The NFL has seven coaching openings after John Harbaugh was fired by the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday night.
The league had three dismissals on Black Monday and one on Sunday night. Two coaches were fired during the season. Here’s the rundown:
Ravens, John Harbaugh
After 18 seasons as Baltimore’s coach, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti relieved Harbaugh of his duties after his team was one of the NFL’s most disappointing teams. Harbaugh went 193-124 including the postseason. He led the 2012 Ravens to a Super Bowl title and reached the AFC championship game on three other occasions.
Cardinals, Jonathan Gannon
Arizona came into the season with high hopes of contending in the NFC West but finished with just three wins for one of the worst records in franchise history. The 37-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday was the team’s ninth straight and 14th in 15 games. Gannon finished 15-36 in three seasons.
Raiders, Pete Carroll
Carroll, the NFL’s oldest coach at 74, did not come close to enjoying the success he did while winning one of two Super Bowls over 14 years with Seattle and two national titles in nine years at Southern California. The Raiders were 3-14 in Carroll’s only season and had a 10-game losing streak before they posted a 14-12 victory over Kansas City on Sunday.
Browns, Kevin Stefanski
Two straight wins to end the regular season couldn’t save Stefanski, who was 5-12 this season and 46-58 over six years. He led the Browns to the playoffs in 2020 and 2023 and was AP coach of the year both seasons. But he could never lock down a franchise quarterback, going through 13 starters, including seven the past two seasons.
Falcons, Raheem Morris
The Falcons were 8-9 two straight years under Morris and finished this season with four wins in a row and in a three-way tie for first in the NFC South. The streak came after the team had been eliminated from playoff contention. Morris had been the Falcons’ interim coach for the final 11 games in 2020 after Dan Quinn was fired and he returned last year after having been the Rams’ defensive coordinator.
Giants, Brian Daboll
Daboll was fired Nov. 10 after the Giants lost eight of their first 10 games. An upset of defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia was followed by four straight losses, including one to Denver in which the Giants blew an 18-point lead with six minutes to play. Daboll led the Giants to the playoffs in his first season but went 11-33 after that and finished 20-40-1.
Titans, Brian Callahan
Callahan was the first coach fired, on Oct. 14, after the Titans lost five of their first six games. Callahan was 4-19, including a 10-game losing streak. He handed off play-calling duties after a 0-3 start in a sign of things to come. Of the 241 NFL coaches who have coached at least 20 games or more since the 1970 merger, Callahan ranks 237th with a .174 winning percentage.
Eberflus out as Cowboys DC
The Dallas Cowboys fired first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday after they allowed the most points and intercepted the fewest passes in franchise history.
It’s the second consecutive season in which Eberflus has been fired. He was let go midseason in 2024, his third year as head coach of the Chicago Bears.
Eberflus made it to the end of the season in his return to Dallas, where he had been an assistant from 2011-17 before going to Indianapolis as defensive coordinator. But the 55-year-old’s fate appeared sealed before Sunday’s finale, a 34-17 loss at the New York Giants that set a club record as the ninth game of allowing at least 30 points.
“Having known Matt Eberflus for decades now, we have tremendous respect and appreciation for him as a coach and a person,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “After reviewing and discussing the results of our defensive performance this season, though, it was clear that change is needed. This is the first step in that process, and we will continue that review as it applies to reaching our much higher expectations.”
The departure of Eberflus means the Cowboys will have their fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons, following Dan Quinn in 2023, Mike Zimmer last year and Eberflus. Dallas’ past five defensive coordinators have been former NFL head coaches.
The Cowboys (7-9-1) finished last in the NFL in scoring defense and passing defense and 30th overall, wasting one of quarterback Dak Prescott’s best seasons for the league’s No. 2 offense.
Dallas gave up 500 points for the first time in club history, allowing 511 for an average of 30.1. The only higher average was the 30.8 points per game given up by the franchise’s winless expansion team in 1960.
The defense’s six interceptions fell one short of the previous franchise low, and the 12 takeaways were the second fewest in club history. The Cowboys finished tied for 29th in the NFL with a minus-9 turnover margin.
Jones didn’t do Eberflus any favors by trading star pass rusher Micah Parsons a week before the season started.
One of the two first-round picks acquired from Green Bay in that deal led to a trade for standout defensive tackle Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets, a move that sparked a three-game winning streak under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Commanders move on from two coordinators
Coordinators Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. are both gone from head coach Dan Quinn’s staff with the Washington Commanders after a 5-12 season, a team official with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the staff changes had not yet been announced.
Kingsbury, the offensive coordinator, and Whitt, who had been in charge of the defense until being stripped of play-calling duties during the season, both arrived in Washington with Quinn before the 2024 season.
According to the person who described Tuesday’s decisions to the AP, Quinn and Kingsbury met in the morning to talk about the future of the team’s offense, which stars quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Quinn and Kingsbury then mutually agreed to part ways, the official said.
Whitt was dismissed, which was not surprising given his earlier demotion and just how bad Washington’s defense was this season. One data point: No team in the NFL allowed opponents to gain more yards.
Lions fire OC Morton
The Detroit Lions fired offensive coordinator John Morton on Tuesday.
The move was expected after the Lions missed the playoffs and coach Dan Campbell took over Morton’s play-calling duties midway through the season.
Campbell is now looking for his third offensive coordinator in three seasons. Former OC Ben Johnson left the Lions a little more than a year ago to lead the Chicago Bears and helped them win the NFC North.
The Lions (9-8) failed to make the postseason after winning that division the previous two seasons and earning top seeding in the NFC last year.
Morton has more than two decades of coaching experience with Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, the New York Jets, New Orleans and San Francisco. He was Denver’s passing game coordinator for two seasons before Campbell hired him to lead the Lions’ offense.
Campbell said Monday he hadn’t decided whether he will continue to call plays next season.
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