The Scorecard: The Divisional Round, the coaching carousel, and the collapse of the NFC East
Previewing the Divisional Round
We’re three wins away from crowning a Super Bowl champion. The NFL’s Divisional Round starts Saturday with two games.
Then, Sunday will test if the Detroit Lions are really up for the challenge as they play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The NFL coaching carousel hasn’t stopped yet
Will they or won’t they? Will Bill Belichick coach in 2024? Who will lead the Seattle Seahawks?
Only a couple of teams have answers – the New England Patriots promoted assistant coach Jerod Mayo, who became the organization’s first black head coach. While the Dallas Cowboys are retaining Mike McCarthy, and owner Jerry Jones explains why.
The Falcons are reportedly interviewing Jim Harbaugh, while the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn reportedly has four interviews for head coaching positions.
Meanwhile, some teams are still adding to the carousel, with the Cleveland Browns firing offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. And unless you missed everything last week, Bill Belichick, former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, and former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera are all still looking for their next position.
The epic collapse of the NFC East in the playoffs
As a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, who doesn’t remember the Super Bowl wins of the 90’s, I’m just used to this…and I’ll get to them. But watching the once 10-1 Philadelphia Eagles lose six of their last seven games, including the wild card game? Unbelievable.
But, good news…for now? Despite all of the media reports following the Eagles’ 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers, longtime center Jason Kelce has not officially announced his retirement. But he did get emotional on the New Heights podcast with brother Travis Kelce.
As for the Cowboys…you won’t ever hear me say things like, “this is our year.” But I do let them get my hopes up only to be painfully crushed every year. But, this year just feels worse.
I can’t explain the loss, although the Star Telegram’s beat reporter Clarence E. Hill Jr. will tell you that it’s far deeper than Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy, while columnist Mac Engel has one word: awful.
I have a few more: utter, total collapse.
Dak Prescott had an awful, terrible, bad day. He couldn’t connect with his top receiver, CeeDee Lamb. The once-formidable defense couldn’t stop the Packers offense, giving up a hat trick (three touchdowns) to running back Aaron Jones. A HAT TRICK.
I digress…this loss is going to take a long time to recover from. But, I’ll be ready to get hurt again come August.
Top Stories - Other
- The Golden State Warriors suffered an off-court loss at the heart of the organization. Assistant coach Dejan Milojevic suffered a medical emergency at a team dinner on Tuesday night. The organization and the Serbian Basketball Federation announced on Wednesday that Milojevic died. He was only 46.
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This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 4:30 PM.