NFL head coaches fired: Who got let go on 'Black Monday'?

The day after the regular season comes to a conclusion is one of the worst days of the NFL campaign. 

It is the day that has been dubbed "Black Monday", as that's when head coaches are typically fired. And the day after the 2025-26 season was no different.

On Monday, four coaches were let go by their former teams. Who were those coaches?

DAZN News reveals those four coaches and what could have led to their ousters.

Pete Carroll

While some might consider this a surprise, considering Carroll was just brought in last offseason on a three-year deal  (with a fourth-year option). The 74-year-old was brought in to improve the team and get the Raiders back to prosperity. However, some questionable signings like bringing in Geno Smith and hiring offensive coordinator Chip Kelly showed that perhaps the NFL has passed Carroll by as the team went 3-14 and will have the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

Smith threw for only a little over 3,000 yards (3,025) and an NFL-high 17 interceptions, and Kelly was fired in November.

The Raiders lost by double digits nine times and were 1-5 against fellow AFC West teams.

The team ranked at the bottom in every major offensive category, including rushing yards per game (77.5). 

Jonathan Gannon

Gannon's firing was the most obvious of them all on Monday. 

The Arizona Cardinals lost their last nine games of the season, going 3-14 overall. In his three-year tenure with the Cardinals, Gannon went 15-36, including 3-15 against their NFC West division foes — 2-4 against the 49ers, 1-5 against the Rams, and 0-6 against the Seahawks.

Injuries didn't help the cause for Gannon as the Cardinals had 42 different players miss a combined 309 games with injury and had 25 players on injured reserve, which was the most in the NFL. But the NFL is a results-based league, and Gannon didn't deliver what the team was looking for.

Kevin Stefanski

A little bit surprising since the Cleveland Browns had shown improvement as the season wore on. But like Gannon, Stefanski didn't produce. The Browns finished 5-12 this season, which was the fourth losing season out of the six that Stefanski was at the top of the helm. 

"We have tremendous gratitude for Kevin's leadership of the Cleveland Browns over the last six seasons," Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam said Monday in a statement. "He is a good football coach and an even better person. 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."

Stefanski was the NFL Coach of the Year twice (2020, 2023) during his time with the Browns, and led them to the playoffs twice (2020, 2023). But the last two seasons ultimately sealed Stefanski's fate. The Browns went a combined 8-26. 

It shouldn't take long for Stefanski to land on his feet. 

Raheem Morris

By far, the most surprising firing and the Atlanta Falcons didn't even wait until Monday, as they let Morris go on Sunday evening after defeating the New Orleans Saints 19-17 to finish the season 8-9 to end the season on a four-game winning streak. 

Morris was hired by the Falcons during the 2024 offseason. The Falcons went 16-18 under Morris and had seen significant growth in Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Like Stefanski, it would be hard to imagine that he'd be without a head coaching job for too long.

You can watch the entire NFL Playoffs on DAZN (excl. the US and China).