The NFL Loud Fan Check-In

Fans in sports have become exceedingly loud when it comes to decision-making.

There are now more stakes than ever when it comes to the fates of franchises we live and die with, due to our access to social media and the money invested by some —and, admit it or not, PR matters!

Credit: David Reginek-Imagn Images

We’re coming off of a weekend in college football where James Franklin was fired from Penn State and will be making $49 million because the fans and media presence was loud enough to communicate that it was time despite his success against all OTHER teams that were not considered big games; everything was aligned for the team to leap, and they didn’t and he was called out for it.

Just this week, there was a “FIRE BRIAN CALLAHAN” poster at an OREGON DUCKS game, and within two days, the Titans coach who started 1-6 was relieved of his duties at the start of his second year.

It feels like more than ever, and faster than ever, we are calling for the heads of coaches or replacing the quarterbacks faster than ever because of how quickly rebuilds can occur, and what we want the most aside from immediate gratification is gratification that we can see lasting for a very long time. 

With how loud fans have tended to get and how that impacts the states of franchises in the NFL, for better or for worse, let’s get a temperature check on some franchises and their loud fans.

Concerned Facebook Poster // Baltimore Ravens

John Harbaugh is a coach that has brought nothing but consistent success to Baltimore year after year with a Super Bowl win and an identity of consistent toughness, but with the 1-6 start due to having an entire roster on IR essentially including Lamar Jackson, with 5 straight years where it felt like everything aligned for them in the postseason only for them to come up short, you’re getting a lot of friendly breakup “I love you, Coach Harbaugh, BUT…” posts, injury curse this year or not.

“THE END IS NEAR” Doomer // New York Jets

Year after year the Jets fans have wallowed in their misery insisting upon themselves with a curse, and after an offseason where it felt like bringing in former player Aaron Glenn who was gritty, disciplined, and tough, it felt like there was a potential turnaround where the drama would go away now that Aaron Rodgers had left the building and he was denied an interview. Glenn resisted temptation! He said, “We’re the freakin’ New York Jets!”

Well, the Jets are back to 0-6, and we’ve already re-begun the cycle of calling for Glenn’s head and looking at draft pick quarterbacks again. The return of “whoa is me, the end of the world is occurring” Jets fans have returned.

Pre-Fired Message Board Conspirators // Miami Dolphins

There has never been someone who was as pre-fired as Mike McDaniel in Miami. It felt as if his innovative and fast-paced run offense was going to take over the world for a while as he was a young head coach doing something so fast that we hadn’t seen before in a not-so-meathead body, only for it to crumble. It’s a lot less cute when you’re not winning games, and on top of that, Tyreek Hill had already thrown multiple dysfunctional fits, Tua Tagovailoa has been paid and has either been injured, called out by teammates, calling out OTHER teammates, or just plainly not playing up to his salary. McDaniel has looked and sounded entirely apathetic all year, amidst the 1-5 start.

With a destination as attractive as Miami and the writing being on the wall, Dolphins fans have already begun chatting on message boards conspiring to see who the next head coach could be, could they get out of Tua’s contract, and, most importantly, why haven’t they fired McDaniel yet?

Civil Unrest // Las Vegas Raiders

This was SUPPOSED to be the year! Surely nothing could be worse than Aiden O’Connell, Gardner Minshew, and a slew of fired coaches year after year, right?

Bringing in future Hall of Fame coach Pete Carroll, OC Chip Kelly, and quarterback Geno Smith was supposed to SOLVE the problem, and with Geno leading the league in turnovers and the Raiders firmly in last place in their division, they’ve only been reinforced. Raiders fans have already declared war on this short-term plan to turn everything around with Tom Brady at the helm. It’s getting loud in Vegas in front of Mark Davis’s PF Chang’s.

Polite Golf Clap // New Orleans Saints

The Saints are a proud franchise with a football-obsessed town and one of the loudest stadiums in professional sports, and could potentially actively be rooting for losses on the calendar. It was never about Kellen Moore turning this franchise around this year when you start Spencer Rattler (who has actually been the 14th RAW rated quarterback on the year!) and draft Tyler Shough and are in cap Hell.

It’s about getting the opportunity to get whoever Kellen wants at quarterback NEXT year after moving on from Drew Brees and the “we don’t talk about him” Derek Carr years in between. Losses are just golf claps for the Saints until 2026.