Schwartz, Frazier Given Marching Orders

Jim Schwartz and Leslie Frazier were relieved of their head coaching duties Monday.

The NFC North will have a new look in 2014 after the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings parted ways with their respective head coaches on Monday.

The Lions fired Jim Schwartz after the team finished the season with a 7-9 record. The Lions began the year 6-3 but one win in the final seven games not only extinguished the team’s hopes of going to the playoffs but also proved to be the death knoll for Schwartz.

Schwartz became head coach of the Lions in 2009 after a stint as defensive coordinator in Tennessee. In his five years at the helm, he led the team to a 29-51 (.363) record.

In 2011, Schwartz led the Lions to a 10-6 record and their first postseason appearance in 12 years. However, after two subpar seasons followed, the Lions front office decided it was time for change.

Following the announcement that Schwartz had been relieved of his duties, team president Tom Lewand optimistically described the now-vacant head coaching job as the “single most attractive job in the NFL.”

That’s some boast considering the Lions have managed just one winning season in the last 13 years, a stretch in which the team has gone 60-148 (.288) and included the infamous 0-16 campaign in 2008.

It’s true the Lions have talent on the field but as Schwartz learned, talent doesn’t always translate to success.

The Vikings front office also elected to usher in 2014 with a change, announcing the firing of Leslie Frazier.

Frazier took over head coaching duties in the Twin Cities in 2010, first on an interim basis and then full-time in 2011. Prior to his insertion as head coach he had been defensive coordinator for the team.

During his three-plus seasons with the Vikings he led the team to a 21-32-1 (.389) record. A season ago, the Vikings were a surprise Wild Card entrant thanks to a huge year from running back Adrian Peterson. This season the team struggled to a 1-7 record before finishing the year a slightly more respectable 5-10-1 record.

The final tally marked the third time in four years the Vikings finished with a record below .500. Prior to that, the team had recorded a .500 or better campaign in 16 of 19 seasons.

Frazier will now seek employment elsewhere, possibly in an assistant or coordinator capacity, while the Vikings will begin the search for a new head coach.

Once the Vikings and Lions have made their selection, the NFC North will have welcomed three new head coaches in a little more than 12 months, after the Chicago Bears welcomed Mark Trestman ahead of this season.

Elsewhere in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Washington Redskins also waved goodbye to their head coaches, leaving six NFL teams – the other being the Houston Texans – with a sideline vacancy heading into 2014.

The common belief is that the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, and Tennessee Titans may also be scoring résumés before the week is out.

And so commences the grinding of the rumor mill and the utterings it brings with it.

Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden will be amongst those linked with vacant head coaching positions.

Will Detroit or Minnesota, or any of those other teams on the hunt for a new leader, be able to lure the likes of Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher, Bill Parcells, Herm Edwards or Tony Dungy out of cushy television roles?

Will respected former coaches like Lovie Smith and Mike Holmgren make a return to the league?

Will coordinators and assistants with prior experience (Jack Del Rio, Mike Singletary, Josh McDaniels, Norv Turner) get another chance?

Should college coaches like Brian Kelly, David Shaw, Jim Mora or, dare we say it, Lane Kiffin, expect a phone call or two over the next few weeks?

Will Bill O’Brien see a better fit than Houston or is he a lock to be treading the Reliant Stadium sidelines next season?

Will any of 2013’s fired coaches pull an ‘Andy Reid’ and lead a team onto the field next season?

You can expect all of the usual suspects all to be on the radar, as well as a few unusual suspects we imagine. You can also expect Vegas sportsbooks to be offering odds as to who lands where shortly.

For now though, it’s a case of wait and see. Or, wait to see who’s given their marching orders next.