Playoffs?

Today, three veteran coaches were fired. To no one's surprise, Detroit Lion's coach Rod Marinelli got the boot after leading - or not leading? - his team to the league's first 0-16 season. The last team to go winless was the 1976 Tampa Bay Bucs, who finished the season with an 0-14 posting. In a Monday morning news conference, Marinelli told the press, "You can't go 0-16 and expect to keep your job."

The Lions fell 31-21 to Green Bay on Sunday. Ironically, it was the Packers who started the Lions' losing streak last December in Green Bay. Detroit has lost 17 straight.

Cleveland's Romeo Crannel was also fired after the Browns were shut out by the Steelers on Sunday. Cleveland finished the regular season with a 4-12 record. Last summer, the Browns were pegged as one of the NFL's 'rising teams' according to an AP article.

The third coach sent packing on Monday morning was a slight surprise to me.

New York Jets coach Eric Mangini was given the boot after his team failed to make the playoffs. Forget the fact that Mangini more than doubled the Jets' wins from last season. After starting the season 8-3 under 'new' quarterback Brett Favre, the Jets struggled late in the season en route to a 9-7 finish. NYJ lost to the Dolphins - and their rejected former quarterback Chad Pennington - to drop out of the playoff race. Instead, Miami - who finished 1-15 last season - wins the AFC East with an 11-5 mark. While the Jets winning the division would have been a surprise to anyone last spring, the Dolphins are probably an even bigger surprise. I should shout out to my publisher Tom and my friend Mike right now - way to go Dolphins. But to see the Patriots miss the playoffs in 2008 is probably the biggest surprise to AFC East buffs.

But I digress.

The Jets had an amazing turnaround this season and still they will let Mangini go, leaving the future of the 'lesser' New York team in jeopardy. Besides that, the quarterback position is obviously in question as Favre will no doubt once again contemplate retirement. But that decision will probably be in limbo until next August.

With these three coaches getting canned today, I can only hope that more firing will spread across the NFL, perhaps to the Frozen Tundra where the Packers' Ted Thompson deserves nothing more than to pack his bags after the Green Bay team - which was one pass away from the Super Bowl last January - fell below .500 and finished the season a very disappointing 6-10.

Other than that minor complaint, I am excited for the start of the postseason. While I am disappointed that the Packers are not in the playoffs this year, I am excited that the New England dynasty came up short, leaving room for new teams in the AFC mix. As a Packers fan, I hate to see the Vikings win the NFC North division, but looking to the past, I do not foresee the Minnesota team advancing too far into January.

Other than that, I'm excited to see how the month of January plays out. Maybe I'll even cheer for the Dolphins...maybe.