a result of the talent and organization around him. Tell me what coaching decisions, gameplans, and specific things he has shown to say it was specifically because of him. In other coaches like Patriots, Rams, and Eagles, you can tell the coach is actually making a difference on the field....provide me some examples where Tomlin demonstrates those things? He is a nice "safe" coach to have, but nothing special.

And yet he's won at a much higher clip than McCarthy and Payton, who have had 2 of the top 3 QBs in the entire league their entire tenure. Some insane comments in this discussion.

I don't know what anyone might see in Hue Jackson that qualifies him as head coaching material. And he seems toxic to an organization on top of that. No thank you.