7 NFL coaches fired the day after season ends
Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid’s son Garrett died on Aug. 5, 2012 at the team’s training camp at Lehigh University.
Seven National Football League teams have fired their coaches the day after the end of the regular season, the Associated Press reported.
The teams letting go of their coaches are: the Philadelphia Eagles (Andy Reid), the Chicago Bears (Lovie Smith), the San Diego Chargers (Norv Turner), the Cleveland Browns (Pat Shurmur), the Kansas City Chiefs (Romeo Crennel), the Buffalo Bills (Chan Gailey) and the Arizona Cardinals (Ken Whisenhunt), the AP reported.
Andy Reid spent 14 years coaching the Eagles, but the team hasn't won a playoff game since 2008, and this year their record was 4-12, the AP reported.
"Andy Reid won the most games of any head coach in Eagles history and he is someone I respect greatly and will remain friends with for many years to come," owner Jeffrey Lurie said, according to the AP. "But, it is time for the Eagles to move in a new direction. Andy leaves us with a winning tradition that we can build upon."
Lovie Smith’s Chicago players said he gave a short speech thanking them for their hard work and professionalism when the news broke that he was out after nine years, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
"I was just sad. Sad to see a guy go, who took such great care of you," linebacker Nick Roach told the Chicago Sun-Times. "He looked out for his team as if we were his children, and he did it for a lot of years. Just to have that type of leadership tossed out is just tough to deal with."
Buffalo gave Chan Gailey only three seasons – 6-10 was the team’s best year on his watch – but the former Dallas Cowboys coach said he is still a Bills fan, the AP reported.
"This will probably be, and I say probably, but I think it will be the first place that's ever fired me that I'll pull for," he said, according to the AP.
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