The Bills’ Sean McDermott has become the ninth head coach to be removed from his job this season.
What is the NFL record for head coaches fired in a single season?
Firing season is in full flow in the NFL, with the Bills’ Sean McDermott the latest head coach to bite the dust. The 51-year-old has paid the price for failing to take Bills to the Super Bowl, taking the total number of firings in the 2025 season to nine, tying the league’s all-time record.
Before McDermott, Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel had been the latest coach to be fired. With the seven firings listed below and the last two, the total number reaches nine NFL head coaches who have been axed this season.
Black Monday claimed five victims
On Black Monday, the first day following the end of the regular season, five coaches were relieved of their duties after their teams’ premature ends to the season:
- Baltimore Ravens: John Harbaugh
- Arizona Cardinals: Jonathan Gannon
- Las Vegas Raiders: Pete Carroll
- Cleveland Browns: Kevin Stefanski
- Atlanta Falcons: Raheem Morris
Additionally, two head coaches were fired midway through the regular season. Brian Callahan lost his job in October after the Tennessee Titans started 1-5 for a second year running. Brian Daboll, under pressure following the Giants’ 3-14 season in 2024, was next to go in November after New York’s 2-8 start to this campaign.
Bills fired HC Sean McDermott, per source. pic.twitter.com/snnTXfzJaD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2026
This season ties the highest totals since the NFL merger
Nine head coaches being fired is tied for the highest number since the NFL merged with the American Football League and formed the American Football Conference and National Football Conference in 1970.
That is according to statistics from the Hearst Television Data Team, which defined a “firing” as “a team announcing the termination or dismissal of their head coach before his contract ends,” or “not having his contract extended.”
The numbers show that nine head coaches were fired in two separate seasons: 1977 and 2008.
The only two seasons matching 2025’s numbers
1977
- George Allen (Washington Redskins)
- Hank Stram (New Orleans Saints)
- Forrest Gregg (Cleveland Browns)
- Chuck Knox (Los Angeles Rams)
- Tommy Hudspeth (Detroit Lions)
- Paul Wiggin (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Jim Ringo (Buffalo Bills)
- Ken Meyer (San Francisco 49ers)
- Don Coryell (Arizona Cardinals)
2008
- Mike Shanahan (Denver Broncos)
- Rod Marinelli (Detroit Lions)
- Herm Edwards (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Romeo Crennel (Cleveland Browns)
- Lane Kiffin (Las Vegas Raiders)
- Scott Linehan (Los Angeles Rams)
- Mike Nolan (San Francisco 49ers)
- Eric Mangini (New York Giants)
At the other end of the spectrum, no head coaches were fired at all in 1987, while only one was removed from his post in 1973, Bill Peterson of the Titans, and 2004, the 49ers’ Dennis Erickson.
The data also shows that at least five head coaches have been fired each season since 2015.
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