Running an NFL franchise can be a tricky operation to get right, but when done correctly, it can make Gods out of mere mortals. These franchises have gone the other way, however, breeding dysfunction at every turn. In this list we will discuss the most dysfunctional franchises the NFL has to offer.
5. New York Giants
The Giants have had four head coaches in four years, something you will see as a trend on this list of incompetence. The Giants royally screwed up the end of Eli Manning’s career, who won two Super Bowls with the team. Head coach at-the-time Ben McAdoo benched him, then Manning regained the starting job, to only be benched again for rookie QB Daniel “Danny Dimes” Jones. They also let All-Pro Safety Landon Collins walk in free agency, as opposed to resigning him or getting something in return on the trade market for him. They also traded star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for a safety and the 17thoverall pick. The Giants have only been able to hang onto Saquon Barkley, but the way they ship out stars he could soon be on the move as well. The ever changing coaching scheme isn’t a good one for developing a solid young QB either, as having to learn a new playbook can seriously slow development in an ever changing league. Lets hope Joe Judge can stick around for longer than a year or two at the helm, or else the Giants could be wasting a talented quarterback and running back who is in entering his prime.
4. New York Jets
The Jets have been a model in dysfunction in recent years, and by recent I mean over the last 50 since their last Super Bowl appearance (and victory). After the firing of Todd Bowles after the 2018 season, the Jets hired Adam Gase, who was rather unceremoniously let go from the Dolphins after a brief and unsuccessful tenure there. After letting GM Mike Maccagnan hire Gase and spend 120 million bringing in new Jets players, they decided it was high time to let him go as well. This put Gase in charge of all the personnel moves, as well as the playbook. Gase’s first move? Trade former first round pick Darron Lee to the Chiefs for a sixth rounder in return. And Gase wasn’t exactly quiet on letting Le’Veon Bell know he thought the team had extremely overpaid the running back (which in his defense, they had). Not a great morale boost for the team heading into the 2019 season. Maybe Gase should take those crazy eyes of his and use them to take a long hard look at the coaching decisions that got him run out of Miami and soon to be run out of New York.
3. Cleveland Browns
I can hear you saying now, the Browns fortunes are looking up, why are they on this list? While they may have added some star talent, but the Browns still cant seem to get out of their own way. Having eight different head coaches in 10 years doesn’t help their cause either. Just when the players are getting used to a new system, the Browns decide it’s a good idea to go another route and switch things up. They are the New York Knicks of the NFL, bringing in big name players that don’t seem to pan out. New head coach Kevin Stefanski has certainly been provided talent by former GM John Dorsey, but will it amount to anything, or will the Browns just find a way to fail miserably again? Baker Mayfield is at a crossroads in his career, and it seems the Browns are as well. He has weapons in Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Nick Chubb, but will he take advantage of those weapons, or let it all slip away in typical Browns fashion? Let’s hope for their sake that he learns Stefanski’s playbook front to back, and can avoid another 22 TD, 21 interception season.
2. Las Vegas (Oakland) Raiders
This entry on the list may be a holdover from the Al Davis days, but the Raiders have been a model of dysfunction for decades. Whether it was running Marcus Allen out of town and to the Chiefs arms due to the simple fact that “Big Al” didn’t like him, or consistently drafting poorly because Al liked speed, or refusing to pay Mike Shanahan after he left the Raiders to coach the Broncos, the Raiders have always been an organization of questionable ethics. Signing Vontaze Burfict and him subsequently getting suspended for an entire season was just the icing on the cake. It seems things have calmed down in Vegas (that’s going to take awhile to get used to) with the hiring of Jon Gruden to an obscenely long contract of 10 years. Trading Khalil Mack and then complaining that they don’t have a pass rush was a typical Raider move. Maybe the league left Gruden behind when he spent all that time in the announcing booth. Only time will tell if he still has what it takes to bring the Raiders to the top, but with Pat Mahomes perched atop the AFC West, it may take awhile.
1. Washington Football Team
When you saw the name of the article, you knew where this was headed. The name of the team in Washington has needed to be changed for a LONG time, but stubborn owner Dan Gilbert refused, saying he would “never” change the teams name. Well apparently never came, and it only took his sponsors (A.K.A. his money) turning foot. And he made that very clear in the statement released, saying he was changing the name for the sponsors first, and fans second. If he had refused to be so stubborn about the issue, he could’ve gotten out in front of it and had a new team name and logo ready to go, as opposed to scrambling and playing as the Washington Football Team. On top of all the business about the racist name and logo, Snyder got his with a lawsuit of sexual allegations by the teams former employees. This isn’t even mentioning the abysmal play on the field, which has been absolutely atrocious in recent years. Dwayne Haskins and Ron Rivera have their work cut out for them if they want to revive this once proud program to any semblance of its former glory. Joe Gibbs must be happy he got out when he did, because Dan Snyder alone has run this team into the ground. This entry was a no brainer, and Dan Snyder has some serious work to do if he ever intends to be taken seriously in the NFL again.
