How’s this for a conspiracy theory as I try to redeem myself as a Patriots picker?
Teams that fire their coach during the season are usually better in the first week after the change. The shock to the system often will spur them to an unsustainable surge of improvement.
It doesn’t always work. Last year, the Bears booted Matt Eberflus after losing on Thanksgiving and still got the stuffing beat out of them the following week by 49ers.
But the Saints, who’d lost seven straight games, pink-slipped Dennis Allen and then beat the Falcons.
According to ESPN, since 2020, teams that dismiss their coach midseason are 10-4 (the record has been updated since ESPN’s story ran on Oct. 14, 2024) against the spread in the first game with an interim head coach.
Is it possible that the Titans considered this when determining when to turf Brian Callahan?
That’s a move only dopey ownership would make, but that’s not out of the question in Nashville.
By firing Brian Callahan this week, they accomplished a couple of things. Instead of a week where local talk radio and columnist etc. are talking only about the return of ex-Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who they never should have fired to begin with, everyone’s attention is split between sacking Callahan, who they might hire and Vrabel.
Plus, if the short-term interim coach bump shows up here, the Titans could avoid being embarrassed by Vrabel.
Every week, a member of the MassLive sports department will pick the result of the upcoming Patriots game, and I’m tasked for this Week 7 contest.
Follow along with our picks for every pro football all season long inMassLive’s “Pro Football U Pick ‘Em Challenge” sponsored by MGM Springfield. You can test your football knowledge against our experts and win weekly and season-long prizes. You can still sign up and join the fun.
Keep in mind, I blew it in Week 1 when I picked the Patriots to beat the Raiders. I thought New England would be better and that Vegas would stink. Both of those things turned out to be true eventually. But in Week 1, not so much.
But I’m getting back on the horse.
I think the Titans will get the mini-bump from their coaching shakeup and will cover the 7-point spread, but the Patriots will win outright, 28-24.
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