For struggling NFL teams the end of the regular season triggers an annual exercise in bloodletting known around the league as 'Black Monday' and the action got under way early this year as head coaches were sent packing.
After failing to make the 14-team playoff tournament that will culminate with the 9 February Super Bowl in New Orleans, the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars quickly showed their head coaches the door.
The Jaguars announced early on Monday their decision to fire Doug Pederson a day after the team capped their 4-13 season with an overtime loss at the Indianapolis Colts.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan said he informed Pederson of the decision early on Monday.
"Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife, Jeannie, when that occasion arrives," Khan said in a statement.
"As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded.
"In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now."
Pederson, who won a Super Bowl in February 2018 as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, joined Jacksonville in 2022 and led the team to their first playoff victory in five years before losing to eventual Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs.
He went 22-29 as head coach overall while missing the playoffs in his final two seasons.
The Patriots did not bother to wait until the official start to Black Monday as they parted ways with head coach Jerod Mayo after one season on Sunday shortly after the team beat the Buffalo Bills to finish the campaign with a 4-13 record.
The 38-year-old Mayo spent his eight-year playing career in New England and then joined head coach Bill Belichick's staff in 2019 as the linebackers coach.
Mayo took over the head coaching job in January 2024 after Belichick, who helped steer the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, and the team mutually agreed to part ways.
"When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team's performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped."
The New York Giants made a surprising decision when they announced today that head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen would remain in their roles after the team posted a joint-worst 3-14 record this season.
"As disappointing as the results of the season have been, (team chairman Steve) Tisch and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team," said Giants president John Mara.
"We look forward to the future and achieving the results we all desire."
The Chicago Bears submitted formal requests to interview Arizona Cardinals offensive co-ordinator Drew Petzing as well both co-ordinators from the Detroit Lions, NFL Network reported.
The Bears (5-12) fired head coach Matt Eberflus on 29 November after a 4-8 start.
The Bears put in requests to interview Lions OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn, per the report. Both are expected to attract multiple interviews this offseason. The Lions garnered the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
NFL Network also reported that the Bears are requesting interviews with Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores, Giants OC Mike Kafka, Baltimore Ravens OC Todd Monken, Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith and Miami Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver.
Chicago snapped a 10-game losing streak and picked up its first win under interim coach Thomas Brown with a season-ending 24-22 victory at Green Bay on Sunday. Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Sunday that Brown, who started the season as the passing game coordinator, will also get an interview.
The New Orleans Saints have requested an interview with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore for their vacant head coaching position.
In his first season with the Eagles, Moore helped the Eagles to a No 2 seed in the NFC playoffs as Philadelphia finished second in the NFL with 179.3 rushing yards per game.
Moore, 36, was the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys (2019-22) and Los Angeles Chargers (2023) before moving to the Eagles this season.
A former star quarterback at Boise State, he played three games (two starts) with the Cowboys in 2015.
New Orleans fired Dennis Allen after Week 9 and promoted Darren Rizzi to interim head coach. The team went 3-5 the rest of the way to finish 5-12.
Because the Eagles are active in the playoffs, Moore could be available for a virtual interview as early as next week.
Meanwhile, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson has suffered a torn right ACL and requires season-ending surgery.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Watson is done for the year just as Green Bay begins preparation for the playoffs.
"It's an unfortunate part of our game. I know he'll attack in the right way. It'll be just a bump in the road," LaFleur said Monday.
Watson, 25, officially will move to injured reserve on Monday, creating a second vacant roster spot. LaFleur said the Packers are "looking at everything" when asked if they would work out free agent receivers.
Watson sustained the noncontact injury in the second quarter of Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears. The injury is expected to sideline Watson into the beginning of the 2025 season.
