No one was surprised that Brandon Staley was let go from his position as Los Angeles Chargers head coach. Along with longtime general manager Tom Telesco, who was also fired, the NFL now has three head coaching openings: the Las Vegas Raiders, who defeated the Bolts on Thursday night, and the Carolina Panthers, who are trying to establish themselves as contenders.
The Chargers were blatantly spiraling out of control with Justin Herbert sidelined for the entire campaign. A 5–9 start in 2023 was not going to be enough after the better part of three years as a fringe playoff team. I feel so bad for Dean Spanos, the owner of the Chargers, having to spend every last penny of Staley’s meager head-coaching contract. Thank goodness, the agony is now officially over.
Only five head coaching positions were open during the previous offseason, and the godawful monstrosity known as the Panthers was one of them. About a quarter of the league’s coaches usually get whacked on or around Black Monday. I promise you that by the time the NFL Playoffs arrive, there will be more than three open positions. Regarding potential job openings, I have some ideas.
These are the five teams that, as of right now, seem most likely to fire their head coach following this season.
5. Bill Belichick may mutually part ways with the New England Patriots
Though Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots are 3-10 on the season and not looking good, I wouldn’t bet on this happening. Though I can live with the idea of Belichick coaching in the Senior Bowl, this would be the ideal opportunity for The Krafts to replace their legendary head coach with a younger, more upbeat person. Draft the next Drew Bledsoe; the Patriots are going to be bad, like the St. Louis Stallions.
Assuming the Chicago Bears cut Justin Fields this offseason, the Patriots are well-positioned to select the second quarterback available. After all, they have the Carolina Panthers’ selection. Thus, with a great chance to select either Drake Maye from UCLA or Caleb Williams from USC in the draft,
Yes, it will hurt more than ripping off a band-aid, but coaching malpractice of this kind on the offensive end of the ball cannot continue in New England. To be honest, I don’t think the Patriots have the balls to let Belichick go, but they will definitely push him to accept the offer of a golden parachute and retire. Parting ways with each other feels like a very real possibility.
Belichick is firmly in his seventies, even though he may really want to develop Williams or Maye.
4. Arthur Smith is running out of friends and believers across Atlanta
I find it difficult to imagine owner Arthur Blank firing mediocre head coach Arthur Smith after this season, barring some sort of catastrophe involving the Atlanta Falcons. The same old Doug and Carrie Song, complete with the death-by-earworm refrain of Arthur, Arthur, Arthur, Arthur!, has been Smith’s style. Giving Smith one more season to get the quarterback position right is the main goal here. This is something he must do.
The Dirty Birds suffered yet another massive, humiliating setback last week when they lost at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are in the same division. The Falcons haven’t participated in the NFC Playoffs since 2017 and haven’t won the NFC South since 2016. Atlanta’s special teams are top-notch, and their defense is formidable. Although the offensive line is injured, there are too many weapons for this ill-prepared team.
In the end, I believe Smith will remain as long as the Falcons players practice what they preach. That might come as terrible news to the increasingly infuriating din that reverberates from the barely attended legions of one Dirty Bird Nation at The Benz every Sunday in the fall. Smith should have at least another season, but this team cannot play like a 7–10 club once more. The division should be led by Atlanta.
This can’t go on, whether it’s due to bad play from Desmond Ridder or bad play-calling from Smith.
3. Matt Eberflus has been better than last year, but last year was horrific
Even though Matt Eberflus looked like a dead man walking earlier in the season, the Chicago Bears have demonstrated in his second season in charge that they are not going down without a fight. Even though they are currently just 5-8 for the season, this was the NFL’s worst team just a year prior. They have exceptional leverage because they acquired the first-round pick of the Carolina Panthers via the Bryce Young trade.
Regretfully, I don’t think the Bears’ choice to have Ryan as general manager and Matt as head coach will ultimately be beneficial to them. We might have to wait out this season, but I can’t confidently predict that the Bears will make enough progress to win the division next year. It is extremely alluring to consider Caleb Williams as the first overall pick in the draft.
Because of the Panthers’ ineptitude under relatively new owner David Tepper, the question is not what the Bears will do with the first overall pick, but rather, who will be making the decisions for them. I wouldn’t agree with Ryan Poles’ decision to keep his job over Eberflus, but that’s how things work out. In my opinion, there is a 50/50 chance that Eberflus will make a comeback on a good day.
Although I acknowledge that the Bears have improved from the previous season, they were still nothing but garbage.
2. Dennis Allen and Derek Carr are dragging the Saints to the Gulf’s floor
Take a look at what’s happening in The Big Easy if you thought things were bad in Atlanta. The NFC South should be easily won by the New Orleans Saints, but they aren’t. Even though some people thought Atlanta might be good, New Orleans had the infrastructure to easily win the division in a year when Tampa Bay was predicted to retreat and Carolina was still rebuilding.
As things currently stand, Derek Carr is losing support from Who Dat Nation with each breath he draws and each action he performs. Dennis Allen, I’m also keeping an eye on you. Since replacing Sean Payton as head coach of the Oakland Raiders two offseasons ago, Carr’s former head coach has not exactly led his team to success. Because there appears to be a strong reluctance to press the reset button, the team lacks a sense of identity.
With every game he watches from the Saints’ sidelines, Carr appears to be a shadow of his former self, and Allen is beginning to look less and less like an NFL head coach. It wouldn’t surprise me if Allen was fired after just two seasons on the team if New Orleans fails to make it to the NFC Playoffs. He could get employment right away as an excellent defensive coordinator, and in the NFL, that is perhaps exactly what he is.
You have to wonder when you consider Ryan Nielsen’s accomplishments in his debut season as the defensive coordinator for the Falcons.
1. Ron Rivera is burnt to the crisp like Clark Griswold’s Christmas turkey
Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders is the most likely candidate to be fired as head coach now that Brandon Staley is out in Los Angeles. Yes, Rivera is a well-respected man, but in the nation’s capital, he doesn’t win more games than he loses and has a new owner. Given that Josh Harris could have a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, would he consider going big-game hunting for Caleb Williams?
Even though Sam Howell has performed admirably in his first season as a starter, Williams seems much more likely to lead the Commanders—whatever they are called—out of the tunnel next season. Heck, if Howell went to the Commanders in the top five, I wouldn’t be shocked if Drake Maye, his successor from North Carolina, was given starting quarterback duties ahead of him. And Rivera?
Come mid-January, Rivera will be searching for a new NFL team to work for, unless this team is more cooked than Clark Griswold’s Christmas turkey was in Christmas Vacation. Although it made sense for Washington to bring him on board right away after the 2019 NFL season, Rivera might need some time to secure a position as a defensive coordinator or position coach.
I believe Rivera will play a smaller and smaller role in Washington’s long-term plans the longer this goes on.