Three NFL coaches were fired Monday -- Rod Marinelli, Eric Mangini and Romeo Crennel. Each deserved to get the boot, but Crennel's failure is the most glaring.

Marinelli had a bad team and losing Jon Kitna after four games made things dramatically worse, but going 0-16 isn't easy. You go winless in the NFL, and you deserve to get fired because, in spite of whatever bad breaks you got, it's also a product of your coaching.

The Jets' demise certainly wasn't all Mangini's fault, but his late-game strategy in Week 16 at Seattle was so unjustifiable that it warranted his firing on the spot.

Crennel, though, took a team that was 10-6 last season with six Pro Bowlers and turned it into a horrible team that simply quit. Yes, yes, there were injuries -- Ken Dorsey at quarterback is a recipe for disaster anywhere -- but not scoring an offensive touchdown in the final six weeks can only mean one thing -- the players quit. And that falls squarely on Crennel's shoulders. That's a lack of leadership.

Also, the Bill Belichick coaching tree is headed for the pulp mill (at least at the pro level).