Giants letting Saquon go, Bears keeping Eberflus and more bad decisions costing NFL teams in 2024

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Giants letting Saquon go, Bears keeping Eberflus and more bad decisions costing NFL teams in 2024

Just eight weeks remain in the NFL regular season, and while some teams find themselves in the thick of playoff races, hope has begun to fade or has completely faded for others.

A whopping 16 teams have losing records, and many of them seem headed for double-digit losses. Plenty of owners, general managers and head coaches are paying the price now for poor decisions during the offseason. Some of those gambles have led to lost seasons and either have or will lead to lost jobs in the near future.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest blunders and most regrettable decisions of the 2024 NFL season.

Bears keeping Matt Eberflus and hiring Shane Waldron

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron this week became the sacrificial lamb after Chicago dropped its third straight game, mustering a combined 27 points and only one touchdown during this losing streak. Waldron never seemed to have a strong understanding of how to develop and call plays for a rookie quarterback. Aside from a three-game bright spot against the injury-riddled Los Angeles Rams and the atrocious defenses of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, No. 1 pick Caleb Williams has struggled. He ranks 32nd in completion percentage (60.5) and 28th in passer rating (81.0) while handling a far heavier workload than he should.

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But Waldron’s hiring wasn’t the most costly mistake of the Bears’ offseason. Keeping his boss was. Despite double-digit losses in each of his first two seasons, Matt Eberflus was retained as head coach. Eberflus had already displayed an inability to hire a quality offensive coordinator: Luke Getsy preceded Waldron. Adding insult to injury, Eberflus selected Waldron after interviewing Kliff Kingsbury, Liam Coen and Zac Robinson, who are now directing successful units in Washington, Tampa Bay and Atlanta, respectively. Eberflus also failed to develop a talented quarterback prospect in Justin Fields. So why would the Bears, with the top pick in the draft, gamble at head coach?

General manager Ryan Poles defended the decision to stick with Eberflus this past offseason, saying he valued continuity, stability and Eberflus’ attention to detail and leadership. None of those perceived strengths has translated into a revival for Chicago, which has regressed despite having a more talented roster this season. The Bears are at risk of wasting Williams’ first NFL season and causing real long-term damage to the quarterback. They can only hope that pass-game coordinator Thomas Brown can modify the offense and position Williams for growth in this second half of the season. But chances are, Chicago will find itself in the market for a new coach again this winter.

Saints sticking with Dennis Allen

New Orleans brass allowed a 4-1 finish last season to influence its decision to stick with Dennis Allen as head coach. This was despite it being clear he had his limitations, and that the Saints had just as many under his direction. After a thunderous 2-0 start to 2024, New Orleans quickly spiraled out of control, losing seven straight, and Allen got the ax last week.

Allen left New Orleans with a 18-25 record and an overall head coaching record of 26-53 after a failed run with the Raiders. He got the Saints’ head coaching job after a successful stint as their defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2021. But that success didn’t translate to head coaching. Allen drew criticism for a lack of intensity, poor attention to detail and poor preparation. An embarrassing loss to the inept Carolina Panthers finally did Allen in. In their first game after his firing, the Saints upset the Falcons. New Orleans ultimately needs a full-on rebuild. That rebuild could have begun this past offseason, but complacency has led to another wasted year.

Raiders hiring Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator

After replacing the fired Josh McDaniels as interim coach midway through last season, Antonio Pierce ignited a turnaround in Las Vegas and was promoted to the full-time job. This offseason, Pierce and the Raiders needed a new offensive coordinator and pursued Kingsbury, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach. But negotiations broke down and Kingsbury wound up taking Washington’s offensive coordinator job. Pierce, meanwhile, made the curious decision to hire Getsy, even though he had failed as OC in Chicago.

The Raiders opted against trading up to draft a top quarterback this spring, and instead rolled with free-agent addition Gardner Minshew and holdover Aidan O’Connell. Minshew isn’t elite, but he played well enough in Indianapolis last season to go 7-6 and help the Colts nearly make the playoffs. Yet neither Minshew nor O’Connell succeeded under Getsy. (O’Connell suffered a broken thumb in Week 7 and went on injured reserve Oct. 21.)

Las Vegas’ offense is one of the NFL’s worst in most major statistical categories, and after a fifth straight loss, Pierce fired Getsy and two other assistants. Meanwhile, Kingsbury is directing one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses this season and has quarterback Jayden Daniels looking like the Rookie of the Year favorite while Washington contends for an NFC East division title.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins have a lot of ground to make up if they are to make the playoffs. (Jasen Vinlove / Imagn Images)

Dolphins failing to sign a proven backup QB

After an 11-6 campaign in which it made the playoffs for a second straight season and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led the NFL in passing, Miami aimed for more in 2024. Coach Mike McDaniel changed defensive coordinators, and general manager Chris Grier added pieces intended to upgrade the defense and offensive line, hoping that Miami could once again contend in the AFC East and finally get over the wild-card hump.

However, Miami made a huge miscalculation that has largely derailed its season. Grier failed to secure a competent insurance policy at backup quarterback despite Tagovailoa’s extensive injury history. The Dolphins actually entered the season with the unproven Skylar Thompson (57.1 completion percentage, one touchdown and three interceptions in 2022) as their backup quarterback even though Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, Ryan Tannehill and Fields, to name a few, were available. The Dolphins paid the price after Tagovailoa suffered his third diagnosed concussion in Week 2 and then spent the next five weeks on injured reserve.

Thompson and in-season addition Tyler Huntley both proved largely ineffective. Miami went 1-3 without Tagovailoa, as its once high-powered offense averaged just 10 points and 136.5 passing yards per game. By the time Tagovailoa returned in Week 8, the Dolphins were 2-4. Narrow losses in Weeks 8 and 9 (to Arizona and Buffalo) dropped the Dolphins to 2-6 and a mile behind the Bills (now 8-2) for the AFC East lead.

Miami beat the Rams on Monday, but at 3-6, it needs a miraculous finish to return to the postseason. The decision to pass on a proven backup who could have potentially helped the Dolphins split those four games without Tagovailoa will likely haunt them for the rest of the season and into the offseason.

Everybody and their brother knew the Dallas Cowboys needed a running back after Tony Pollard left in free agency. They had a chance to land Derrick Henry, one of this generation’s most dominant backs. But Jerry Jones opted against signing the 30-year-old Henry, who had recorded 1,000-yard campaigns in five of the six previous seasons. Jones’ reasoning: “We couldn’t afford Derrick Henry.” He could have if he wanted to. Henry wound up signing a two-year, $16 million deal with Baltimore. It featured a $1.2 million base salary for 2024 and a potential out after this season.

Henry has been worth every penny, as the Ravens, who average a league-best 31.8 points and 440.2 yards per game, can attest. He leads the NFL with 1,120 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Henry’s presence in Dallas would have done wonders for an offense that ranks 31st with 83.7 rushing yards per game, 29th in time of possession (27:42) and dead last with just three rushing touchdowns all year. Perhaps Dallas would be contending for an NFC East title instead of a top pick in the draft had it made a different decision with Henry.

Saquon Barkley is starring for the Eagles while his former team struggles. (Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)

The recipe was simple: A heavy dose of Saquon Barkley with a manageable load for Daniel Jones, and the New York Giants had just enough to fight their way to a winning record and first postseason berth in six seasons. That was 2022, and those results sparked optimism in East Rutherford. But when it came time to make decisions on those two key players, the Giants gave Jones a four-year, $160 million deal he didn’t deserve and made Barkley play 2023 on a one-year, prove-it contract. Barkley cranked out another 962 yards in 14 games last season, but the contract hesitancy remained for the Giants. And so they let the most important player on their team walk — just down the road to the Philadelphia Eagles, who were thrilled to give him a three-year, $37.75 million contract.

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Halfway through the season, not only has Barkley been a difference-maker for the Eagles, but also his absence in New York has triggered continued regression for Jones and the Giants offense. Barkley had rushed for 1,137 yards and eight touchdowns, with 23 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns through Thursday night’s victory over the Commanders. The Giants, meanwhile, rank last in the NFL in scoring (15.6 points per game) and red-zone efficiency (39.29 percent). At 2-8, they again find themselves headed for a top-10 draft pick while general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll face uncertain futures. Barkley and the Eagles, in comparison, are hoping for a deep postseason run.

It’s the nightmare Giants owner John Mara greatly feared but ultimately did nothing to stop.

Panthers limiting Bryce Young in preseason

After a disastrous first season under Frank Reich and his diverse cast of quarterback-focused offensive assistants, Bryce Young was supposed to receive a career reset this year guided by new head coach Dave Canales. The former Seahawks quarterbacks coach and Buccaneers offensive coordinator was supposed to help Young rebound, similar to how he helped Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield.

But Canales and the Panthers took a curious approach to preparing Young for his second NFL season. Rather than give him as many reps as possible as he learned a new offense and new terminology, they restricted his preseason action. Young played in just one preseason game, completing six of eight passes for 70 yards and a touchdown.

Should it really have come as a surprise when Young struggled to start the regular season? Canales benched Young after just two games in which the quarterback threw for a combined 245 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Canales believed Young could learn by watching veteran Andy Dalton, who the coach said gave the team the best chance to win. But that only further magnifies the illogical decision to rob Young of valuable preseason reps. It also raises the question as to why Young was starting in the first place if the coach didn’t believe he gave the team the best shot at winning.

After a 1-4 stretch with Dalton as starter, the Panthers went back to Young, who is showing gradual improvement and just won back-to-back games for the first time in his young career. Maybe, just maybe, more reps and more patience was all the 2023 No. 1 pick needed.

The Jets have not gotten a boost with Jeff Ulbrich as interim coach. (Lucas Boland / Imagn Images)

The Jets … oh, where to begin?

Blunders and regrettable decisions are the annual theme of the New York Jets, the kings of disappointment. Rather than contend for a Super Bowl, the Jets have continued to cripple themselves with poor decisions.

Their handling of Robert Saleh, fired after just five weeks this season, ranks high on the list of those blunders. If confidence in him was that low, why did Woody Johnson even bring him back? And given that the Jets did decide to give Saleh a fourth season, why pull the plug with a 2-3 record when all of the team’s goals remained within reach? Why wasn’t relieving Nathaniel Hackett of play-calling duties the first move to see if another offensive mind could spark change while Saleh remained as head coach? That would have allowed Jeff Ulbrich to continue to focus exclusively on the defense. Instead, he’s seemingly in over his head as interim head coach, and the coordinator’s once formidable defense has dramatically regressed.

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The trade for Haason Reddick also looks like a regrettable move. The Jets clearly underestimated how strongly Reddick wanted a contract extension and how intent he was on waging a lengthy holdout to obtain it. Had they fully understood the intentions of the pass rusher, who missed all of training camp, the preseason and seven regular-season games, would they have made the trade?

Meanwhile, barring a dramatic turnaround, the trade for Davante Adams also seems deserving of a place on this list. The Jets seemed to think Adams was the missing piece, even though he doesn’t play defense or offensive line. The chemistry between Adams and Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers teammates from 2014 to 2021, has proved difficult to rekindle. Through four games with the Jets, Adams has as many touchdown catches as his team does victories (one). If Rodgers opts against returning in 2025, Adams is expected to orchestrate an exit as well, meaning the Jets will have wasted a third-round pick in their trade for the wide receiver.