The day of the long knives

GOING, GOING, GONE ?

Dom Capers, Carolina Panthers.

Dave Wannstedt, Chicago Bears.

Ted Marchibroda, Baltimore Ravens.

Ray Rhodes, Philadelphia Eagles.

Dennis Erickson, Seattle Seahawks.

GOING, GOING ? ON THE BUBBLE

Bruce Coslet, Cincinnati Bengals.

Norv Turner, Washington Redskins.

Both Dom Capers, late of the Carolina Panthers, and Mike Ditka of the
New Orleans Saints have a
number of things in common.

Capers (31-35, .470) and Ditka are iron fists and aware of the
sometimes-disturbing effect
quarterback Kerry Collins can cause.

Capers also suffered the shame of being humiliated by several of his
players during the NFL regular
season, including Collins' off-the-field shenanigans and then he learned
the QB no longer had
his heart in it. After dropping to No. 3 on the roster, the Panthers
waived him and Ditka
entered and showed his willingness to take Collins under his wing.

At times, Ditka appeared to be a genius, but then Collins started to
slide, and he was shameful
in the lop-sided 45-33 loss to the Buffalo Bills Sunday.

Capers, 48, also had to deal with RB Fred Lane and his death-defying
hand gestures before a New
York Jets' audience. On December 13, Panthers lost to Washington;
however, not before
linebacker Kevin Greene tried to squash assistant coach Kevin Steele on
the sidelines.

Besides the Collins, Lane and Greene incidents, Capers had to
scramble to fill in when clever
Bill Polian left the GM's post.

Finishing in a tie for last in the NFC cellar, Capers knew his days
were numbered, although he
never openly spoke about it

Carolina owner and founder Jerry Richardson spoke the obligatory
words: "This has been a
difficult and hard decision."

Capers, who at times caused his own troubles, decided to make Sean
Gilbert a millionaire many
times over and then named him the franchise's designated player that
made his critics wince.

Starting in 1995, the Panthers reached the NFC championship game
against the Pack in 1996.

In the day of the long knives, Capers was "weighed in the balance and
found wanting," as the
Bible says.

DAVE WANNSTEDT: Six years of suffering was enough for the Chi Bears
(4-12) and likeable Dave
Wannstedt, 46, suddenly felt owner Jerry McClaskey's wrath. The Boss
commented Da Bears had a
nucleus of players, but lacked talent. Do not worry about Wannstedt's
future, they'll be lining
up at his front door.

TED MARCHIBRODA: Another one full of obligatory words was Cleveland's
all-time most hated man
-- Art Modell -- who booted Marchibroda Monday and left the Baltimore
Ravens rudderless. The
67-year-old coach and his charges finished at 6-10. He'll land on his
feet, with "nice guy"
Modell expecting to keep him in the front office.

RAY RHODES: Last week, WND reported Philadelphia Eagles' Ray Rhodes
would be fired. The report
was certainly correct, for Monday owner Jeffrey Lurie spoke of the
difficult time of booting a
"friend" out the door. The Eagles finished at 3-13 and face an uncertain
future with the
retirement of WR Irving Fryar.

DENNIS ERICKSON: After Seattle's 8-8 campaign, the handwriting was on
the wall for Erickson to
depart after only four years at the helm. There were a number of brights
spots during his
tenure; one of them was the resurgence of Warren Moon at QB.

YOU'VE GOT E-MAIL: WND reader Jerry Lubbers of Columbia Falls, MT.
questioned our sanity when
the Ol' Coach picked the Bills to upset the Minnesota Vikings of Randall
Cunningham to Randy
Moss of Marshall U. fame. Never underestimate Flutie's magical touch.
And another thing, Jerry,
I wasn't smoking any funny stuff at the time.

P.S. Jacksonville 21, Pittsburgh 3 in Monday night's season finale.
Pass it on.