There’s a reason why the Monday after the final weekend of the NFL regular season is called “Black Monday.”

    And yesterday, by all means, was the darkest and blackest of any Black Monday.

    Seven coaches and five general managers were fired Monday it what turned out to be a frenzied free-for-all in the league. Andy Reid in Philadelphia, Lovie Smith in Chicago, Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona, Norv Turner in San Diego, Pat Shurmur in Cleveland, Romeo Crennel in Kansas City and Chan Gailey in Buffalo are all looking for new jobs.

    Don’t forget (former) general managers in San Diego, Cleveland, Arizona, Jacksonville and New York (Jets). They are updating their resumes as you read this.

    Of interesting note is Pocatello native and former Idaho State quarterback Dirk Koetter, currently the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, is drawing interest from the Eagles, Browns and Chiefs to fill head their coaching vacancies.

    It’s really no surprise that Reid, Whisenhunt, Turner, Shurmur, Crennel or Gailey were relieved of their head coaching duties. The surprise was Smith in Chicago, who’s team missed the playoffs but still had a 10-6 record.

    Smith had taken the Bears to the Super Bowl not too long ago and by no means had a bad season. Maybe he asked to be fired so as to not have to deal with Jay Cutler anymore. That’s my best guess.

    I just wonder who general manager Phil Emery thinks he’s going to find to come in and immediately do better than Smith. Especially since it seems some of the players were not happy with the move. Kick return specialist Devin Hester is even considering retirement.

    "I've got my workers' comp papers in my pocket," Hester said.

    I would imagine that Hester will continue to play and just said what he said in the heat of the moment. Still, it illustrates the surprise felt by those affected by Smith’s dismissal.

    I can tell you one person who is happy with the firing of Turner in San Diego, ISJ sports writer and resident Chargers fan Jason Enes.

    Now that seven head vacancies are open in the NFL, it will be interesting to see who fills them. How many fired coaches are hired by other league teams? Which, if any, college coaches make the jump to try their hand at the top level of the sport? Which coordinators get promoted.

    My bet is on Koetter getting one of the openings. Which one, I’m not sure. He’s a hot name right now and that usually means he’s a shoe-in.

    He was the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville from 2007-2011, so perhaps the Jaguars have a leg up on obtaining Koetter’s services.