Jon Gruden and 4 other NFL head coaches who resigned midway through the season
The collective NFL world was pushed into a frenzy when emails by former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden revealed the use of homophobic, misogynistic, and racist language. He has since resigned from his position.
Gruden now joins a small list of head coaches who left their team in midseason. Here's a look at five head coaches who resigned midway through the season.
Which head coach left their team in disarray?
Jon Gruden, Las Vegas Raiders
As mentioned above, Gruden shocked the world when an investigation into over 650,000 emails revealed an unsavory character Gruden truly is.
The Raiders organization and owner Mark Davis immediately condemned the messages portrayed in the emails sent by Gruden. Instead of his eventual firing, Gruden stepped down as head coach. Stating that he did not want to be a "distraction" for his team. His firing may have been swift had he not voluntarily stepped down.
Dave Wannstedt, Miami Dolphins
Wannstedt was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins between the 2000-2004 seasons. Wannstedt held a respectable 42-31 and two playoff appearances. He garnered praise for leading the Dolphins out of a tumultuous few years without legendary quarterback Dan Marino.
Hyde5: Jimmy Johnson, Dave Wannstedt talk #Hurricanes, #Dolphins — and where their former teams are sun-sentinel.com/sports/super-b…
However, in 2004, Wannstedt posted a 1-8 record before effectively stepping down as head coach. He claimed that his job status had become a distraction for his players that included Jay Feely and Jay Fiedler.
Bruce Coslet, Cincinnati Bengals
Bruce Coslet coached the Cincinnati Bengals from 1996 to 2000. In the 1998 and 1999 seasons alone, Coslet coached the Bengals to a horrifying 7-25 record. The team went so far as to be outscored 74-7 in the first three games of the 2000 season.
Coslet gave up the reigns and handed them over to defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. That would be the final time that Coslet would be a head coach for any team.
Bobby Petrino, Atlanta Falcons
Bobby Petrino was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for less than a full season. He inherited the mess that had been left behind by Michael Vick going to prison. In his defense, that would be a giant ball of stress that few would be able to deal with.
@BackAftaThis My favorite is the pumping of Bobby Petrino’s tires over and over again as “an NFL coach coaching in college”.
Shall we look at his stint with the Falcons now…. https://t.co/scJqInJvMk
In December of the 2007 season, Petrino left his team hanging and left for greener pastures. Without speaking to anyone on the team, he quit and accepted a job with the University of Arkansas.
Lou Holtz, New York Jets
Lou Holtz and Petrino have an odd occurrence that they share. Holtz left the safety of the college coaching world to take over as head coach of the New York Jets, who had been in peril since superstar Joe Namath retired.
With one last game of the season, Holtz left the Jets with a 3-10 record during the 1976 season. He was then hired by none other than the University of Arkansas. A move that Petrino replicated 30 years later in 2007.