The Monday after the final day of the NFL regular season is usually in a dramatic mood. Franchises that miss the postseason will decide on a head coach and general manager. This event, when the coaching merry-go-round begins to spin, is called “Black Monday.”
More decision-makers will be retained rather than fired Monday, as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was the only coach handed walking papers. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots fired head coach Jerrod Mayo immediately after leading the team to a victory over the Buffalo Bills, so he didn’t wait until Monday to step down.
Who were the winners and losers on Monday? Let’s take a look.
Winner: Any head coaching candidate.
If you haven’t already received a request for an interview with the New York Jets, it’s probably been mailed to you. So far, the Jets have interviewed Mike Vrabel and Ron Rivera for the head coaching position, but have reportedly also interviewed Joe Brady, Vance Joseph, Bobby Slowik, Aaron Glenn, He has requests/interest in Brian Flores, Brian Gries, Rex Ryan, and Arthur Smith. , Josh McCown and Matt Nagy.
It looks like Woody Johnson and company intend to talk to everyone. So if you’re a head coach in waiting, you’ll have a chance to impress New York’s search committee. But one coach we didn’t make the list is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Some Indy fans were hoping for a change after a disappointing 8-9 season. While not everyone was picketing outside team headquarters calling for head coach Shane Steichen to be fired, many expected general manager Chris Ballard to resign. Dew. Instead, Jim Irsay released a statement Sunday night saying he still believes in the general manager.
Since taking over as Colts GM in 2017, Ballard’s team has won just one playoff game and never won in the AFC South. To put that in perspective, rivals the Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans have all won at least two division titles since Ballard took over.
Winner: Brian Daboll and Joe Sean
The 2024 season appeared to be a turning point for the New York Giants. After Saquon Barkley joined the Philadelphia Eagles and allowed 2,000 yards rushing, the Giants went 3-14 and parted ways with quarterback Daniel Jones midway through the year. You might think Giants owner John Mara would be ready to do some housecleaning, but instead, the general manager and former NFL Coach of the Year decided to be patient. Daboll and Shane can breathe a sigh of relief, but there’s no question this team needs to improve.
Loser: New York Giants fans
Daboll and Shane are winners, but those following the Giants are losers. Fans were certainly hoping for fundamental changes after a disastrous campaign, and it’s natural to question whether the current administration can build a culture of success. Giants legend Tiki Barber recently warned fans Don’t get attached to who the next quarterback will be. That’s because young quarterbacks can’t grow in bad situations.
Winner: Alabama Football
How did the University of Alabama become the winner of the NFL’s “Black Monday”? Well, the future offensive coordinator might have been fired today. The Seattle Seahawks have parted ways with offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after just one season. His unit finished 14th in total offense, but 18th in points per game and 28th in rushing.
Grubb had success with current Alabama head coach Karen DeBoer during his time at the University of Washington, and the Huskies reached the College Football Playoff national championship game with Michael Penix Jr. and Roma Odunzeh. Grubb, along with DeBoer, has coached at four schools. Can they do it five times?
Loser: Jacksonville Jaguars fans
The Jaguars made the understandable decision to part ways with Doug Pederson, who had a 22-29 record in three seasons. However, the surprise was that the Jaguars retained general manager Trent Baalke.
Baalke has been the Jaguars’ GM since 2021, but the team has only reached the playoffs and won one postseason game. It would be understandable if Jacksonville decided to part ways with Baalke (even if the fan base doesn’t like it), but the problem with keeping him is that the open Jaguars job becomes less attractive. The top players on the coaching merry-go-round, like Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel, will want to be a perfect fit with the general manager. Shad Khan is looking to change the power structure a bit with a new head coach reporting to him in Baalke’s place, but will it really help?
Winner: Mike McCarthy
Coming into this season, we saw the Dallas Cowboys’ head coach as effectively “pre-fired.” McCarthy only had one year left on his contract, and his team didn’t do much in free agency. But even after a 7-10 season, Jerry Jones Not ready to make a decision on McCarthy’s future.
If McCarthy isn’t welcome back to Dallas, perhaps he could coach Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. On Monday, the Bears requested permission to interview McCarthy and are awaiting the Cowboys’ response to their request, according to ESPN. The interview request doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does indicate some interest if McCarthy is allowed to walk.
Loser: Drama “Black Monday”
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who woke up this morning and expected to check my phone and find the NFL world in full swing. I even had a dream where I received a notification that said, “The Titans just cleaned house!” “The Las Vegas Raiders are starting over and opening the door to Deion Sanders!” All in all, Monday was underwhelming.
It’s never nice to root for people to lose their jobs, but historically this was a dramatic day. This year has been a year to forget.
