So the Day Turkey was not put into stock again after Thanksgiving. The Detroit Lions kept him in shape all weekend and used him to fire head coach Steve Mariucci on Monday. This was not unexpected. The Lions’ record is 4-7, making Mariucci’s final record 15-28. It had been rumored for weeks and the team was playing lifeless, uninspired football. He didn’t seem like a happy camper lately either, though don’t feel too bad for him: His base salary for the next two years is $5.5 million in 2006 and $6 million in 2007.
So how does this relate to sports betting? Teams can get excited and play hard for the new coach when something like this happens. Just a year ago, the Miami Dolphins fired Dave Wannstedt after a 1-8 start. In Game No. 10, the Dolphins were a 9-point dog in Seattle, but they held on and got the coverage in a 24-17 loss. The game botched interim coach Jim Bates’ debut, but Miami held Seattle RB Shaun Alexander to 3.3 ypc, his lowest yards per carry to that point and second-lowest of the season.
In fact, the Dolphins went 3-4 SU/5-2 ATS the rest of the season under Bates after going 1-8 SU, 2-7 ATS under Wannstedt. What can sometimes happen is that the dismissal of a coach eliminates an unhappy situation. The clubhouse mood can change overnight, making practice and game day more enjoyable. The effort is noticeable.
In 1989, the Cincinnati Reds had fired underachieving manager Pete Rose after a string of second-place finishes. They brought in Lou Piniella for the 1990 season and the Reds just won the World Series! Obviously, that wouldn’t have happened with Rose. Two years earlier, the Red Sox were out 9 games at the All-Star break with a talented but underperforming team. They fired John McNamara and went on to go 19-1 under new manager Joe Morgan en route to winning the AL East. Last year, the Astros fired Jimy Williams in the middle of the season, then cheered on Phil Garner and reached the NLCS. And the Marlins won the World Series in 2003 after Jack McKeon replaced Jim Fregosi.
That Miami Dolphins team from a year ago played tough for Jim Bates, winning in San Francisco the next week, losing 20-17 in Denver like an 11+ dog and beating the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots, 29-28, on Sunday. Monday night. It will be interesting to see how the Lions respond, if at all. Or if other coaches are let go, since there are several NFL coaches still on the bench.
Has any professional soccer team ever fired a coach in the middle of the season with a winning record? If only one. The 1984 Patriots fired Ron Meyer with a 5-4 record and played .500 under Ray Berry, missing the playoffs. They did win though and covered their first game with Berry. We’ll see how relieved, or hopeless, this Lions team really is.
