Black Monday

The Monday after the final games of the regular season has come to be known as "Black Monday" in the NFL. The day that the heads of head coaches are on a swivel. The day that some coaches are no longer part of an exclusive fraternity. There are only 32 head coaching jobs in the NFL. Some coaches wait for what seems like a lifetime to get one of them. Just ask Mike Zimmer or Bruce Arians. Once they have one of those jobs they are all judged by the same metric. Wins. It's a demanding job and it doesn't always end well. So far, six of the 32 NFL teams are looking for new head coaches.

Buffalo Bills
-Rex Ryan was fired last week

Denver Broncos
-Gary Kubiak stepped down at the end of the season. Health concerns were an issue.

Jacksonville Jaguars
-Gus Bradley was fired two weeks ago.

Los Angeles Rams
-Jeff Fisher was fired three weeks ago after years of mediocrity.

San Diego Chargers
-Mike McCoy was fired after Sunday's loss.

San Francisco 49ers
-Chip Kelly was apparently fired before he even knew about it.

Technically, none of the six were actually fired on Black Monday. And Kubiak wasn't technically fired.

Reports leaked on Saturday that Chip Kelly was going to be fired following Sunday's season finale'. This was apparently news to Kelly. It's absolutely ridiculous that anyone should hear about their firing from someone other than the one responsible with hiring or firing them. This lack of courtesy/respect should be enough to keep any coach from interviewing with the 49ers. It won't. These jobs are too hard to get. Although the next head coach in San Francisco will be the team's fourth in four years. The 49ers are cleaning house this time. They also fired general manager Trent Baalke.

The Bills could be the first to have their new head coach as he might already be with the team. Interim head coach Anthony Lynn is probably the front-runner. He's ready, he's in demand, and he's already there.

Offensive coordiantors Josh McDaniels, Kyle Shanahan, and Sean McVay as well as defensive coordinators Vance Joseph, Matt Patricia, and Mike Smith should be among the names of coaches being interviewed in the coming weeks. At 30, McVay would be the youngest head coach in the league. Maybe the youngest ever.