Firing a head coach five games into the season is the type of card typically played by franchises cauterizing an emergency situation that needs to immediately be rectified. Maybe, like in Houston, a power grab has gone awry. Maybe, like in Cleveland two years ago, the environment has become so toxic and clamorous that you have no other choice. Sometimes, as an owner, you feel time is running out on the season and you’d like to evaluate another coach on the staff. Sometimes, like the Eagles did with Chip Kelly, you make the move a couple weeks early in order to get an unvarnished look at the locker room and interview your players about who they’d like as a replacement.
Dan Quinn’s Firing Has Been Inevitable, But the Falcons Don’t Have to Do it In-Season
