Sports

NFL axes fall freely

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Black Monday was more like Bloody Monday for NFL head coaches and personnel executives.

The day after the final regular-season game, long a favored moment of owners for changing coaches and general managers, was unusually busy yesterday as an eye-popping nine teams either fired the sideline boss or GM — or both.

Lovie Smith in Chicago, Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Norv Turner in San Diego were the most notable and experienced coaches to get the ax, but they had plenty of company as the Chiefs (Romeo Crennel), Browns (Pat Shurmer), Bills (Chan Gailey) and Cardinals (Ken Whisenhunt) also made headset changes within hours of each other yesterday morning.

The rampage in executive offices was almost as bad, as the Jets’ Mike Tannenbaum was joined by fellow GMs A.J. Smith of the Chargers, Gene Smith of the Jaguars, Tom Heckert of the Browns and Rod Graves of the Cardinals in the league’s unemployment line. Carolina also is looking for a GM after firing Marty Hurney during the season.

Three teams — Cleveland, Arizona and San Diego — fired both the coach and the GM.

Clean sweeps could be upcoming in Kansas City and Buffalo, too. GMs Scott Pioli of the Chiefs and Buddy Nix of the Bills survived Black Monday but were are hanging by a thread as their respective owners made public displays of allowing them to twist in the wind after miserable seasons.

League sources speculated the flurry of firings resulted from owners knowing in advance there would be plenty of competition for top coaching and personnel prospects and not wanting to be left in the dust.

“No time to waste,” one NFC GM told the Post in an email. “It’s going to be musical chairs but without a lot of chairs. Nobody wants to be left standing.”

That was obvious as multiple teams tried to pounce on the hottest candidates. Smith, who won 10 games this year after previously somehow taking Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl, not surprisingly was the most in-demand coach after reportedly being contacted by the Bills and three other unspecified teams shortly after being fired by the Bears — a surprise move that was roundly condemned by his players. Devin Hester even threatened to retire over Smith’s firing.

Respected personnel executives Tom Gamble of the 49ers, Marc Ross of the Giants and Dave Caldwell of the Falcons, meanwhile, practically had to fight off ardent suitors.

The Jets were among three teams (Jacksonville and San Diego being the others) to receive permission to interview Gamble and one of three teams (along with Carolina and the Chargers) to get approval to interview Ross, while Caldwell is interviewing with the Jaguars, San Diego and the Cardinals. The Panthers are also planning to interview another Giants personnel exec, David Gettleman.

Ross and Gettleman weren’t the only ones with ties to the Giants who found themselves in demand yesterday. Former Big Blue quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan, who just finished his first season as the Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator, is scheduled to interview for Chicago’s coaching vacancy.

Another hot coaching candidate is Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, who washed out at Arizona State but has revived his reputation this season. Koetter is scheduled to be interviewed shortly by the Eagles, Browns and Chiefs, but league sources say that list could grow. Philadelphia also is set to interview Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to replace Reid.

Meanwhile, Reid — who received a genuinely warm sendoff from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie yesterday after a 14-year tenure that ended badly but included some of the biggest moments in team history — is set to interview in Arizona along with Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and current Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

Arizona retained Horton and his entire defensive staff while jettisoning Whisenhunt and all of his offensive coaches, although Horton (who is black) no doubt will be heavily in demand for head-coaching interviews this winter as teams scramble to meet the league’s “Rooney Rule” for minority coaches.

Other names to watch among coaching candidates are three successful college bosses — Syracuse’s Doug Marrone, Chip Kelly of Oregon and Penn State miracle worker Bill O’Brien.

Marrone, a former Jets offensive-line coach who led the Orangemen to a Pinstripe Bowl win last weekend over West Virginia, emerged late last night as a candidate in Cleveland and Buffalo. ESPN reported that Marrone would interview with both teams.

As for Kelly, he is thought to be looking for an exit with his program facing NCAA scrutiny and the NFL much more welcome of his college-style option offense in the wake of success by both the Panthers and Redskins running it. The Browns and Eagles are both thought to be interested.

O’Brien has been with Penn State for just one shockingly successful season but he has refused rule out leaving in the wake of harsh NCAA sanctions from the Jerry Sandusky scandal and is still highly thought of in NFL circles from his stint as the Patriots’ offensive coordinator.

bhubbuch@nypost.com