As the Season Ends, NFL Firings Begin

“Merry Christmas, you’re fired,” was the operative phrase Monday in two NFL cities.

Dan Reeves, coach of the New York Giants the last four years, and June Jones, who led the Atlanta Falcons the last three, were dismissed after both teams had losing seasons and finished out of the playoffs.

They joined Rich Kotite of the 1-15 Jets, who coached his last game Sunday after two disastrous seasons, and Rich Brooks of the 6-10 St. Louis Rams, fired on Sunday after two years, with several more changes expected by the end of the week. Detroit Lion Coach Wayne Fontes, Oakland Raider Coach Mike White and New Orleans Saint interim coach Rick Venturi are expected to be casualties in the days ahead.

The Reeves and Jones firings were widely anticipated.

In recent years, Reeves had been at odds with Giant General Manager George Young and director of player personnel Tom Bosture. Reeves wanted more control over personnel decisions, particularly the college draft and free agency.

“It was not a power struggle, it was more of a philosophy struggle,” Reeves said at a news conference Monday.

“I just think that we’re not going in the right direction,” Young said.

No successor was named Monday, with Young saying only that “energy” was important from the new man. Speculation has centered on Arizona offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, who coached in New York under Ray Handley, Reeves’ predecessor. Other names mentioned include San Francisco defensive coordinator Pete Carroll and Michigan State Coach Nick Saban.

Reeves, who has one year remaining at $1.3 million on his original five-year contract, has been mentioned for the Falcons vacancy and he is expected to surface again as a coach despite his 32-34 record with the Giants, including 6-10 this season. With an overall record of 149-113-1, Reeves had the most career victories of any active NFL coach this year.

Jones became embroiled in an ugly quarterback situation in Atlanta that may ultimately have cost him his job.

Though the team made the playoffs in ‘95, Jones began having problems with Jeff George, who also was a contract holdout in preseason.

It reached a head when George was benched in the third game of the season and subsequently suspended for four games after a heated argument with Jones on the sidelines.

When efforts to trade him to the Seattle Seahawks failed, he was released. The Falcons had used two No. 1 draft choices to acquire George, and got nothing in return when he was let go.

Veteran Bobby Hebert replaced George at quarterback and the Falcons lost their next eight games before upsetting Carolina.

In its last home game, Atlanta lost to the Rams, 34-27, before only 26,519 in attendance, the smallest Falcon crowd since 1989. Jones also was harshly criticized by Chuck Smith, one of the team’s better defensive players, who said the Falcons would be better served with the hiring of a defensive-minded coach.

Jones, 43, had a 19-29 record in his three seasons, including 3-13 this year. The final blow came Sunday, when usually dependable kicker Morten Anderson missed a 30-yard field-goal try in the final seconds that allowed Jacksonville to prevail, 19-17, and make the playoffs as a wild-card team in only their second year of existence.