How recent NFL teams fared when firing head coach after one season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Firing an NFL head coach after one season is typically a bold move. It’s hard for anyone to build a winning culture in only one year, especially if the franchise in question is undergoing a rebuild.
Coaching stability is important. The constant shuffling of different head coaches and offensive/defensive coordinators can make developing young players a lot more difficult.
The New England Patriots hired Jerod Mayo to replace the legendary Bill Belichick earlier this year. Mayo’s first season in charge has been a huge mess so far. The Patriots are 3-11 entering Week 16 and could finish with a worse record than 2023, when they went 4-13 in Belichick’s final campaign.
The offense — with the exception of rookie quarterback Drake Maye — has largely been a disaster. The defense, which Mayo has a lot of experience with as a former player and coach, has taken a huge step back. The Patriots are one of the league’s most undisciplined teams (lots of penalties) and have mostly failed to develop young talent, especially the 2024 rookies not named Maye.
Parting ways with Mayo after one year would be pretty harsh. New England’s roster is awful, and that’s the front office’s fault. But firing a head coach after one season is not unprecedented.
There have been 12 head coaches fired after just one season since 2011, excluding interim head coaches. The results have been pretty mixed for these teams. However, none of the 12 head coaches fired after one season since 2011 currently have an NFL head coaching job in 2024.
Here’s a look at each situation over that span:
Las Vegas Raiders
Coach(es) fired: Hue Jackson in 2011
Hue Jackson was elevated from offensive coordinator to head coach entering the 2011 season. The Raiders started out 7-4 but finished 8-8. And in classic Raiders fashion, they showed no patience with the head coach and fired Jackson. Neither the Raiders nor Jackson have enjoyed much success since his firing.
The Raiders have made just two playoff appearances (2016, 2021) in the last 12 years, while Jackson got another head coach opportunity in Cleveland from 2016 to 2018 and went 3-36-1 with the Browns before being fired, including an 0-16 season in 2017.
The Raiders are one of the worst-run franchises in pro sports.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Coach(es) fired: Mike Mularkey in 2012, Urban Meyer in 2021
The Jaguars went 2-14 under Mularkey in 2012 and then he was fired. Mularkey did find some success after leaving the Jaguars. He got another head coach job with the Tennessee Titans from 2015 to 2017. The Titans went 9-7 in 2017 and won a playoff game against the Chiefs before losing to the Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round. Mularkey parted ways with the Titans that offseason and didn’t return to coaching until 2019 when he served as the Atlanta Falcons tight ends coach. He retired in 2020.
Urban Meyer enjoyed incredible success in college football but was a massive failure in the NFL with the Jaguars. He didn’t even last the full 2021 season and was fired after a 2-11 start. The Jaguars hired Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson to replace Meyer, and Jacksonville saw immediate improvement with an AFC South title and an AFC Wild Card Round win over the Chargers in 2022.
But Pederson is probably on the hot seat right now with the Jaguars having a 3-11 record entering Week 16.
Since firing Mularkey, the Jaguars have had four head coaches but just two playoff appearances over the last 12 years.
Cleveland Browns
Coach(es) fired: Rob Chudzinski in 2013, Freddie Kitchens in 2019
Chudzinski was fired after a 4-12 season, and in the 11 years since, the Browns have had five different head coaches and only two playoff appearances. Kitchens was fired after a 6-10 season, which was a bit harsh even though the team clearly underperformed.
The Browns have employed 10 head coaches since returning to the NFL in 1999. They are a good argument for a lack of coaching stability being a bad thing. Cleveland has four winning seasons and three playoff appearances since 1999.
San Francisco 49ers
Coach(es) fired: Jim Tomsula in 2015, Chip Kelly in 2016
Nowadays we think of the 49ers as a well-run, stable organization from the front office down to the coaching staff. But that wasn’t the case for a brief period in the mid-2010s.
Jim Tomsula was ousted after a 5-11 season in 2015, and then Chip Kelly was fired after a horrendous 2-14 season in 2016.
These moves ended up working out for the 49ers because they hired former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2017, and he ranks as one of the league’s top 10 head coaches. Shanahan has helped lead the 49ers to the playoffs four times, including two Super Bowl appearances and two losses in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers haven’t won a Lombardi Trophy under Shanahan, but they’ve been among the league’s most successful franchises during his tenure.
San Francisco is one of the rare examples of a team that fired a head coach after one season and ended up in a much better place as a result.
Houston Texans
Coach(es) fired: David Culley in 2021, Lovie Smith in 2022
The Texans went 4-13 under David Culley in 2021 and 3-13-1 under Lovie Smith in 2022. Neither Culley nor Smith have coached in the NFL since being fired by Houston.
It’s rare that a team fires coaches in back-to-back seasons, but it’s actually worked out well for the Texans. DeMeco Ryans took over for the 2023 season and the Texans won the AFC South, then beat the Browns in the AFC Wild Card Round. The Texans have a 9-5 record this season and already clinched the division title. Ryans, a longtime linebacker, has done a great job with Houston’s defense — one of the best units in the league — as well as developing 2023 No. 2 pick and franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud.
And given the state of their division, the Texans should be in the playoff mix for quite a while.
Arizona Cardinals
Coach(es) fired: Steve Wilks in 2018
The Cardinals went 3-13 in Wilks’ lone season, but that was good enough to earn the No. 1 pick and draft quarterback Kyler Murray. Arizona hasn’t enjoyed much success since firing Wilks, evidenced by the franchise’s one winning season over the previous five years, including one playoff appearance.
The Cardinals have a chance to make the playoffs this season in Jonathan Gannon’s second year as head coach, but they trail the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams by one game.
Denver Broncos
Coach(es) fired: Nathaniel Hackett in 2022
The Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett after a 4-11 start in 2022. He just wasn’t a good fit with quarterback Russell Wilson. Denver hired longtime Saints head coach and former Super Bowl champion Sean Payton in 2023, and after improving to 8-9 in his first year, the Broncos are currently 9-5 and appear headed for the playoffs for the first time since winning Super Bowl 50 in 2015. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix, who the Broncos drafted No. 12 overall in the first round, has thrived under Payton.
The decision to move on from Hackett has paid huge dividends for the Broncos so far.
Carolina Panthers
Coach(es) fired: Frank Reich in 2023
Frank Reich was fired less than one season into his Panthers tenure after a 1-11 start. Bryce Young, who the Panthers selected at No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft after trading up to get that pick, did not get off to a good start under Reich, who’s an offensive-minded coach. Reich does not have a coaching job this season.
The Panthers hired Dave Canales for the 2024 campaign and haven’t fared much better with a 3-11 record entering Week 16. Young is playing a little better of late, but he started out the season horribly and was even benched for several games. The Panthers are on their third head coach in the last four seasons. They should probably give someone a little time to build a foundation for success before making a change. It’s not good for Young, or any other young player on the roster, to be going through so many head coaches and coordinators.
