The end of the regular season tends to be focused on the excitement of the playoffs and the offseason. Either teams are turning their attention to free agency and the draft, or trying to make the Super Bowl.
The regular season ends with 14 games on Sunday in Week 18. The day after is referred to as “Black Monday.” This is not only when players on teams that didn’t make the playoffs clean out their lockers, but it is also when a number of head coaches are typically fired.
Robert Saleh (Jets), Dennis Allen (Saints) and Matt Eberflus (Bears) were all fired in the middle of the season. Several other head coaches are on a hot seat and likely to be fired heading into the offseason. The day after the regular season isn’t the only time coaches can be fired, obviously, but it allows franchises the maximum amount of time to conduct a head coaching search.
The Sporting News tracks the coach firings of the 2024-2025 NFL season and on Black Monday.
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NFL coaches fired in 2024-2025
Matt Eberflus
Date: Nov. 29
The Bears fired Eberflus after a 4-8 start to the 2024 season. He lasted less than three years with the team, after failing to help the franchise turn around.
Eberflus was kept as Chicago pivoted away from Justin Fields and transitioned to Caleb Williams. The former Heisman winner showed flashes as a rookie, but they were few and far between with the way the offense was run.
Eberflus seemed to always make the wrong choice when coaching. The Bears now have a chance to hire someone who can highlight Williams in the offense and try to get Chicago back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
MORE: Why the Bears fired Matt Eberflus
Dennis Allen
Date: Nov. 4
Allen was the latest victim of the Carolina Reaper. This affectionate nickname has been given to Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. He hasn’t had much success early in his professional career, but Young leading improbable wins led to several coaches losing their jobs with Allen being the most recent.
Allen was fired after a 2-7 start to the season. New Orleans was in win-now mode, but largely because of its massive player contracts that will restrict financial flexibility.
Allen had been the head coach for two years prior to his firing. He was hand-picked to take over by former head coach Sean Payton before he retired from New Orleans. This was the second time Allen was fired in his career, the last being in 2014 by the Raiders. Ironically, quarterback Derek Carr was a member of both teams.
MORE: Why the Saints fired Dennis Allen
Robert Saleh
Date: Oct. 8
Saleh was the first head coach to be fired this season. The Jets quickly axed him after they began 2-3. The team needed to try something to create a spark, but it didn’t work out in their favor. New York went into Week 18 with a 4-12 record, going 2-9 after firing Saleh. The move also was the first in a series that made it seem like quarterback Aaron Rodgers was controlling the team and pointing the fault of the struggles to everyone other than himself.
Saleh was never able to elevate his team, but it remains to be seen how much fault he deserves. He didn’t have a healthy franchise quarterback until this year and was only given five games with an over-the-hill Rodgers.
Saleh finished 20-36 during his New York tenure.
MORE: Why the Jets fired Robert Saleh
NFL coaches on the hot seat
Doug Pederson, Jaguars
Pederson is likely going to be fired by the Jaguars. He is not the coach that won the Super Bowl with the Eagles and Jacksonville’s roster is in a weird place.
Questions are swirling around starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. There is a chance that the Jags will convince Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney to take over if there is an opening, and it would reunite him with Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.
Regardless, Pederson and Jacksonville went 4-12 ahead of the final game of the regular season. There were questions about when he would be fired after struggles in the regular season, but he made it through the year.
Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
McCarthy has the best track record of any of the coaches on a hot seat. He had three straight 12-5 seasons ahead of 2024, the biggest knock being that Dallas couldn’t build any momentum in the playoffs and kept losing early.
The Cowboys had high expectations for 2024 but had underwhelming early season results despite monster contract extensions to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
McCarthy coached a little too well and Dallas was 7-9 heading into the final week of the season. The Cowboys didn’t tank for a good draft pick and ended up finishing the season in the middle of the pack. McCarthy’s contract is up at the end of the year, so it wouldn’t be an outright firing, but there is a chance team owner Jerry Jones doesn’t bring him back.
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Shane Steichen, Colts
Steichen is only in his second year coaching the Colts. Indianapolis was a fringe playoff team, narrowly missing out on the postseason. We saw times when dual-threat quarterback Anthony Richardson was great and other times when he wasn’t.
There was one week where Richardson asked off the field and took himself out of the game for a breather. This was received horribly and was ultimately a reflection on the player and the coaching staff.
The AFC South was very winnable this season, but Indianapolis fell short. The Colts likely have a GM problem on their hands too, but for now, they can try to make a change by getting rid of Steichen and starting over with a new coach to try and elevate Richardson and the offense.
Brian Callahan, Titans
Callahan is only in his first year coaching so he likely won’t be fired. But if the Titans want to draft a quarterback of the future with the No. 2 pick, it would make sense to pair him with a coach they feel can elevate their players. It was a small sample size but Callahan couldn’t get much out of Will Levis or Mason Rudolph. He likely deserves another shot but could be let go on Black Monday.
Brian Daboll, Giants
Daboll looked like he was the answer for the Giants when he took them to a 9-7-1 season in his first year at the helm. New York made the playoffs but lost to the Eagles in the Divisional Round. 2023 was filled with injuries on offense to Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, and the team finished 6-11.
After the franchise decided to let Barkley walk, the Giants had a horrid season, cutting Jones and heading into the final week with a 3-13 record.
New York hopes for a quick rebuild, but the franchise doesn’t feel just a quarterback away from relevance. If the Giants are looking at a short rebuild anyway, Daboll could be out as a new coach takes over with a new quarterback.
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