The head coaches of the Browns, Raiders, and Cardinals are fired on Black Monday
Black Monday is a yearly ritual of bloodletting for underperforming NFL teams at the end of the regular season. This year was no different, as several head coaches were fired.
In an attempt to turn things around, the Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, and Arizona Cardinals fired their coaches after failing to qualify for the 14-team playoff tournament that will culminate in the Super Bowl on February 8.
One day after the Browns wrapped up a 5-12 season that saw them finish last in the AFC North division for the second straight year, they fired Kevin Stefanski after six seasons.
Stefanski became just the second coach in Cleveland’s history to achieve multiple seasons with at least 11 regular season victories and guided the team to two postseason trips. Additionally, he received two NFL Coach of the Year awards.
In a statement, Browns Managing and Principal Partners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said, “We appreciate all his hard work and dedication to our organization, but our results over the last two seasons have not been satisfactory, and we believe a change at the head coaching position is necessary.”
Following a 3-14 season in which the Raiders matched for the worst record in the league with the Cardinals, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans, Pete Carroll was dismissed of his duties by the franchise.
In January of last year, the 74-year-old Carroll, who won a Super Bowl while leading the Seattle Seahawks in February 2014, agreed to a three-year contract with the Raiders.
The Raiders’ next coach will be chosen by general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady, according to a statement from Raiders owner Mark Davis.
After three losing seasons and one day after their awful 3-14 campaign finished with a nine-game losing skid, the Cardinals let go of Jonathan Gannon. During Gannon’s tenure, the squad had a 15-36 record and consistently missed the playoffs.
After extending their postseason skid to eight seasons, the Atlanta Falcons started the process on Sunday by firing general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris.
“The decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership,” Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons, said in a statement
During the season, the head coaches of the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans were both dismissed.
