| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 9, 2010 – January 2, 2011 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | January 8, 2011 – January 23, 2011[1] |
| AFC Champions | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| NFC Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Super Bowl XLV | |
| Date | February 6, 2011[2] |
| Site | Cowboys Stadium,Arlington, Texas |
| Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 30, 2011[3] |
| Site | Aloha Stadium,Halawa,Honolulu, Hawaii |
The2010 NFL season was the 91stregular season of theNational Football League (NFL) and the 45th of theSuper Bowl era.
The regular season began with theNFL Kickoff game onNBC on Thursday, September 9, at theLouisiana Superdome as theNew Orleans Saints, theSuper Bowl XLIV champions, defeated theMinnesota Vikings.
Tom Brady, quarterback of theNew England Patriots, was namedNFL MVP for the 2010 season. InSuper Bowl XLV, the league's championship game played atCowboys Stadium inArlington, Texas, theGreen Bay Packers defeated thePittsburgh Steelers 31–25 to win their fourthSuper Bowl, spoiling the Steelers' chance for a seventh title.[2] This season also marked the first full-length season in which a team with a losing record made the playoffs, when theSeattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7–9 record. One week later, the Seahawks dethroned the defending champion New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round, to become the first ever sub-.500 playoff team to win a postseason game.
NFL owners voted in 2008 to opt out of theircollective bargaining agreement (CBA) with theNational Football League Players Association (NFLPA) as of the end of the 2010 season. (The vote was 23 in favor, 9 against; the extension measure needed 24 to pass, which would have set the CBA to expire after the 2012 season). Since a new CBA was not reached with the NFLPA, 2010 was an uncapped season,[4] meaning that there was nosalary cap or salary floor between which teams had to operate.[5] Also, the uncapped season limited unrestricted free agency only to players with at least six years of experience, as opposed to four under a capped season.[5] The final eight teams alive in the2009–10 NFL playoffs (Arizona, Dallas, Minnesota and New Orleans in the NFC; and Baltimore, Indianapolis, the New York Jets and San Diego in the AFC) were restricted in the free agents they could sign.[5]
The issue of a CBA continued into the2011 NFL season, affecting most of the off-season.
Free agency began on March 5, 2010.
Notable players to change teams during free agency included:
The following notable trades were made during the 2010 league year:
The league's 75th annual selection meeting, more commonly known as theNFL draft, took place atRadio City Music Hall in New York City from April 22–24, the first time that the draft was held over three days instead of the usual two.[35] In the draft with the first overall pick, theSt. Louis Rams chose quarterbackSam Bradford from theUniversity of Oklahoma.
Mike Pereira resigned as the league's Vice President of Officiating. He had led the NFL's officiating since 2001. Carl Johnson was named as Pereira's successor.
Clete Blakeman was promoted to referee, andDon Carey returned to his back judge position.
The following rule changes were passed at the league's annual owners meeting in March:
The NFL relaxed all rules regarding crowd noise, citing the need to increase the in-stadium experience to lure more fans to attend games. In addition, the league cited the advances in the coach-to-quarterback radio communications, and more visiting teams using silent snap counts as an alternative to overcome crowd noise.[41]
The NFL's rules to "legislate the fans", and help visiting offensive players hear the snap count, have been controversial from the start. In one notorious example, then-Cincinnati Bengals head coachSam Wyche and then-quarterbackBoomer Esiason "protested" the crowd noise rules during a 1989 nationally televised preseason game against theNew Orleans Saints by constantly complaining to the referee about the loud crowd noise inside theSuperdome.[42]
The league will still allow stadiums to post visual noise meters and other scoreboard messages to incite fans to make noise, but they must cease when the play clock is down to 15 seconds. However, home teams are still prohibited from pumping inartificial crowd noise.[41]
After several violent hits throughout the NFL made the news in Week 3, the league announced that it would consider suspending players for illegal hits, such as helmet-to-helmet hits or other blows to the head.[43] (Previously, players could only be fined for such hits.) The league also instructed all officials and referees to have an even higher level of attention toward flagrant hits.[44] Game officials were also instructed to err on the side of safety, and throw flags even when in doubt.[45]
The crackdown has been controversial. Many defensive players have complained that the league is being too strict in their interpretation of what constitutes an "illegal hit", and that it forces them to behave significantly differently from how they were taught to play the game.[43][44] Another concern is the league's instructions to game officials to err on the side of caution, since questionable calls late in close games significantly affect their outcome. However, the medical community has supported the move, believing that it will help reduce concussions and other head injuries.[44]
The league did not end up suspending any players for violent or illegal hits, however several players were fined for these types of hits within the first few weeks of the crackdown.
ThePro Football Hall of Fame Game was held on Sunday, August 8, 2010, at 8:00 pmEDT onNBC, with theDallas Cowboys defeating theCincinnati Bengals, 16–7[54] atFawcett Stadium inCanton, Ohio.[55] The remainder of thepreseason game matchups were announced March 31, 2010. Highlights, among others, include theNew York Giants andNew York Jets facing off in the first-ever game atNew Meadowlands Stadium onESPN.[56] The preseason game in theBills Toronto Series featured the host Bills defeating theIndianapolis Colts in Toronto on Thursday, August 19 by a score of 34–21.[57] Exact dates and times for most games were announced in April, shortly after the regular season games were announced.
The 2010 regular season was the first year that the league used a modified version of the scheduling formula that was first introduced in2002, in which all teams play each other at least once every four years, and play in every other team's stadium at least once every eight years (notwithstanding the regular season games played overseas as part of theNFL International Series). Under the original 2002 formula, since the pairings were strictly based onalphabetical order, those teams scheduled to play the entireAFC West had to travel to bothOakland andSan Diego in the same season, while those teams playing the entireNFC West had to make their way to bothSan Francisco andSeattle.[58] In2008,New England and theNew York Jets each had to make cross-country trips toall four of the aforementioned West Coast teams. In an effort to relieve east coast teams from having to travel to the West Coast multiple times during the same season, teams will only have to visit one West Coast team (AFC West orNFC West), plus one western team from the same division closer to theMidwest, under the 2010 modified formula. Specifically, those teams traveling to Oakland (Las Vegas since2020) will also play atDenver, while those playing at San Diego (Los Angeles Chargers area since2017) will also play atKansas City. For teams scheduled to play the NFC West, those traveling to San Francisco will also go toArizona, while those scheduled to play in Seattle will then go toSt. Louis (this became moot in2016 when the Rams returned toLos Angeles in the Rams area).[58][59][60]
For the 2010 season, the intraconference and interconference matchups are:
The entire 2010 regular-season schedule was unveiled at 7:00 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 20. Additionally, schedule release shows aired on both the NFL Network and as aSportsCenter special onESPN2.[61]
TheNFL Kickoff Game, the first game of the season, took place on Thursday, September 9, starting at 8:35 pmEDT, with theSuper Bowl XLIV championNew Orleans Saints hosting theMinnesota Vikings, in a rematch of the2009NFC Championship Game, with New Orleans winning. Like in previous years, the opening week's prime-time games were expected to be announced at the NFL's annual owners meetings in late March, but that wasn't the case this year, with the schedule announced on April 20.[62]
On March 15, the NFL announced that both theNew York Giants andNew York Jets would play at home during Week 1 to openNew Meadowlands Stadium.[63] The Giants played on Sunday afternoon against theCarolina Panthers and the Jets opened ESPN'sMonday Night Football schedule against theBaltimore Ravens the next night. For the nightcap, theSan Diego Chargers traveled to play theirdivision rivals theKansas City Chiefs, marking the first time that a team from outside theMountain orPacific Time Zones has played in, or hosted, the "late" (10:15 pm ET) game.
The 2010 season featured one International game, played atWembley Stadium in London.[64] The teams for this game were confirmed on January 15, 2010, with theSan Francisco 49ers playing host to theDenver Broncos on October 31, at 1:00 pm EDT (5:00 pmGMT),[65] with San Francisco winning.
The following week, the third regular-season game of theBills Toronto Series featured theBuffalo Bills hosting theChicago Bears atToronto'sRogers Centre on November 7 at 1 pm EST, marking the first time that the regular-season portion of the series has taken place during theCanadian Football League season and the first time an NFC opponent played in the series.[66]
On October 31,NBC aired aSunday Night Football game, thePittsburgh Steelers at theNew Orleans Saints, againstFox's coverage of the Game 4 of the2010 World Series, a practice the league had traditionally avoided.[67] The Saints won this game 20–10.
As has been the case since2006, three games were scheduled for Thursday, November 25, with theNew England Patriots at theDetroit Lions and theNew Orleans Saints at theDallas Cowboys in the traditional afternoon doubleheader, and theCincinnati Bengals at theNew York Jets in primetime. The Patriots, Saints, and Jets won the games 45–24, 30–27, and 26–10 respectively.
Christmas Day landed on a Saturday in 2010. The league scheduledone game, theDallas Cowboys at theArizona Cardinals that evening, airing onNFL Network. The Cardinals won the game 27–26.
The entire Week 17 schedule, played on January 2, consisted solely of divisional contests, in an attempt to increase competition after several cases over the last few seasons of playoff-bound teams resting their regular starters and playing their reserves. This has continued since then.[68]
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The 2010–11 NFL playoff tournament began January 8–9, 2011 with wild card weekend. Following that, the divisional playoffs set the matchups for theNFC Championship Game, to be played at 3:00 pm EST on January 23, and theAFC Championship Game, to be played at 6:30 pm EST.
After a backlash from players and critics aboutthe previous season's Pro Bowl being played atSun Life Stadium inMiami Gardens, Florida, in thecontiguous United States, the2011 Pro Bowl was played atAloha Stadium inHalawa,Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.[77]The date was January 30, 2011, the week before theSuper Bowl. An NFL spokesman stated that "Plans for future Pro Bowls are not final."[78]Indianapolis Colts PresidentBill Polian has stated his objections to the format, and is in favor of returning the game to after the Super Bowl as in previous years.[79]
The annualPro Bowl had previously been played in Hawaii for 30 consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009.[80] However, the NFL and State of Hawaiʻi officials only agreed to a two-year deal to hold the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium in 2011 and 2012.[80] This gives the option of playing the Pro Bowl in Hawaiʻi on a rotational basis with the mainland, so it both maintains the traditional ties of holding it on the islands and providing accessibility to fans when played in the contiguous 48 states.[80]
Super Bowl XLV, was held atCowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on February 6, 2011, and was the NFL's final event of the 2010 season.
Within each conference, the four division winners and the top twonon-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners areseeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed thewild-card playoffs orwild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received afirst-round bye. In the second round, thedivisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although theSuper Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.[81]
| Seed | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New England Patriots (East winner) | Atlanta Falcons (South winner) |
| 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers (North winner) | Chicago Bears (North winner) |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts (South winner) | Philadelphia Eagles (East winner) |
| 4 | Kansas City Chiefs (West winner) | Seattle Seahawks (West winner) |
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens (wild card) | New Orleans Saints (wild card) |
| 6 | New York Jets (wild card) | Green Bay Packers (wild card) |
| Jan 8 –Lucas Oil Stadium | Jan 16 –Gillette Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | NY Jets | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | NY Jets | 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Indianapolis | 16 | Jan 23 – Heinz Field | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | New England | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan 9 –Arrowhead Stadium | 6 | NY Jets | 19 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 15 –Heinz Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Baltimore | 30 | AFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Baltimore | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Kansas City | 7 | Feb 6 –Cowboys Stadium | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wild Card playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan 9 –Lincoln Financial Field | A2 | Pittsburgh | 25 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 15 –Georgia Dome | ||||||||||||||||||
| N6 | Green Bay | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Green Bay | 21 | Super Bowl XLV | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Green Bay | 48 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 16 | Jan 23 – Soldier Field | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Atlanta | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jan 8 –Qwest Field | 6 | Green Bay | 21 | |||||||||||||||
| Jan 16 –Soldier Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | New Orleans | 36 | NFC Championship | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | 41 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Chicago | 35 | ||||||||||||||||
Starting with Super Bowl XLV, the template of all Super Bowl logos will virtually remain the same. The only differences from year to year will be the stadium backdrop and the Roman numerals for the game as well as colors of the area. For Super Bowl XLV,Cowboys Stadium is featured and "XLV" signifying the forty-fifth Super Bowl game.[82]
The NFL also introduced newLamar Hunt andGeorge Halas trophies for the AFC and NFC Championship games. The trophies were changed from a brown base with an 'A' or 'N' on top of it surrounded by players layered on afrieze upon a wall, to silver trophies in the make of a football.[82] Additionally, both theNFC andAFC logos were revamped and recolored to reflect the current shield adopted two years earlier and with four stars running down the inside on both logos top to bottom from left to right instead of the six surrounding the AFC and three down the side of the NFC logo as each conference has four divisions. In addition, all event and playoff logos have undergone a complete makeover in a new logo system.[83]
Passing
Starts
Turnovers
Special teams
Sacks
Playoff records
| Individual[87] | |
|---|---|
| Scoring leader | David Akers, Philadelphia (143) |
| Touchdowns | Arian Foster, Houston (18 TDs) |
| Most field goals made | Josh Brown, St. Louis andSebastian Janikowski, Oakland (33 FGs) |
| Rushing | Arian Foster, Houston (1,616 yards) |
| Passer rating | Tom Brady, New England (111.0 rating) |
| Passing touchdowns | Tom Brady, New England (36 TDs) |
| Passing yards | Philip Rivers, San Diego (4,710 yards) |
| Pass receptions | Roddy White, Atlanta (115 catches) |
| Pass receiving yards | Brandon Lloyd, Denver (1,448 yards) |
| Combined tackles | Jerod Mayo, New England (175 tackles) |
| Interceptions | Ed Reed, Baltimore (8) |
| Punting | Donnie Jones, St. Louis (4,276 yards, 45.5 average yards) |
| Sacks | DeMarcus Ware, Dallas (15.5) |
The following players were named All-Pro:
| Offense | |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | Tom Brady, New England |
| Running back | Arian Foster, Houston Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville |
| Fullback | Vonta Leach, Houston |
| Wide receiver | Roddy White, Atlanta Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Andre Johnson, Houston |
| Tight end | Jason Witten, Dallas |
| Offensive tackle | Joe Thomas, Cleveland Jake Long, Miami |
| Offensive guard | Jahri Evans, New Orleans Logan Mankins, New England Chris Snee, NY Giants |
| Center | Nick Mangold, NY Jets |
| Defense | |
|---|---|
| Defensive end | Julius Peppers, Chicago John Abraham, Atlanta Justin Tuck, NY Giants |
| Defensive tackle | Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ndamukong Suh, Detroit |
| Outside linebacker | Clay Matthews III, Green Bay James Harrison, Pittsburgh Cameron Wake, Miami |
| Inside linebacker | Jerod Mayo, New England Patrick Willis, San Francisco |
| Cornerback | Darrelle Revis, NY Jets Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Asante Samuel, Philadelphia Devin McCourty, New England |
| Safety | Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Ed Reed, Baltimore |
| Special teams | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Billy Cundiff, Baltimore David Akers, Philadelphia | ||||
| Punter | Shane Lechler, Oakland | ||||
| Kick returner | Devin Hester, Chicago Leon Washington, Seattle | ||||
| Punt returner | Devin Hester, Chicago | ||||
| Special Teams | Eric Weems, Atlanta | ||||
The following were the players of the week during the 2010 season:
| Week | FedEx Air Player of the Week | FedEx Ground Player of the Week | Pepsi Rookie of the Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QBJay Cutler,Chicago Bears | RBArian Foster,Houston Texans | WRDexter McCluster,Kansas City Chiefs |
| 2 | QBMatt Schaub,Houston Texans | RBLeSean McCoy,Philadelphia Eagles | RBJahvid Best,Detroit Lions |
| 3 | QBMichael Vick,Philadelphia Eagles | RBAdrian Peterson,Minnesota Vikings | TETony Moeaki,Kansas City Chiefs |
| 4 | QBKyle Orton,Denver Broncos | RBLaDainian Tomlinson,New York Jets | QBSam Bradford,St. Louis Rams |
| 5 | QBShaun Hill,Detroit Lions | RBMatt Forte,Chicago Bears | QBMax Hall,Arizona Cardinals |
| 6 | QBKevin Kolb,Philadelphia Eagles | RBChris Ivory,New Orleans Saints | RBChris Ivory,New Orleans Saints |
| 7 | QBMatt Ryan,Atlanta Falcons | RBDarren McFadden,Oakland Raiders | WRDez Bryant,Dallas Cowboys |
| 8 | QBJason Campbell,Oakland Raiders | RBJamaal Charles,Kansas City Chiefs | DTNdamukong Suh,Detroit Lions |
| 9 | QBBrett Favre,Minnesota Vikings | RBPeyton Hillis,Cleveland Browns | WRJacoby Ford,Oakland Raiders |
| 10 | QBMichael Vick,Philadelphia Eagles | RBFred Jackson,Buffalo Bills | QBTim Tebow,Denver Broncos |
| 11 | QBAaron Rodgers,Green Bay Packers | RBMaurice Jones-Drew,Jacksonville Jaguars | PRBryan McCann,Dallas Cowboys |
| 12 | QBMatt Cassel,Kansas City Chiefs | RBPeyton Hillis,Cleveland Browns | QBSam Bradford,St. Louis Rams |
| 13 | QBAaron Rodgers,Green Bay Packers | RBMaurice Jones-Drew,Jacksonville Jaguars | LBSean Lee,Dallas Cowboys |
| 14 | QBTom Brady,New England Patriots | RBDarren McFadden,Oakland Raiders | TERob Gronkowski,New England Patriots |
| 15 | QBMichael Vick,Philadelphia Eagles | RBRay Rice,Baltimore Ravens | TEAaron Hernandez,New England Patriots |
| 16 | QBJosh Freeman,Tampa Bay Buccaneers | RBLeGarrette Blount,Tampa Bay Buccaneers | QBTim Tebow,Denver Broncos |
| 17 | QBJosh Freeman,Tampa Bay Buccaneers | RBArian Foster,Houston Texans | TERob Gronkowski,New England Patriots |
| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| AP Defensive Player of the Year | Troy Polamalu | Strong Safety | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| AP Offensive Player of the Year | Tom Brady | Quarterback | New England Patriots |
| AP Coach of the Year | Bill Belichick | Head Coach | New England Patriots |
| AP Offensive Rookie of the Year | Sam Bradford | Quarterback | St. Louis Rams |
| AP Defensive Rookie of the Year | Ndamukong Suh | Defensive tackle | Detroit Lions |
| AP Comeback Player of the Year | Michael Vick | Quarterback | Philadelphia Eagles |
| AP Most Valuable Player | Tom Brady | Quarterback | New England Patriots |
| Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year | Madieu Williams | Free Safety | Minnesota Vikings |
| Pepsi Rookie of the Year | Ndamukong Suh | Defensive tackle | Detroit Lions |
| Super Bowl Most Valuable Player | Aaron Rodgers | Quarterback | Green Bay Packers |
| Team | 2009 Head Coach | 2009 Interim | 2010 Head Coach | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | Dick Jauron | Perry Fewell | Chan Gailey | Fired | Jauron was fired after nine games into the2009 season after compiling a 24–33 (.421) record, including a 3–6 record at the time of his firing, in 3½ years. Fewell, the Bills' defensive coordinator, was the interim head coach for the rest of the season and went 3–4 (.429) in that capacity; he was hired to be defensive coordinator for theNew York Giants January 14. Jauron was hired as defensive backs coach for thePhiladelphia Eagles. Gailey, whom previously served as head coach of theDallas Cowboys from1998–1999 andGeorgia Tech from 2002 to 2007, was last seen in the NFL as the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator beforeTodd Haley fired him prior to the 2009 regular season, and was named the new Bills coach on January 19; he was recommended to the Bills by former Pittsburgh Steelers coachBill Cowher, whom Gailey served under from 1994 to 1997. |
| Washington Redskins | Jim Zorn | Mike Shanahan | Zorn, who had never had any NFL role higher than quarterbacks coach, was initially hired to be offensive coordinator for aJim Fassel regime.[90][91] Two weeks later, Zorn was named head coach.[92] His team went out to a surprising 6–2 start in the first half of2008, but fell dramatically afterwards. In his two seasons as the Redskins coach, Zorn's team had a 12–20 (.375) overall record. He was relieved of his duties following the completion of the 2009 season. On January 5, 2010, Shanahan, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach ofDenver Broncos from 1995 to 2008, was hired as the Redskins' new coach. Zorn was hired as quarterbacks coach for theBaltimore Ravens on January 30, 2010. | ||
| Seattle Seahawks | Jim L. Mora | Pete Carroll | Mora was fired after compiling a 5–11 (.313) record in his only season as head coach as the Seahawks lost the last four games of the 2009 season, being outscored 123–37. Mora wouldn't hold another coaching position until 2012, when he was hired as the head coach ofUCLA and 10 years later, theUConn Huskies, both teams in the collegiate level. Carroll had spent the past eight years as the head coach ofUSC, having won a share of the2003 and the outright2004 national championships; however, many of Carroll's achievements at USC may be stricken from the record books due to improprieties involvingReggie Bush. He had previously been the head coach of theNew York Jets in1994 andNew England Patriots from1997 to1999, with a career 33–31 record. | ||
| Team | 2010 Coach | Interim | Reason for leaving | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | Wade Phillips | Jason Garrett | Fired | Phillips, son of former NFL head coachBum Phillips, was fired on November 8 following a 45–7 Week 9 loss against theGreen Bay Packers. Garrett was their offensive coordinator and head-coach in waiting prior to being promoted. Phillips later was hired by theHouston Texans as their defensive coordinator. Garrett was named the full-time head coach January 6, four days after the season ended. |
| Minnesota Vikings | Brad Childress | Leslie Frazier | Childress was fired on November 22 following a Week 11 loss against theGreen Bay Packers, 31–3. The Vikings entered week 12 with a 3–7 record, second-to-last in the NFC North. Childress also faced controversy by releasingRandy Moss without the approval of owner Zygi Wilf and lost control over the locker room.[93] Frazier was given position full-time prior to the Vikings' regular season finale in Detroit. | |
| Denver Broncos | Josh McDaniels | Eric Studesville | McDaniels was fired on December 5, following a 10–6 loss to theKansas City Chiefs in Week 13. After a 6–0 start in the 2009 season, the Broncos lost 17 of their next 22 games, and became subject to avideotaping scandal.[94] | |
| San Francisco 49ers | Mike Singletary | Jim Tomsula | Singletary was fired on December 26, following a 25–17 loss to theSt. Louis Rams in Week 16, which officially eliminated the 49ers from playoff contention. Heavily favored to win theNFC West, the 49ers instead started the 2010 season with an 0–5 record. Singletary also faced controversy by switching between starting quarterbacksAlex Smith andTroy Smith at least three different times during the season,[95] and unsuccessfully trying to mold the team like the1985 Chicago Bears.[96] |
| Team | Position | 2009 office holder | Reason for leaving | 2010 replacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | GM | Russ Brandon | Promoted | Buddy Nix | Nix was named general manager of the Buffalo Bills on December 31, 2009, after Russ Brandon was promoted to CEO. |
| Cleveland Browns | GM | George Kokinis | Fired | Tom Heckert Jr. | On January 11, 2010, Heckert became the general manager of the Cleveland Browns, filling the position that had been vacant since Kokinis' firing in November 2009. |
| Philadelphia Eagles | GM | Tom Heckert Jr. | Left forBrowns job | Howie Roseman | Roseman was named the Eagles general manager after Tom Heckert Jr. was hired by the Cleveland Browns in the same role. Like his predecessor, Roseman serves mainly in an advisory role to head coach and executive vice president of football operationsAndy Reid, who has the final say in football matters. |
| San Francisco 49ers | GM | Scot McCloughan | Mutual parting of ways | Trent Baalke (de facto) | In March 2010, McCloughan and the 49ers agreed to a mutual termination of his contract, which was later revealed to be due to personal issues with alcoholism and an ongoing divorce. Baalke was chosen to lead the 49ers in the2010 NFL draft, and was given the title of vice president of player personnel a month later. |
| Seattle Seahawks | GM | Tim Ruskell | Fired | John Schneider | The hiring of Schneider as general manager came one week after the hiring of Pete Carroll as head coach and vice president of football operations. |
New Meadowlands Stadium opened in 2010, replacingGiants Stadium as the home of both theNew York Giants and theNew York Jets. The new stadium is located a few hundred feet away from the old building in the parking lot ofMeadowlands Sports Complex inEast Rutherford, New Jersey. Unlike Giants Stadium (in which the Giants were the sole NFL tenant until the 1984 season), the new Meadowlands Stadium will be a 50/50 partnership between both New York teams. The Giants played their first regular season game on September 12 against theCarolina Panthers, while the Jets played the following night against theBaltimore Ravens in the first game of aMonday Night Football doubleheader.
Arrowhead Stadium, home of theKansas City Chiefs since 1972, underwent a two-year $375 million renovation project which was completed and unveiled in July 2010. The stadium hosted the second game of theMonday Night Football opening weekend doubleheader when the Chiefs played theSan Diego Chargers.
M&T Bank Stadium, home of theBaltimore Ravens, installedFieldTurf prior to the 2010 season. The field had been Sportexe Momentum Turf since 2002 and grass before that.
Prior to Week 14, the inflatable roof of theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, home of theMinnesota Vikings, buckled and tore as a result of heavy snowfall inMinneapolis, spilling snow onto Mall of America field and rendering the stadium unusable for the remainder of the Vikings' season.[97] The Vikings' scheduled home game against theNew York Giants was moved to Detroit'sFord Field and postponed to a 7:20 pm EST kickoff on Monday. Though stadium workers were initially "optimistic" that the roof could be repaired before the Vikings faced theChicago Bears on December 20,[98] stadium officials determined that such a repair was not possible in that time frame and the game was moved toTCF Bank Stadium.[99][100]
Two stadiums received newnaming rights: On January 20, LandShark Stadium, the home field of theMiami Dolphins, was renamedSun Life Stadium. The Dolphins' home field, originally named Joe Robbie Stadium from 1987 to 1996, has undergone several name changes in its history, including Pro Player Stadium (1996–2005), Dolphin Stadium (2006–2009), and most recently, LandShark Stadium.[101] On July 27, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, the home field of theJacksonville Jaguars, was renamedEverBank Field.[102]
In the 2010 season, theWashington Redskins were the only team who made a major change to their main uniforms, wearing gold pants with their burgundy jerseys, and except for a game against the Packers, wore them for home games instead of their white jerseys and red pants. The white pants were not abandoned entirely, and were worn together with the burgundy jerseys for the two away games (and one home game) in which their opponent wore white at home. This was made possible with a sleeve modification, in which the broad yellow and white stripes were severely shrunken on an elastic band (same for white jerseys) so that when wearing the gold pants, the team also wore the retro style socks that had a different stripe pattern matching the sleeves of the day, so there is no longer a stripe design conflict.
TheGreen Bay Packers became the first team to officially unveil a third uniform for 2010, athrowback uniform based on their 1929 uniforms when they won their first NFL championship. The throwbacks are as accurate as possible while complying with current NFL guidelines, with a brown modern-shell helmet in place of the leather helmets of 1929, along with blue jerseys and gold circles with the jersey numbers nested within the circles, and brown pants. Like throwbacks worn in recent seasons by theSan Diego Chargers,Dallas Cowboys,Buffalo Bills,New York Jets, and the archrivalMinnesota Vikings, these throwbacks will be a permanent addition to the Packers uniforms, unlike throwbacks worn by theDetroit Lions andPittsburgh Steelers that were intended as one-time deals but made permanent, as well as several one-shot throwbacks in recent years. The new Packers throwbacks replace the previous throwbacks (which comprised the current helmets with the "G" logo and stripes removed, white jerseys with plain green lettering, and tan pants) worn sporadically since the early 2000s (decade).
Also going the throwback route were theChicago Bears, who harkened back to theSid Luckman era with a 1940s set, replacing the pumpkin orange third jerseys, and theIndianapolis Colts, who will wear1955 throwbacks as well. Since the Colts only have two colors, they only have previously worn a throwback jersey once in their history, in2004. The difference between the 2004 throwback and the 2010 throwback is the helmet color, which reverses the 2004 scheme.
TheSt. Louis Rams wore their 1999 Throwback Jerseys in Week 8 against the panthers, reminiscing on the 1995 Panthers vs Rams inaugural home game.
TheArizona Cardinals, who were the only team to not wear a third jersey in any form since the NFL allowed third jerseys in2002, unveiled a black third jersey to be worn in 2010.
ThePhiladelphia Eagles have adopted their1960 championship uniforms that were worn September 12 against the Packers, the team they beat to win their last championship in celebration of the 50th anniversary of that game.
TheTennessee Titans returned to using navy blue jerseys as their third jersey, after a one-year hiatus in which they wore light blue Houston Oilers throwback jerseys in celebration of the 50th anniversary of theAmerican Football League, but did not wear them for any game in 2010.
The Pittsburgh Steelers wore their throwbacks against theCleveland Browns on October 18 and against the New England Patriots on November 14.[103]
TheSeattle Seahawks have retired the neon green uniform worn for one game in2009 against Chicago, which was in turn an offshoot from anApril Fools' Day joke written about by Uni Watch founder Paul Lukas that year.[104]
This was the fifth season under thetelevision contracts with the league's television partners:CBS (all AFC Sunday afternoon away games and oneThanksgiving game),Fox (all NFC Sunday afternoon away games and one Thanksgiving game),NBC (17 Sunday night games and the kickoff game),ESPN (17 Monday night games over sixteen weeks),NFL Network (eight late-season games on Thursday and Saturday nights, including one Thanksgiving game), andDirecTV'sNFL Sunday Ticket package. These contracts ran through at least 2013.
Joe Theismann joinedBob Papa andMatt Millen in a three-man booth forNFL Network, whileKeith Olbermann left his position as co-host of NBC'sFootball Night in America.
In national radio, this is the second year onWestwood One's most recent contract extension. The network also agreed to a four-year extension on December 23, 2010.
Nielsen Ratings for the fall 2010 television season have shown viewership increases of up to 10 percent for most of the NFL's broadcast partners; eighteen of the twenty most watched television broadcasts of the season have so far been NFL games.[105]
