The end of the 2025 NFL regular season didn’t just bring final standings and playoff matchups, but also triggered a major reset across the league. As Black Monday arrived, several franchises wasted no time making leadership changes, signaling frustration with where their seasons ended and urgency to change direction.

Raiders pull plug on Pete Carroll after one season

The Pete Carroll experiment in Las Vegas is already over.

After finishing 3–14, the Raiders fired the 74-year-old head coach just one year into his tenure. The season closed with a narrow 14–12 win over the Chiefs, but that result did little to soften the reality that Las Vegas had already locked up the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after losing 10 straight games before Week 18. Owner Mark Davis announced that general manager John Spytek will remain in charge of football operations and will work alongside minority owner Tom Brady to lead the search for the team’s next head coach.

Carroll was brought in last offseason on a three-year deal after stepping away from Seattle, where he spent 14 seasons. The Raiders hoped his experience and championship pedigree would stabilize a franchise that had gone 4–13 just one season ago, but that did not happen. Instead, Las Vegas unraveled quickly. Despite early optimism — including the hiring of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, a trade for quarterback Geno Smith, and drafting running back Ashton Jeanty in the top 10, the offense did not live up to expectations.

The Raiders ranked last in most major offensive categories, struggled badly on the ground, and were held under ten points five times. Smith threw more interceptions than any quarterback in the league, and the team went just 1–5 in the AFC West.

Now, Las Vegas begins yet another coaching search, its sixth since 2021.

Cardinals move on from Jonathan Gannon after disastrous year

Arizona will also be resetting after what the organization said was its worst modern-era season.

Jonathan Gannon was fired after three seasons as head coach following a 3–14 campaign that ended with a loss to the Rams. Gannon finished his tenure with a 15–36 record, never reached the playoffs, and struggled mightily within the NFC West, where the Cardinals consistently lagged behind their division rivals.

General manager Monti Ossenfort will lead the coaching search after discussions with owner Michael Bidwill immediately following the season finale.

Gannon arrived in Arizona with a defensive reputation after coordinating a dominant Eagles unit in 2022, but that success never translated to his time in the southwest. Since 2023, the Cardinals have ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring defense, total defense, and third-down efficiency. Offensively, Arizona struggled to close games and endured extended losing streaks that erased any kind of positivity they may have had early on in the season.

Injuries played a major role. Arizona led the league in players placed on injured reserve, including key players such as Kyler Murray, James Conner, and Marvin Harrison Jr. Still, the organization felt the team was trending in the wrong direction.

Browns fire Kevin Stefanski after six seasons

Perhaps the most notable dismissal came in Cleveland.

The Browns fired Kevin Stefanski after six seasons, ending a run that included two playoff appearances and two Coach of the Year awards. Cleveland finished 5–12 in 2025, marking its second straight last-place finish in the AFC North and continuing a sharp decline after earlier success. Ownership praised Stefanski’s leadership and character but cited the lack of results over the past two seasons as the reason for the change.

Stefanski’s tenure was defined by instability at quarterback. Cleveland started 13 different quarterbacks during his six seasons, and offensive production consistently lagged behind expectations. This year, the Browns scored fewer than 20 points in 11 games, tied for the most in the league. Stefanski would end up handing off playcalling duties midway through the season for the second straight year.

Despite the struggles, Stefanski is expected to draw interest elsewhere and has already been linked to multiple head coaching vacancies.