At least five NFL teams are currently searching for new head coaches after Black Monday axes fell in Jacksonville and slightly earlier in New England, while another unemployment sword hung in Dallas.
In the NFL’s gloomy yearly practice of selecting fall men, the Jacksonville Jaguars fired Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson on Monday after a dismal 2024 regular season that ended on Sunday night.
Just moments after finishing their 4-13 season, the New England Patriots made a bold move on Black Monday by firing rookie head coach Mayo on Sunday.
By late Monday afternoon, it remained unclear if Mike McCarthy would be fired by the Dallas Cowboys following their poor 7-10 campaign.
The New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and New York Jets were already using temporary coaches and are anticipated to begin the process of finding long-term replacements this week.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft told reporters Monday, “This whole situation is on me,” in reference to Mayo’s dismissal. “Because I put Jerod in an unworkable scenario, I feel awful for him. I am confident that he has all the resources necessary to succeed in this league as a head coach. All he needed was more time before accepting the position.
Pederson went 9-8 in 2022 and 2023 before finishing his three-year stint at Jacksonville with a terrible 4-13 campaign.
Once the brilliant field general who guided the Philadelphia Eagles to the 2018 Super Bowl championship, Pederson has had a lengthy decline in popularity.
His call of the “Philly Special,” a fourth-and-goal trick play that helped Philadelphia defeat the New England Patriots in the championship game, will always be remembered.
In an explanation of his decision to bench Peterson, Jags owner Shad Khankept GM Trent Baalke said, “It’s where we need the most change, is really on the coaching side, and that’s where we’re starting.”
“Clearly, we weren’t doing well as the season went on. Like yesterday (a 26-23 overtime loss to Indianapolis), we were close, but not close enough to win,” Khan stated on Monday. “I just came to the conclusion, what we were doing was not working, a change in direction was needed.”
The coach Antonio Pierce, who talked extensively on Monday about his off-season plans and maintaining his staff, seems to be sticking with the 4-13 Las Vegas Raiders.He remains the Silver & Black’s head coach.
Pierce praised the players and supporters for their support, saying, “I haven’t been told anything different.”
The coach, 46, claimed to have a clear understanding of the task at hand.
“We got to win more games, and that’s what everybody expects,” Pierce stated.
Through late Monday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys’ position remained uncertain. Under McCarthy’s leadership, Dallas is 49-35. However, in his five years as manager, the team that bills itself as “America’s Team” has only managed one postseason victory.
The Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl in 29 seasons, but they’re still one of the most talked-about and followed teams. On January 28, 1996, in the midst of Bill Clinton’s two terms in the White House, Dallas won the championship.
Technically, McCarthy’s contract doesn’t expire until January 14; however, the Cowboys have a history of delaying coaching terminations.
Jason Garrett, the McCarthy successor, coached his final Dallas game on December 29, 2019, but he wasn’t officially fired until January 5, 2020.
McCarthy may not be able to play in 2025 if he is fired too soon since teams with vacancies may hire other applicants.
Despite appearing to already be on a short leash for 2025, the New York Giants announced that coach Brian Daboll would remain for his fourth season, ending the Black Monday carousel.
This season, the Giants finished 3-14, and Daboll’s three-year record is 18-32-1 (.363). The squad will hold the third pick in the next draft and established a franchise record for losses this season.
While their former star running back, Saquon Barkley, flourished with division-winning Philadelphia, Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen both made it through a very trying season.
Cameras from HBO’s behind-the-scenes series “Hard Knocks,” which showed co-owner John Mara describing how much it stung to lose Barkley, served as a daily reminder of Barkley to Giants fans.
In a startlingly prescient moment during contract negotiations with Barkley, Mara told Schoen, “I’ll have a hard time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that.” He is by far our most popular player, as I have stated, simply by being around enough players.
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