POLL- Lose to Jags, should Frank be fired?
 

Seems as though there has been quite a bit of souring on Frank after we started the season with yet another less than inspired mistake riddled mess of a game. Curious to see what the Freaks think about his job prospects if we lose to the Jags again this week.

When a team makes the kind of mistakes that were made by this team in the opener, they just weren't ready for the season. That is the job of the coaching staff. That being said, I can't see a replacement that could come in after the season has begun and turn everything around. A new game plan, a new philosophy at this late time won't succeed. I do believe Reich should feel he's on a very, very short leash and he should be pulling out all stops to make this work.

I realize the question is, do we think he should be fired if we lose to the Jags, not do we think the Colts will fire him...but without a strong accomplished and experienced coach on the staff to take over, I don't believe the Colts will fire him this early, and I would have to agree with them.

But if Frank doesn't make the playoffs this season, I believe he will be and should be fired. He could be fired mid season if the team has piled up 4 or 5 losses and are not competitive with the top teams. I have to be honest, the way this team looked against Houston, I unfortunately think this will be Frank's last season here....hope I am wrong!

Who would you replace him with?

Many times, an in-season firing means that you promote from the existing coaching staff and assign an interim title.

With the departures of Sirianni and some coaches and then Eberflus and some coaches, there isn't many experienced options left.


I guess you would be looking at Gus Bradley? He has had prior head coaching experience - 14 Wins, 48 Losses.

John Fox is also a consultant / senior defensive assistant - just seems like he is dipping his toes back into the coaching ranks and not sure he would want the lead job.

No. That would be a really dumb move.

Here's the Week 1 overreaction thread. If they fired Reich, Gus Bradley would be named interim HC. Ask the Jags fans how good that outlook would be. This is definitely something that would be positive for the Colts to change, but there will still be 15 games after this week's game, that's way too early to fire a HC who wasn't considered in any jeopardy of being fired prior to last week.

In season firings never end well for the team very often. We have the talent to win, maybe not the super-bowl at this point, but key pieces are in place. If we can survive the first 5 games with a 2-2-1 record and hit one of our notorious mid season hot streaks under Reich who knows.

I love his aggressiveness, but it seems he doesn't understand situational football sometimes, which is mind boggling being a former QB. I say if we miss the playoffs shit can him as soon as the season ends and get the new coach in sooner than later.

Jim would probably never fire a head coach during the season, and I generally agree with him. However, if the Colts don't make the playoffs , conversations/plans should be made. So that's what I voted for.

If we don't make the playoffs this year then Reich will be gone, possibly alongside Ballard. The only way i can see us not making the playoffs is if Ryan ends up with a season ending injury early in the year.

I dont see an in season HC firing unless things are really bad in the later part of the season, but even still I would think they would do it right after the season.

I could see irsay letting reich go but I think he sticks with ballard. Although we on this board dont always agree with ballard, he is widely regarded as one of the better GMs and I dont think that irsay wants to go through another grigson type.

o

If the Colts do or don't make the playoffs, it will have little to do with the outcome of this game, and much more to do with the remaining 15 games afterward ...... it is so early in the season, and the Colts have been one of the weirdest, strangest teams in the NFL over the past few years, beating teams like the Super Bowl champion Chiefs on their home-field in Kansas City with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, and repeatedly shitting the bed against the Jaguars in Florida with the likes of Andrew Luck and Philip Rivers at quarterback.

I'll be pissed if we once again play like crap against one of the crappiest teams in the NFL and lose there for the 8th consecutive time, but I'll be right back on the Matt Ryan/Jonathan Taylor/Michael Pittman Jr. bandwagon if we win 4 out of our next 5 games afterward.

o

It's too late. We should have fired the entire regime after they let Mitch Trubisky sign with the Steeers, remember?

Doh!

Not this game. I voted for the "fire him if the Colts don't make the playoffs" option, but frankly, if the Colts lost their first 5-6 games, he should be gone at that point.

Obviously that was a drunk, pissed off, overreaction I had w/ my fire Frank thread on Sunday. I do think that if we don't make the playoffs then he has to go.

It is crazy how bad this team has been for week 1s through Frank's tenure. 0-4-1, and the best record of any of those teams was a 7-10 Seattle team from last year.

I thought it was bad, but holy shit.

Appreciate all the well positioned posts, lots of good logic in here. Seems like it is pretty clear the leash extends through the regular season and sans a playoff game, he's gone.

One of the things that resonates with me in terms of fire him after Sunday if they lose was something I heard while driving today. Think it was on 1430- mid day. Question was which of the SB favorites may not even make the playoffs given how week 1 looked and the talk was about Rams, Bengals, Packers. Went a bit off script with a call out to the Colts- noting they weren't necessarily SB favorites but a dark horse given some of the upgrades. And the statement was that we may need to be on watch for the Colts to fire their head coach after only 2 games. Here was the logic that followed.

This is a team that had 7 pro-bowlers last year. This is a team that started horribly last year despite lofty expectations, which are even higher this year. But they came on and were looking good, but missed out on the playoffs with a disastrous couple losses at the end of the year, and the finality being a loss to a team with 3 wins that just butt whipped em' with their playoffs on the line. The belief is the coach was able to convince his bosses that the problem was the QB- and not just that, but the QB that HE personally went to bat for despite owner trepidation and that cannot be forgotten. So this team achieves what is viewed as a consensus upgrade a QB where the coach was allowed to basically use bad play from the position as his get out of jail free card. Sunday it appears his upgrade at QB proved true with 300+ yards and him (Frank) even sort of bragging that they put up over 500 in total offense. BUT THEY COULDN'T BEAT WHAT MANY THINK IS A TEAM THAT WILL BATTLE FOR THE # 1 PICK THIS YEAR. Now looks like the blame is on the kicker, but that kicker wouldn't have been in that position if the same coach had not cost the team points earlier in the game, but again it looks like he has been able to blame the player. So if they lose Sunday, to the same team that kicked their butt's last year, and 2 games in after a scheduling gift they have tied and lost to two of the NFL's worst teams- IN THE DIVISION with KC on the docket, don't be surprised if Frank Reich is terminated to try to light a fire and send a message.

I completely align with that take.

I also thought they should have pursued Trubisky, but when they got Ryan I thought maybe that was the better option. I still think it might be but Trubisky could have potentially have been the long term solution. Time will tell!

Has Irsay ever fired a coach mid season?

Frank’s calls will even out if not go in our favor in time. That’s what I keep telling myself.

Don't think so, but really, if they crap the bed this weekend, in consideration of the above, does he have any choice? At some point the point the finger in every direction but your own strategy, when you are the constant, fails regardless of how nice a guy you are. Irsay HAS to be approaching that point, has to be.

Don’t fire mid season. You’ll just tank your teams chances. Ryan was meant to several years, offense is going to take time to go. Hire a new coach and you reset everything.

But the Colts didn't win the first game 77-0, heads should roll for that! Anything less than complete dominance in every game is totally unacceptable. It's not like the other teams have players, coaching staffs, and front offices that gets paid, only the Colts have that.

I took the ChaosTheory post as a joke.

No way would I take Mitchell Trubisky over Matt Ryan, in any universe, at any time.

If this team doesn't make the playoffs, it won't be because of Ryan's play, or Reich's coaching, or the kicking game.

The only reason they miss the playoffs is injuries (knocking wood as I type this). If they stay mostly healthy, they walk to a playoff spot.

And I am a little surprised at the extreme over-reactions to a first-week loss in here. Yeah, it's been ten billion years since this team won an opener. They are tied for first in the division in spite of that, so last week and all the mistakes on the field and on the sidelines means almost nothing. Add to that the trend of Reich-coached teams to improve consistently as the season moves forward, and there is a ton to be optimistic about here.

Plus, Carson Wentz is no longer the QB.

Guys, the sky is not falling. This is by far the best team in the AFC South.

R-E-L-A-X

That's true. Sorry, Cletus. I was making the point that impulsive thinking leads to bad takes.

To address it seriously... a coaching change after two weeks is a complete non-starter in my eyes. It's completely unrealistic given the patient nature of the FO anyway because it would be rash and unwarranted.

As for whether they should consider firing Reich if the fail to make the playoffs... I mean, ok, sure they should. But how enlightening is that? If Andy Reid failed to lead the Chiefs to the playoffs this year, wouldn't people say the same thing?

Goes for any team coming in with expectations this year. Just doesn't strike me as a meaningful stance to take.

So you think it's perfectly acceptable for Frank's teams to be 0-4-1 in week one against bad teams (2 of which are REALLY bad)?

Is it also perfectly acceptable for his teams to lose to the Jagoffs every year like clockwork despite the fact that they've been the worst team in the league in that span and have beaten a whopping 11 teams other than us during that time (TBH I'm pretty surprised it's that high)?

What a ricockulous comparison. If Reich had anywhere near Reid's career success (or even Reid's success his first 4 years in the league) we wouldn't be talking about getting rid of him.

Maybe on paper. They sure as shit didn't look anything like that on Sunday.

Yeah man, here are there records:

'18 Bungles - 6-10
'19 Chargers 5-11 (to be fair Frank should probably get a pass on this one)
'20 Jagoffs - 1-15 (to be fair Frank's pass for '19 should be taken away for this one)
'21 Seahawks - 7-10
'22 Texicans- TBD but we all know that they'll end up having a really bad record. Maybe even '20 Jagoffs bad.

But somehow, this guy is still regarded as a good coach... he's a turd.

Look, it's not a comparison. There is no comparison between Reid and Reich. Reid has been a model of consistency, a HOF'er. Although, it's worth pointing out that in the past 23 seasons, Reid has only had 4 starting QB's: McNabb (10), Vick (3), Smith (5), and Mahomes (5). Meanwhile, Reich has had 5 consecutive new starters in each of his 5 seasons. I know we like to speak in platitudes and all... but that's worth something.

But that's not the point. Reid has had HOF levels of success.

The point is the fans' impulsive reactions. Reid is an absurd example... to make a point. If KC failed to make the playoffs this year while being pegged by most as the best or second-best team in the AFC, people would lose their fucking minds and demand blood. You know they would. Would you?

In fact... I'm willing to bet there are plenty of ChoppedWood-minded KC fans that are already clamoring to get rid of Reid because they say he's only won the Super Bowl once in 23 years and that's only because Mahomes is a generational QB. Say every other year he choked, that TB crushed them in the SB, that they couldn't beat the upstart Bengals, and now they're going in the wrong direction, wasting Mahomes' prime, gets too cute, thinks he's so smart, etc.

Come on, you know fans do that kind of shit.

Actually Reid had Kevin Kolb and Foles in Philly as well as Foles in KC.

I'm sure you're right that there's probably some nut bags who would want to fire Reid, which would be ridiculous. I certainly wouldn't want to fire Reid, but he's won a SB, been to 2 more, and made the playoffs like 16 out of 23 years.

As for Frank, why do you believe he should keep his job if we miss the playoffs again? That would mean we would have missed the playoffs in 3 of 5 years under him, and one of his playoff teams was w/ Luck which isn't that big of a feet. Clappy was able to do that twice (3 times if you count the Arians year), and we all know how unbelievably incompetent he was. Frank did a good job in '20 (with the exception of week 1 of course), but any good will from that year should be gone after last year's epic collapse. On top of that he's shown that he's completely incapable of getting his team ready to start the season. Aren't you tired of us shitting the bed against bad teams in week 1 every single year?

Well, it's not the first time I've stepped in it. I was raised a Bears fan and still have a soft spot for them. I never really felt Trubisky got a fair shot in Chicago. There were times that he looked like one of the best young prospects in the league, but there was never a lot of talent on any of those Bears teams and things went sour. I still believe he has a chance to be really good, he is only 28 years old. Of course, at the time I was pushing for Trubisky I had no idea that Ryan would be available.

Great damn post

I didn't say I believe he should keep his job if we miss the playoffs. I said I think firing him after week 2 is nonsense. And saying you want the HC fired if your team misses the playoffs isn't exactly novel. I think a lot of teams with high expectations would be in that same boat.

If we miss the playoffs, I very well may be ready for him to go. But I tend to look at things with more nuance than typical. I can easily imagine scenarios where we miss the playoffs but I want Reich to return... e.g., we put key players on I.R. (knock) and just miss out via tie-breaker or something.

That's fair. When I voted for and state that he should be fired if we don't make the playoffs it's under the assumption that it's not b/c we're decimated by injuries or get screwed over in a tie breaker despite having a good record (although if that happens then it'll make our week 1 performance look even worse), etc.

1) That post was clearly sarcasm, I took it to the extreme to ensure that was understood.

2) What does it matter which games are won or lost? As long as enough are won to get to the postseason and (hopefully) no games are lost from there.

3) This losing streak in Jacksonville is annoying, but all that can be done now is to fix it moving forward.

Latest injury report has me thinking we'll find out if he gets fired after we lose to the Jags.

I had to back and re read your post, and yes it is sarcastic. It took me by surprise, well done, well played. I look forward for more in the future.

1) Clearly it was a sarcastic comment towards those of us on here who get pissed off when the Colts play down to their competition.

2) It matters b/c when a team isn't able to beat the bad teams on its schedule it typically leads to them not making the playoffs ('21) or being a lower seed than they should have been and having to play on the road in the playoffs ('20, '18). Also, getting off to a slow start every year means you have to dig yourself out of a hole every year.

3) Agreed, and hope they break that embarrassing streak tomorrow. Think we all have our doubts that it'll happen though, especially after seeing the updated injury report.