WHAT WE LEARNED: NFL WEEK 11

BY ADAM GREENE

Chaos has reigned once again in the NFL and it’s up to us to make sense of it.

MATT NAGY IS PROBABLY COAHING HIS LAST GAME ON THANKSGIVING

Reports flooded Twitter from “sources” that the Chicago Bears were headed to a conscious uncoupling immediately following their game against the Detroit Lions regardless of the outcome on Thanksgiving Day.

Of course, the Bears and Nagy have currently denied this, but the guy that broke it is a Pulitzer Prize winner, so, you know, there’s that. Plus the fact that Nagy needs to be fired and it’s something people can just chant at a Chicago event of any kind now. 

I wasn’t a big advocate of firing Nagy last offseason. Chicago made the playoffs twice in his four seasons and there were plenty of teams that would sacrifice appendages to have that kind of record. Nagy’s Bears are playing one of them Thursday.

But, with Justin Fields emerging and the lackluster showings the team continues to have, it looks like a divorce is the right move. And it’s smart to do it now. Teams that cut ties to floundering coaches early get a jump on the rest when it comes to hiring, interviewing and just basically preparing the franchise for some new blood. There are far too many good head coaching candidates out there right now, just in the NFL and not counting anyone jumping up from a college team, to let Nagy waffle around for another season. Or even another month.

Here’s a fun fact though. If Chicago does load Nagy up into the trebuchet, he’ll be the first head coach fired in season in their franchise’s century of existence.

SO WHO ELSE SHOULD BE UPDATING HIS RESUME?

Racist homophobe weirdo Jon Gruden has already been shot out the airlock by the Las Vegas Raiders, so Nagy would be No. 2 this season. Usually, we lose 4-6 every year, but we had seven fired last season and there’s a chance that could skew the numbers.

Nagy and Gruden would be two, but there’s more coming. Maybe not until the end of the season, but I think we’re almost certainly getting three more jettisoned from the plane.

It’s all about a playoff spot for Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, who was my odds on favorite to be the first coach fired back in the preseason. Frankly, I’m sure he’d be thrilled to get his pink slip from this perpetually weird and underperforming franchise.

The problem is the Vikings are 5-5 and while the NFC is very top heavy, those sixth and seventh playoff seeds could easily go to 9-8 teams. Minny, much to Zimmer’s chagrin, remains very much alive. Don’t shed a tear for Zimmer. He’ll walk right into a defensive coordinator job somewhere. Maybe back in Cincinnati if they don’t make a playoff run.

Vic Fangio of the Denver Broncos has likely grinded out his one and only chance at a head coaching job. Like Zimmer and the Vikes, he too has his team at 5-5 and the AFC is wide open. Not only is Denver still in the mix, in spite of being dead last in their own division, they’re still in it for home field. The AFC has jumped the shark in a leather jacket.

Like Zimmer, Fangio would immediately be hired as a defensive coordinator for a team. Probably the Los Angeles Rams if they don’t win the Super Bowl.

While those two guys could conceivably save themselves, I see no help at all coming for New York Giants head coach Joe Judge, who’s been a dead man walking since his team had a full squad brawl in the preseason.

There’s always a chance we’ll get a wild card getting the boot too. No one thought Doug Pederson was in any real danger last season until he was escorted out of the building holding a box of file folders, his red stapler and a Ficus plant.

There’s a real chance Pete Carroll could be forced into retirement. He’s 70 years old, coached in two Super Bowls and won one. Seattle looks to be headed to a serious rebuild and a guy that Walmart wouldn’t let work as the door greeter without a chair to sit on probably isn’t the guy to lead it.

I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Jerry Jones give Mike McCarthy the heave-ho at season’s end, especially if Dallas makes a Wild Card exit, just to hand the controls over the offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Because Moore is probably getting a head coach offer somewhere this offseason and Jones, if he sits on his hands with McCarthy, could be in the same sorry shape the Washington Football Team were when they let Sean McVay leave the building and kept Jay Gruden.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

AFC

1. Tennessee Titans (8-3)

2. Baltimore Ravens (7-3)

3. New England Patriots (7-4)

4. Kansas City Chiefs (7-4)

5. Cincinnati Bengals (6-4)

6. Los Angeles Chargers (6-4)

7. Buffalo Bills (6-4)

AFC WILD CARD GAMES

Bills at Ravens

Chargers at Patriots

Bengals at Chiefs

What a difference a week makes. The Bengals went from out of the bracket to the fifth seed thanks to a single victory and plenty of other teams losing. Realistically, The Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4-1), Indianapolis Colts (6-5), Cleveland Browns (6-5), Las Vegas Raiders (5-5) and Denver Broncos (5-5) not only have a shot at a Wild Card, but all of them are still in the mix for their division titles.

NFC

1. Arizona Cardinals (9-2)

2. Green Bay Packers (8-3)

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3)

4. Dallas Cowboys (7-3)

5. Los Angeles Rams (7-3)

6. Minnesota Vikings (5-5)

7. New Orleans Saints (5-5)

NFC WILD CARD GAMES

Saints at Packers

Vikings at Buccaneers

Rams at Cowboys

The first five spots are all but set in the NFC, but those sixth and seventh seeds are going to get more competitive over the final two months of the season. The San Francisco 49ers (5-5) are right outside the bracket, followed by a surging Philadelphia Eagles (5-6) and a reborn Carolina Panthers (5-6) team. Even the Washington Football Team (4-6) and the Atlanta Falcons (4-6) are in the mix, though I don’t see either of them closing out the deal.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan

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