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The Monday following the final Sunday of the NFL regular season is known as Black Monday. It is the day when under-performing head coaches are dismissed by some NFL teams.
Two NFL head coaches had already been fired during the regular season.
Tennessee parted ways with Brian Callahan on October 14 after the Titans started 1-5.
The New York Giants booted Brian Daboll a month later after the G-men dropped to 2-8.
That made two “Brians” fired within one month of each other! Go figure.
Five additional NFL head coaches have been added to that list already this week
There are now seven head coaching vacancies out of the 32 NFL franchises. That’s nearly 22% of the league’s teams.
The other unlucky coaches fired this week have been:
Pete Carroll – Las Vegas Raiders (3-14)
Long-time former Seattle Seahawks coach was sent packing after just one year in Las Vegas on Monday. The 74-year old Pete Carroll will be credited with getting the lowly Raiders the first pick in next spring’s NFL draft with the team’s last place finish.
Jonathan Gannon – Arizona Cardinals (3-14)
The former coach of the lowly Cardinals finished on a nine-game losing streak. Gannon’s three year stay in Phoenix featured a woeful 15-36 record and no playoff appearances. No surprise here.
Kevin Stefanski – Cleveland Browns (5-12)
Six years was long enough for the Browns’ management to decide to move along from Stefanski. He did take Cleveland to a couple of playoff appearances, though. Don’t be surprised if Kevin Stefanski gets another head coaching gig soon.
Raheem Morris – Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
This was a surprising move as the Falcons finished on a four-game winning streak after beating New Orleans on Sunday. Atlanta franchise owner Arthur Blank (CEO of Home Depot) may be planning to bring former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan onboard soon as a team executive. Ryan would then hire a new coaching staff. Raheem Morris is likely to land a defensive coordinator position with another NFL team quickly.
John Harbaugh – Baltimore Ravens (8-9)
Perhaps the most shocking coaching move happened today (Tuesday) as the Ravens sent 18-year veteran head coach John Harbaugh to the showers.
The 64-year old Harbaugh took Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory in the 2012 season and led his team into the playoffs 12 out of 18 years (including three of the past four). He will quickly land another head coaching job – assuming he is interested in any of the current openings.
Two other NFL head coaches are hanging on by a thread
Aaron Glenn – New York Jets (3-14)
The woeful Jets appear to be sticking with rookie head coach Aaron Glenn for at least one more season. Glenn (a former New Orleans Saints cornerback) received a lucrative multi-year contract last January and would be due a hefty contract buyout if dismissed after just one year with the team.
Mike McDaniel – Miami Dolphins (7-10)
Four years at the helm of Miami have seen Coach McDaniel’s teams finish with two playoff appearances but also two disappointing seasons. His overall record is 35-33 with the Dolphins. McDaniel’s contract is reportedly about $4 million annually. The relatively thrifty contract of Mike McDaniel makes him slightly less likely to get the ax – at least for another year.
Is it fair to fire a head coach without taking a hard look at the executive suite and the players signed to play for that team, too?
NFL franchises are now doling out an average of $212 million per season to the 53 active players. That is exactly $4 million per player.
Yes, some of the NFL’s top quarterbacks make ten times as much, but they can also propel a team into the Super Bowl.
Football at every level still remains a team game. All 22 starting players (11 on offense and 11 on defense) must contribute to overall team success (or the lack thereof).
It is more convenient to blame a team’s under-performance on the head coach and send him packing after one or more disappointing seasons.
One report estimated that the average NFL head coach was earning about $6.5 million in 2025.
Each NFL team must make decisions about the players who should be drafted and others to be signed as free agents. That responsibility falls on the executive management group.
Franchise owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and General Manager Mickey Loomis of the New Orleans Saints have been discussed here regularly as being a primary reason for the recent decline of both franchises.
We will discuss NFL management issues in an upcoming report.
Let’s identify the most overpaid underachivers playing for every NFL team which just fired its head coach!
Las Vegas Raiders (3-14) – Quarterback Geno Smith
Now in his 13th NFL season, the former second round draft pick has bounced around the league. He is on team #5 in Las Vegas. The Raiders paid Smith $37 ½ million this season for 19 touchdown passes and a league-leading 17 interceptions. That’s a very poor investment by this wayward NFL franchise. The Raiders fired their coach (Pete Carroll) and will likely select a new quarterback with the #1 pick in next spring’s NFL draft.
Football fans in Oakland must be enjoying watching the Raiders’ collapse in Vegas after the team abandoned the Bay Area several years ago.
New York Jets (3-14) – Quarterback Justin Fields
Justin Fields signed a 2-year $40 million contract (with $30 million guaranteed) beginning in 2025. Fields started the season as the team’s #1 quarterback and led them to an 0-7 start. He was eventually benched in favor of 36-year old career back-up Tyrod Taylor. The former first round draft pick of the Chicago Bears is playing on his third team in just five NFL seasons. Gotham City’s J-E-T-S now own the second pick in the spring NFL draft and are looking for (surprise!) a new quarterback.
Arizona Cardinals (3-14) – Quarterback Kyler Murray
Murray made $46 million this season. That’s 22% of the 53-man Arizona Cardinals’ entire payroll. The former 2018 Heisman Trophy winner with the Oklahoma Sooners was selected first overall in 2019 by the Cardinals. Kyler Murray has taken Arizona to the playoffs just once (2021) in six seasons. However, Murray has now outlasted two coaches (Kliff Kingsbury and Jonathan Gannon). The quarterback may be traded soon – assuming another team will pick-up the tab for his hefty contract. Like Las Vegas and the Jets, the Cardinals might look to select yet another quarterback with the third overall pick in next spring’s draft.
Cleveland Browns (5-12) – Quarterback Deshaun Watson
The Houston Texans wisely traded Watson to the Cleveland Browns in March, 2022. Watson quickly signed a 5-year $230 million contract (all money guaranteed regardless of how much he plays). The oft-injured Deshaun Watson has played just 19 games for the Browns in the first three years of his contract. The Browns are expected to give the $46 million dollar man one more try in 2026 assuming he recovers from his latest (Achilles) injury.
Miami Dolphins (7-10) – Tie – Wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Quarterback Tua Tagovialoa
This not-so-Dynamic Duo has been a big part of Miami’s demise this season. The Dolphins paid an incredible $83 million (32% of the team’s payroll) to these two under-performing players in 2025. Tua passed for 20 touchdowns but finished with 15 interceptions this season. Tyreek Hill (who also has a history of off-the-field personal issues) played in just four games for Miami before injuring his knee. One or both of these players may end-up playing for another team next season.
Atlanta Falcons (8-9) – Quarterback Kirk Cousins
Well-paid and well-traveled 14-year veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins started the 2025 season in Atlanta as the NFL’s highest paid back-up. Second year QB Michael Penix, Jr. was injured in mid-season, so Cousins played in eight games for Atlanta for his $45 million annual paycheck. That was a cool $5.6 million per game! Since the Falcons have now fired their head coach, expect Kirk Cousins and his bloated contract to be playing for his fourth NFL team beginning next season.
Baltimore Ravens (8-9) – Quarterback Lamar Jackson
Two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson signed a 5-year $260 million contract two years ago with the Ravens. His salary accounted for 23% of the Ravens’ team salary in 2025. Jackson is obviously talented but has shown a tendency to fumble or toss interceptions during the playoffs. The firing of Jackson’s only professional coach (John Harbaugh) may signal that the team is also willing to listen to trade offers for Lamar Jackson soon.