Watch Out, Black Monday Firing Has Arrived In The NFL.

A Full Update On The Survivors and Departures of the Head Coaching Staff.

The 2026 NFL regular season is officially over. Starting in five days beings a playoff journey for the remaining 14 teams. Once the postseason begins, we see some teams go from bad to worse. While player contracts have a whole period of free agency, trades, extensions or what have you: front office role can flip on a dime. We watched firing of the Giants’ Brian Daboll and Titans’ Brian Callahan midway through the year along with Dolphins’ GM Chris Grier already.

Now with nothing left to play, Black Monday has become known as a day of reset for some franchises. It’s common to see firing, retirements, and even teams standing their ground with what they currently have. Since the day is upon us, let’s have a look at every decision made over the last 36 hours. During this we’ll look back on how the franchise went with each individual, whether they’re gone or here to stay. How the stats, roster movements, and previous years factor in. Let’s get into it.

Atlanta Falcons Fire HC Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot

On Sunday afternoon, The Falcons stopped the Saints from a comeback and finished their own season 8-9. Only a couple hours after this victory were the pair let go. Raheem Morris now leaves the franchise after two seasons under .500. Including his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Morris now has a 39.8% win rate as a head coach. The former Rams’ defensive coordinator had otherwise spent a decade in Atlanta under various coaching roles as he moved his way up. Despite winning out the last month including an upset over said Rams, the team staggered under QB1 Michael Penix Jr. Kirk Cousins’ performances were unfortunately too little, too late.

As for Mr. Fontenot, the apple didn’t far too fall from the tree. Coming over from New Orleans in 2021, the new GM helped improve the team from 4-12 to 7-9 in his first season. In hindsight, was the bad news of hiring Arthur Smith as their coach. Similar to Raheem Morris, Smith’s tenure was three straight and non-exciting 7-10 seasons. In more recent news, the Falcons were in hot water the moment they drafted a quarterback in the top ten directly after signing Cousins to $100 million guaranteed through 2028. While it seemed like a good decision at the time, criticism has also been placed on taking tight end Kyle Pitts fourth overall. The veteran is just now finally seeming to find his steps after being drafted in 2021.

While the team can boast about young stars Drake London and Bijan Robinson, the team clearly has a lot to work on. Penix himself is only 26 come Week 1. He’s started in just **twelve** career games, leaving both seasons with injuries. His shot is still present, but he obviously needs to be healthy to cash in on it. With the lack of Atlanta’s recent success, these firings seem to be a positive first step. Falcons owner Arthur Blank will look to find solutions to bring the team to their first winning season since 2017, when Dan Quinn coached his squad to the divisional round. (Which has also marked Atlanta’s last playoff appearance.)

Indianapolis Colts – GM Chris Ballard and HC Shane Steichen To Remain

After Jim Irsay unfortunately passed away in mid-2025, ownership of the team was passed down in the family. Carlie Irsay-Gordon in particular has gone viral for her sidelines presence, taking notes of anything and everything. The Colts announced that General Manager Chris Ballard and Head Coach Shane Steichen would keep their roles heading into 2026. With this news, Ballard and Steichen will enter years nine and four with Indy respectively.

In Falcons’ fashion, Steichen finishes 2025 with a third season circling .500. However, fans watching realized there’s much more of a current spark in this organization. Between the likes of Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, and Sauce Gardner, Indianapolis was off to a fiery 8-2 start heading into their bye week. The weeks realistically declined when QB Jones went on injured reserve in week 14, causing the Colts to lose out. Should this be enough to bring back the same staff from last year?

Of course it is. Albeit the extra game, the Colts officially scored the most points in their franchise since Peyton Manning’s MVP season in 2004. The biggest problem in this franchise over the preseason was who starts as QB1. While initial looks were terrible as their former fourth overall pick *lost* that competition, Jones proved he’s just needed the right system. The pieces are already starting to fall into place, and larger issues they had no longer need to be solved. Throw in a great rookie year from tight end Tyler Warren and retainment of their strong front seven, and this team will be playoff ready in 2026 barring a Daniel Jones setback. Chris Ballard will be looking for his third postseason appearance and 10+ win season since his arrival.

Las Vegas Raiders Fire Pete Carroll

In my article ranking each new coach’s hand coming into 2025, I had Pete Carroll as sixth out of seven candidates. (Only ahead of Saints’ Kellen Moore.) While my evaluation on Moore was a little harsh and then some, Vegas had a bad year and then some. Locked into the number one pick, the Raiders finished the year 3-14 after scathing by the third string QB-led Chiefs. Pete Carroll’s history and success is no secret. However, the Raiders were simply worse than expected.

While nothing glorious was expected this year, a lot of hype surrounded rookie Ashton Jeanty, tight end Brock Bowers, and Geno Smith being their best quarterback since Derek Carr. (Woof.) Instead this offense would finish dead last after Geno’s worst performance since his rookie year in 2013. Bowers was fine when not injured, while Jeanty had to struggle behind an atrocious offensive line despite finishing with 1,200 scrimmage yards and ten total touchdowns. With Jacobi Meyers traded to Jacksonville and Vegas committing to a struggling QB1, the writing was on the wall halfway through the year.

We’ve most likely seen Carroll’s last season as a standard head coach, and unfortunately it couldn’t be in a worse fashion. If this is the case, he’s won 56.3% of his 308 games in the NFL. Carroll had initially been signed for another two years, but Vegas was not willing to wait it out. At the college level, Carroll’s dominance will always be remembered by his 97-19 record with the USC Trojans with seven bowl wins. Most mocks include college quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore heading to the Raiders with the #1 pick. Assuming this is the case, the Raiders will have perhaps the youngest core of talent in the league in time for a total reset.

Cleveland Browns – The Kevin Stefanski Firing

Rumored since last year, Kevin Stefanski had been in the hot seat for a full year at this point. The six year head coach had much more fluctuating results than our previous entries, which included playoff trips in 2020 and 2023. With 20’ being his first year in, there was hope again in Cleveland even *without* Baker Mayfield. Stefanski’s last two years were the nail in the coffin, combining for 8-26 after going 37-30 in his first four years.

Despite taking a step forward from 24’, the Browns finished 5-12 with another three QBs starting a game. With the Deshaun Watson situation still being *super* murky, coach was left with a blend of Joe Flacco, rookie Shedeur Sanders, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. While Gabriel easily performed the best of the three, his injury essentially set their season in stone as well. The bright side is two more players stepping up in tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and running back Quinshon Judkins. (Also rookies!) Despite the team being bottom three in offensive points and yards, the duo looks ready to perform at the NFL level.

With the initial success Stefanski brought to the Browns’ Organization, I wouldn’t be that surprised if he found a role as an offensive or defensive coordinator elsewhere. There is a reason the internet has hundreds of jokes about the Cleveland Browns and its long list of failures. Meaning, the last two years aren’t the *entire* problem. I’m not defending 8-26, but there’s also a reason at least four rookies started for the Browns’ offense this year. Stefanski will only be 44 years old at the start of the 26’ season, and I’d expect at least one franchise reaches out for an interview of some kind. At the very least, he can always reference a surprisingly good defense paired with Myles Garett’s 23 sacks!

New York Giants – Retain GM Joe Schoen

On a similar hot seat length as the Browns’ head coach, Brian Daboll was a huge name on the rumor mill before seeing his exit week ten. Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka was chosen as the interim for the rest of the year, who brought in the same subpar results for the rest of the year. Joe Schoen himself has seen four years with New York. Once again similar to the Browns, each year seemed to be worse than the last for this franchise. Reaching the wildcard at 9-7 in Schoen’s first year, the Giants have since gone 13-38. They have also selected in the top ten of NFL drafts six of the last eight years. (Ew.)

The fanbase has been very angry with this tenure. A popular example is then-mediocre Daniel Jones being signed to a large extension before he went to succeed in Indy. Saquon Barkley not being resigned before winning a Super Bowl and rushing for 2,000 yards with the rival Eagles? That’s a whole different story. Despite the failures of recent years, the Giants had a great last two drafts with QB Jaxon Dart, RBs Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr, WR Malik Nabers, and TE Theo Johnson. One might say this is a vey young core who finally brought fire and a lot of potential. (Are you starting to see a pattern?)

Perhaps it’s this squad and the firing of Daboll that Schoen gets another year. This is certainly the most confidence I’ve seen for this franchise since Daniel Jones was first drafted. As the search for head coach begins, it’s safe to say Kafka won’t be the answer. Working with Daboll the last four years and only getting two wins during his interim run, it’s a question if he’ll be delegated back to OC or even remain with the franchise. The Giants dropped to pick #5 in April and *don’t* need a QB. So, they essentially have a top two or three pick and enough to currently build into a big improvement next year. Regardless how the offseason goes, I’d reckon this is a do or die year for Schoen.

Arizona Cardinals – Jonathan Gannon Axed

Frankly, the least surprising of what I’m writing today. As I’ve stated in a past article, the Cardinals have felt like watching paint dry the last few years. Gannon reaching a record of 15-36 in his three years is probably a big reason why. Despite having much success as Philly’s defensive coordinator before this role, the now-former head coach was tasked with a bigger role on a much worse squad. Besides a playoff appearance in 2021, the Cardinals have been stuck in a kind of purgatory for the last decade. (If only Bruce Arians hadn’t retired back in 2017.)

Arizona had an admittedly lost year with Kyler Murray under center even before his time on injured reserve. The last true joy this defense felt was J.J. Watt’s final year in 2022. Former #4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr was supposed to rejuvenate the WR corps, which has instead happened with TIGHT END Trey McBride. Arguing for the Cardinals, having your top three running backs all be injured is very rare and unwarranted when your QB room is already hurting. Trey McBride is clearly the future of this franchise. Sliding up to pick three in this year’s draft, the Cardinals remain a mystery.

While the defense has been bottom 15 since Watt’s retirement, the offense is in need of a new direction. Is that new direction Jacoby Brissett? Probably not. Despite playing the best football of his life through 12 games, the squad only won one game he started. Perhaps the team finds building blocks to address other problems and brings the veteran back on a conservative deal. Perhaps they trade up for Mendoza. Perhaps they stick with Murray and go 4-13 again next year. There’s a lot they could do, and it’ll be very intriguing to see where they start. As for Gannon, he could always go back to defensive coordinator with his credentials. His head coaching career is likely over however.