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The NFL regular season ended on Sunday, with most teams starting their offseason early and a select few preparing for the postseason. The day following the regular-season finale usually leads to a series of head coaches being fired. It's better known as Black Monday.
What is Black Monday in the NFL?
Black Monday is not as exciting as Black Friday, which follows Thanksgiving and gives major deals on hot holiday products. Black Monday is when NFL teams can finally let their head coaches go without distracting from the season.
Prior to Black Monday, three head coaches were fired. Jon Gruden resigned from the Las Vegas Raiders after his email scandal. The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Urban Meyer earlier in the season after his own controversies. Vic Fangio was fired from the Denver Broncos on Sunday after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
Of these three teams, only the Raiders are in the postseason after making a head coaching change. The Jaguars, on the other hand, have the No. 1 pick for the second straight year.
Black Monday 2022 saw three head coaches fired. Matt Nagy was let go by the Chicago Bears after going 6-11, but he was one of the least surprising firings. There were rumors of Nagy being let go earlier in the season, but he was never seen as the guy to help evolve quarterback Justin Fields in the future. General manager Ryan Pace was also sacked.
Mike Zimmer was released by the Minnesota Vikings after going 8-9, his second straight losing record. Zimmer had been the head coach for Minnesota since 2014 and had only made the postseason twice. He was 72-56-1 with the Vikings, which isn't bad, but his team has had too much talent to underwhelm this often. General manager Rick Spielman was also let go.
The most surprising firing was that of Brian Flores from the Miami Dolphins. Miami finished with a winning record of 9-8 after starting 1-7. Flores kept the Dolphins alive until the final week of the season and helped Tua Tagovailoa become a capable quarterback. One reason Flores was fired could be that the front office is still planning on going after Deshaun Watson and he is not on board with the plan for the future.
Other head coaches like Joe Judge, David Culley and Robert Saleh remain with their teams after disappointing seasons, but there could still be a few more head coaches who could receive marching orders in the coming days.
Matt Rhule and Pete Carroll do not have secure jobs at the moment, while Brandon Staley and Ron Rivera could be a surprise firing. Once head coaches go, quarterbacks are soon to follow. Could we see Tua Tagovailoa and Daniel Jones "fired" as well?
