NFL
Black Monday: These are the teams that may fire their head coach in the next few days
The Patriots kicked off the hiring and firing with the departure of Jerod Mayo. Will the Cowboys make another coaching change?
Every year, the day following the conclusion of the NFL regular season is christened ‘Black Monday’ with a burst of coaching casualties usually in the pipeline. Once the season has officially ended for the 18 teams without postseason commitments the hiring and firing can begin in earnest.
The first to go was New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, who departs after just one year. Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft issued a statement on Sunday night saying that the team would part ways with Mayo in a bid to “expedite our return to championship contention”.
He continued: “Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped.”
Things were a little different this year with a number of head coaches moved on before the regular season had finished, meaning more vacancies than usual. The Chicago Bears (Matt Eberflus), New Orleans Saints (Dennis Allen), New York Jets and (Robert Saleh) all parted ways with their coach during the season and are yet to fill the vacancy.
Will the Cowboys fire Mike McCarthy?
The Dallas Cowboys slumped to a 7-10 record on the season with a 23-19 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday. The team’s struggles this year have been well documented but there remains hope that head coach Mike McCarthy can restore the franchise to championship-winning form.
Speaking after the Week 18 loss, McCarthy made clear that he “absolutely” wants to remain as head coach for the 2025 season. Cowboys owners Jerry Jones, however, was less clear about his views on McCarthy’s future as the coach finds himself out of contract after five years at the helm.
“Mike’s one of the best coaches that I think there is. He was made to coach here. He’s done absolutely nothing to diminish my opinion of him as a coach,” Jones said on Sunday.
“I don’t know that I am considering making a change,” he continued, when asked whether McCarthy’s expiring contract would be extended. “That’s what the next few days and weeks are about now.”
Is Antonio Pierce staying with the Raiders?
A bleak 2024 campaign for the Las Vegas Raiders ended on Sunday with a 4-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Antonio Pierce has been under pressure for much of the year in his first season as an NFL permanent head coach.
The Raiders' poor form has been a cause of frustration for fans and many will want to move on from the 46-year-old. However NFL Insider Mike Garafolo has revealed that Pierce’s position is more secure than had been previously reported.
”I know a lot of folks think it’s a foregone conclusion that [the Raiders] are going to make a coaching change, but those folks are on the outside,” Garafolo revealed on Sunday. ”On the inside of the building it’s sounds like there’s a lot of optimism that Antonio Pierce will continue as the head coach of the Raiders."
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