This month has been crazy around the NFL. The end of the season marks the start of the playoffs and there have been some pretty insane scores from the first round. The Cardinals got blown out by the Rams in what many thought was going to be a close game. Some of the biggest surprises this post-season have happened off the field, like the fire of Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores.

The firing of Brian Flores was a big surprise for many fans around the NFL, as the coach had been one of the franchise’s bright spots in the past few years. Although he and his team started the season with a 1-7 record, he eventually turned around their record and finished the season off 9-8. This is a great feat for any head coach, to finish out the season with a positive record, despite a 6 game deficit. 

Brian Flores was only one out of many head coaches that were fired this post-season. Other coaches fired include Matt Nagy from the Bears, Vic Fangio from the Broncos, David Culley from the Texans, Mike Zimmer from the Vikings, and Joe Judge from the Giants.

A few of these were very obvious, like Matt Nagy and Mike Zimmer. Both fan bases have been long-awaiting for a new head coach and were ecstatic to hear the news. 

Matt Nagy had been the head coach of the Bears for four seasons and had done very little for the franchise in that time besides reeling in edge rusher Khalil Mack. The Bears did make the playoffs twice during Nagy’s time there but lost in the first round each time. 

Mike Zimmer’s situation is a bit different though. Zimmer was surrounded by amazing talent and hasn’t been able to do much in the recent seasons. For example, Zimmer has had Stefon Diggs, Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, Harrison Smith, Adam Thielen, and Kirk Cousins. With all of these incredibly skilled players on a roster, most would expect at least one super bowl appearance, but they haven’t appeared in the big game since 1977. In fact, the last time they appeared in the NFC championship was 12 years ago in 2010; this means Zimmer hasn’t even gotten them past the divisional round once since he took the role in 2014. 

All of these firings have raised the question, how many new coaches will enter the league from college football? A popular possibility is Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines and brother of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. Jim’s last season was very successful, he led Michigan to their first win over Ohio State in 11 years and their first playoff appearance in the CFP era. A possible landing spot for Jim is the Raiders.

This season and off-season a total of 5 coaches were fired and 1 coach resigned. This means we could see some big changes for these teams next season and the league.