There's No Such Thing As A Secure NFL Coaching Job | Defector

"The thing about "unprecedented events" is that they rarely are. Something weird or unusual that you just saw has almost certainly happened before, usually within about four years, and in pretty much the same form. This isn't to say that strange and new-seeming things aren't happening all the time, but of all the things that human beings are good at, doing the same thing over and over is among the top three, even if it's not by design."

"The league abruptly losing three coaches with 500 combined victories and a winning percentage of .619 will catch the untrained eye because it dismisses history for the more kneejerky "what pissed me off today?" methodology of the modern owner. And let's be honest (as opposed to the myriad of times when we just baldfaced lied to you), that's what a firing often is."

"And so it is with the current NFL coaching mudfight, in which ten teams, some of them quite successful, have decided that the person in charge of that success must lose their gig anyway, either because the team owner wants something else out of disappointment, boredom, or personality defect. Sean McDermott's firing two days after the Buffalo Bills performed their annual postseason flameout seemed unusually precipitous, at least until you remembered"

Unprecedented events rarely remain unique; similar unusual occurrences commonly recur within about four years. Humans tend to repeat behaviors, often unconsciously. Ten NFL teams recently dismissed coaches despite organizational success. Ownership decisions sometimes stem from disappointment, boredom, or personality defects rather than objective performance metrics. Sean McDermott's prompt firing after a postseason loss exemplifies this pattern, mirroring John Harbaugh's firing and Mike Tomlin's departure. Three recently removed coaches held roughly 500 combined victories and a .619 winning percentage. Owner kneejerk reactions can override historical context and prioritize personality-driven decisions over football expertise.

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