NFL: Black Monday?Rams & Bucs Fire Coaches

Posted by Sabrina B.?@gametimegirl

The?St. Louis Rams?fired coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney, the team announced on Monday AND?Raheem Morris has been fired as head coach of the?Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the club announced in a press release Monday.?

The 52-year-old Spagnuolo was just 10-38 in three seasons in St. Louis after being hired in January 2009. Devaney, 56, was promoted to general manager in December 2008.

ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen reported Sunday night that Spagnuolo and Devaney would be fired.

?I would like to personally thank Steve and Billy for their dedication to the St. Louis Rams organization over the past several seasons,? Rams owner Stan Kroenke said in a statement. ?This was a difficult decision for many reasons. We have tremendous respect for Steve and Billy as people and football professionals.

?No one individual is to blame for this disappointing season and we all must hold ourselves accountable. However, we believe it?s in the best interest of the St. Louis Rams to make theses changes as we continue our quest to build a team that consistently competes for playoffs and championships. We wish Steve, Billy and their families the very best in the future and thank them again for their commitment to our organization and the city of St. Louis.?

The Rams lost 34-27 to the rival 49ers on Sunday to finish the season 2-14, tied with theIndianapolis Colts?for the worst record in the NFL.

The lowly mark was an even bigger embarrassment considering it followed a six-win improvement last season. Attendance at Sunday?s regular-season finale was announced as 55,990, about 9,000 shy of capacity at the Edward Jones Dome, but the stadium appeared no better than half-full and drained quickly in the second half.

-ESPN

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The?Tampa Bay Buccaneers?fired coach Raheem Morris on Monday, the team announced.

General manager Mark Dominik will remain in his role, a source told ESPN.com?s Pat Yasinsksas. Dominik is under contract for the next three seasons.

Dropping their season finale 45-24 to the?Atlanta Falcons?on Sunday, the Bucs closed the year with 10 straight losses ? the franchise?s worst in-season stretch since the 1977 team lost its first 12 games.

?We want to thank Coach Morris for all his hard work and dedication as head coach of the Buccaneers,? Buccaneers co-chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement.

Morris finished 17-31 in his three seasons with Tampa Bay.

As the NFL?s second-youngest team, the Bucs (4-12) might have not handled last year?s NFL lockout as well as an experienced club, but Tampa Bay still managed a 4-2 start that included an emotional 16-13 win over Atlanta. That Week 3 victory ended a five-game series losing streak that gave quarterback?Josh Freeman?his first win over the Falcons.

While Freeman completed a career-high 62.8 percent of his passes this year, he threw 22 interceptions just a year after throwing just six.

When Tampa Bay struggled badly in Morris? first season of 2009, the Bucs still had a reputation for playing hard despite their 1-12 start.

But they won 16 of their next 25 and seemed ready to challenge New Orleans and Atlanta for supremacy in the NFC South.

Everything began to unravel, however, after they beat the Saints 26-20 on Oct. 16. They lost their next 10 ? the franchise?s worst stretch since the 2008-09 teams combined to drop 11 straight.

Sunday marked the seventh loss this season by 16 or more points.

-ESPN

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Source: http://www.inflexwetrust.com/2012/01/02/nfl-black-monday-rams-bucs-fire-coaches/

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