This week is a tough one for coaches around the National Football League as many losing teams decide to let some or even all of their staff members go—hence the reason the Monday after the regular season concludes each year is referred to as Black Monday. On Monday, a familiar face to Chiefs Kingdom was among those cut loose.
As the Jacksonville Jaguars try their best to determine how they slid so far in the season's second half, head coach Doug Pederson has made the decision to clean house on the defensive side. Mike Caldwell, his defensive coordinator, was given a pink slip along with the majority of his coaches—and that includes former Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton.
Sutton has been a "senior defensive assistant" with the Chiefs since 2021, but was let go with the majority of Jacksonville's defensive coaches due to the team's late-season skid where they lost five of their last six games. The final straw was a season-ending loss to the Tennessee Titans that cost them the AFC South title and ousted them from the playoffs completely.
Former Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton was among those let go in Jacksonville.
Kansas City Chiefs fans will remember Sutton's years with disdain due to the popular "bend but don't break" notion that surrendered far too much production in his final seasons with the team, but Sutton's defenses were also very good at limiting opponents in points scored even if they gave up more yards than expected. The Chiefs ranked in the top 7 in opponents points scored in his first four years as the team's defensive coordinator.
Sutton was the first DC under head coach Andy Reid back in 2013 and remained with the team through the 2018 season. Now 72 years old, Sutton has been coaching at the college and NFL levels since 1972-73 when he was an assistant with the University of Michigan.