NFL coaching changes: Broncos’ Kubiak quits while 49ers’ Kelly and Chargers’ McCoy are fired
Will the last remaining coach in the Western U.S. please turn out the lights when you leave?
►Denver’s Gary Kubiak is stepping down for health reasons.
►San Diego fired Mike McCoy on Sunday, leaving this symmetrical footnote: McCoy was 27-37 in four regular seasons, and the Chargers lost his coaching finale to Kansas City, 37-27.
►San Francisco parted ways with both Coach Chip Kelly and General Manager Trent Baalke, making Kelly the club’s second consecutive one-and-done coach.
Buffalo and Jacksonville also are looking for head coaches, and it’s likely Indianapolis will join them shortly.
Broncos cornerback Chris Harris told reporters that Kubiak informed the players after Sunday’s season-ending 24-6 victory over Oakland that it would be his last game with the team.
“It’s definitely sad to see him go,” Harris said. “We love him as a coach. He said he didn’t want to tell us during the week because he wanted the game to be about the team. We handled business today and we wanted to send him out right, which we did.”
The departure of Kubiak is something of a surprise, considering he just finished his second season and is less than a year removed from beating Carolina in the Super Bowl. The Broncos finished 9-7 this season with a stellar defense and out-of-nowhere quarterback Trevor Siemian.
Health concerns were apparently behind his decision to step down.
“He told us he has been going through some stuff,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller said. “As players, we see it. His health was in question.”
Kubiak, 55, was hospitalized in October after a loss to Atlanta and diagnosed with a “complex migraine.” In 2013, while coach of the Houston Texans, he collapsed on the field while walking to the locker room at halftime, having suffered a transient ischemic attack, or mini-stroke.
Speculation had percolated recently that Kubiak might step down. He was vague last week when asked about his future with the franchise, saying, “I love the Broncos. I love to work. I’m all in on the Raiders right now. There will be time for reflection and all of that stuff last week, but right now it’s time to focus on what we’re doing.”
The Chargers, who are strongly considering relocating to Los Angeles this offseason, announced after their home loss to the Chiefs that McCoy was dismissed after four seasons.
Calling McCoy “a man of high character” and thanking him, Chargers President John Spanos said, “Our team’s disappointing performance has not matched this team’s potential and has fallen short of the demanding standards that we seek to impose throughout our organization.”
The 49ers finished 2-14, with their only victories coming against the Rams. Los Angeles, meanwhile, fired Jeff Fisher three weeks ago and are not expected to promote John Fassel from interim to permanent head coach.
There will be coaches remaining in the West — Seattle’s Pete Carroll and Oakland’s Jack Del Rio aren’t going anywhere — but there also will be more changes.
Baalke confirmed the news of his firing during a radio interview Sunday afternoon.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Baalke said. “We’ve done some awful good things. Some very successful seasons. Unfortunately regret we weren’t able to bring a championship to the Bay Area, which they so deserve.”
The Rams have not said whether they intend to keep GM Les Snead.
Two strong candidates for anticipated GM openings in various spots around the league are Minnesota’s George Paton, and Seattle’s Scott Fitterer, both widely respected personnel evaluators.
Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter: @LATimesfarmer
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