As the NFL regular season comes to a close, we’re just one day away from Black Monday, the day when several NFL teams will make the decision to part ways with their coaches.
Three teams didn’t even wait until the conclusion of the season to move in a different direction, and a fourth team fired its coach just hours after their last game on Sunday (jeez, Patriots).
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Here’s what teams you should keep an eye on as we look ahead to Black Monday:
Midseason firings
New York Jets: The Jets fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8 after a 2-3 start to the season. Saleh amassed a 20-36 record in his four seasons as head coach of the Jets, with his best finish in the AFC East division being third place in 2023.
New Orleans Saints: The Saints fired Dennis Allen on Nov. 4 after the team fell to 2-7. After starting the 2024 season with a 2-0 record, the Saints dropped their next seven games. Allen finished his Saints tenure with an 18-25 overall record.
Chicago Bears: The Bears fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29, when the team dropped to a 4-8 record after losing its sixth consecutive game. In his three seasons with the Bears, he tallied a 14-32 record.
Fired after Week 18
New England Patriots: The Patriots parted ways with head coach Jerrod Mayo after just one season. Mayo finished his lone campaign with a 4-13 record, which included two separate six-game losing streaks. Ironically, the most disastrous part of this season might have been a win, as the team’s 23-16 victory in Week 18 made them lose the rights to the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They’re now slated to pick fourth overall.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Patience is quickly wearing thin with Doug Pederson, who has compiled a 22-29 record in three seasons in Jacksonville. After winning a playoff game in 2022, the Jags started the 2023 season with an 8-3 record. However, the wheels completely fell off after that, and they dropped six of their last seven games and missed the playoffs. An ugly 4-13 campaign in 2024 has likely sealed the former Super Bowl champion coach’s fate (UPDATE: On Monday, Pederson’s firing was announced).
Hot seats, ranked from lowest-to-highest in job security
New York Giants: Like Pederson, Giants’ head coach Brian Daboll has floundered after a strong first season in 2022. After leading the Giants to a playoff appearance and winning AP NFL Head Coach of the Year in 2022, he has massively underperformed to that standard over the past two seasons. In three years, he has a combined 18-31-1 record, and the Giants seem to be further away from contention than they were before he was brought on.
Las Vegas Raiders: Following a mid-season firing of then-head coach Josh McDaniels during the 2023 season, Antonio Pierce stepped into the interim role and rallied the locker room, prompting the Raiders to make him their new head coach going forward. After a full season at the helm, though, it seems like Pierce might not be the man for the job after all. The Raiders finished dead-last in the AFC West with a 4-13 record in 2024, watching the other three teams in their division all clinch playoff berths.
Dallas Cowboys: The Mike McCarthy experiment might have finally run its course for America’s Team. McCarthy’s numbers look better than many of the other coaches in these conversations, as he boasts a 49-35 regular season record in five seasons with Dallas. However, he managed to win just one combined playoff game in three consecutive 12-5 seasons. Following an injury-riddled 7-10 campaign in 2024, we could see Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones look in a different direction.
Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals have had a rough go-at-it in their two seasons under head coach Jonathan Gannon. After going 4-13 in 2023, things seemed to be moving in the right direction when the team started 6-4 in 2024. After reaching that record, Arizona suffered a 1-5 skid and didn’t come close to making the playoffs. During a season where both the 49ers and Seahawks underperformed in the NFC West, Cardinals fans were surely disappointed to see their team fail to capitalize.
It’s only been a year, but it’s not looking good
Tennessee Titans: The Titans had a dreadful 2024 season under first-year head coach Brian Callihan, earning the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft with a 3-14 record. Even after such a rough year, it’s unusual to see a team fire a coach after just one campaign. That being said, the Patriots just fired Mayo after one season, so it isn’t unheard of.
Coach is safe for 2025
Indianapolis Colts: In his two seasons with the Colts, Shane Steichen has compiled a 17-17 coaching record and narrowly missed the playoffs twice. Although his tenure hasn’t been disastrous by any stretch, he was brought in as an offensive guru, and his system has yet to produce with quarterback Anthony Richardson. Through two seasons marred by injuries and inconsistent play, Richardson’s obvious athletic potential has yet to yield strong results on the field. Many of the concerns NFL scouts had during Richardson’s college career are still lingering (UPDATE: Colts owner Jim Irsay announced on X that both Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard would be retained for the 2025 season).
Miami Dolphins: Mike McDaniel’s three seasons leading the Dolphins have been interesting to say the least. Initially, he was seen as an innovative, pro-player coach whose offenses used speed and motion to create chunk plays for emerging quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. He made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, but his Dolphins ran out of steam down the stretch and didn’t advance past the wild-card round in either campaign. After a disappointing 8-9 season in 2024 kept Miami out of the postseason, there was speculation on McDaniel’s future with the team. However, Dolphins’ owner Stephen Ross announced on X that both McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier would be back next season.