If the Cleveland Browns fire Joe Woods then the season really is over

Why do coaches fire coordinators who are doing their job?

This scheme has worked, more or less, over the last two seasons. The only thing that’s changed is some guys got paid, others got hurt, and even more got replaced. I’ve been saying for three years that Andrew Berry’s drafts are lackluster and you’re seeing it play out in front of your very eyes. Firing Woods isn’t going to change the fact the players just aren’t good.

In fact, firing Woods is just going to tank the team even further. Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr wrote about this very thing in 2018 and interviewed a former NFL coach on the topic. The unnamed coach explained why coordinators get fired for just doing as they’re told;

"With the pressure on these head coaches, it’s a way to turn down the heat and make it appear that you’re doing something. It’s somewhat of a cover-your-tail move. Sometimes I understand the temptation. Maybe just a change of the way the plays come in. A new voice. The way the game is called. There are certainly all those possibilities. But far more often than not, it’s going to get worse."

The unnamed coach also goes on to cite why firing a coordinator just makes things worse;

1. It breeds fear and contempt among the remaining coaches, fearing they may be next. There’s also tension at home among their respective families over the uncertainty.
2. It forces coaches to learn new jobs on the fly, both in terms of coaching assignments and administration.
3. It burns out younger coaches.

So firing a coordinator is the first sign of major changes to a team. It’s a head coach trying to blame someone else as much as possible before the same head coach takes his inevitable walk to the gallows soon after.