There is a quarterback development problem in the NFL right now. There is also a head coaching issue. Now more than ever, it feels like the turnover at both positions is at an all-time high. General Managers and team owners are quicker than ever to give up and move on from coaches and quarterback combos that are not yielding desired results. Limiting the timeframe from total rebuild to competitive franchise, and often resulting in a cycle of mediocrity that is affecting the league’s parity.Â
John Mara and Jim Irsay, owners of the Giants and Colts, respectively, have both doubled down on their head coach and general manager partnerships after disastrous seasons. Assuring fans that this is the leadership they will go with in 2025. Doug Pederson was fired after three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars; and two first-year coaches were fired, Jerod Mayo of the Patriots, and Antonio Pierce with the Raiders. It’s no secret that amongst the four major sports, coaching is probably most important in football. But how much does this vicious hiring cycle affect franchises in the long run?
Jacksonville Jaguars Fire Doug Pederson After Three Seasons
Probably the most understandable firing from this past season. Since the second half of the 2023 season, the Jags have not been able to win. What’s even more alarming is the regression of former number one overall pick, Trevor Lawrence. A question that might really hurt Jags fans isn’t if Pederson was the problem, but also how much of the problem was Lawrence?
Even though Pederson wasn’t the solution, there is a common thread with the Jaguars that applies to everyone else on this list. Pederson was brought in after Urban Meyer was fired in year one of his head coaching tenure, thus putting Lawrence in a tough scenario to adapt. The Jags also just gave Lawrence $55 million per year, and he is about to be on his third head coach in five season. Not a great long term position you want to be in if you’re Jacksonville.
Coaches and GM’s That Survived
As Black Monday kicked off with a few head coach firings, two owners needed to let their fans know, for better or worse, things weren’t going to change too much in 2025. Giants president and co-owner John Mara backed head coach Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen, and Colts owner Jim Irsay did the same with head coach Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard. Were these the right moves? Who knows, but each situation is unique.
The New York Giants
The Giants have had five head coaches since Mara railroaded two-time Super Bowl Champion head coach Tom Coughlin out of the organization in 2015. They haven’t won the NFC East since 2011. Miraculously, the Giants have two playoff appearances, and one playoff win, squeezed into what’s otherwise been a decade of being horrific.
Daboll and Schoen came over from Buffalo and inherited Daniel Jones, and that playoff win Jones lead the Giants to over Minnesota probably set the Giants back multiple years. As a result of that win, they allowed Saquon Barkley to leave in free agency and signed Daniel Jones to an extension, only to cut him before this season ended.
I was adamant a few months ago that Daboll and Schoen remain with the organization so they have a chance to draft a QB that they want, not the one they inherited. However, the Chicago Bears have been in a vicious cycle of hiring and firing coaches and drafting new QBs for over 10 years, and it continued this season. I worry the Giants may fall into the same fate by keeping Daboll and Schoen. Because if they draft a QB and are horrific again next season, they’ll be fired, and a second year QB will have to learn a whole new system again, before his talents are questioned and they move on to a new QB. It’s a potential nightmare manifesting before our eyes.Â
The Indianapolis Colts
Chris Ballard has been a bad GM, and Shane Steichen got a tough draw. Ballard selected Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft, and he can’t throw the football. He finished with a laughable 47% completion percentage in 11 games this year. His health is also an issue. Everyone knew it was about his potential and he was going to be a bit of a project; but right now, it doesn’t look like he has what it takes to make it in the NFL.
The Colts haven’t recovered since Andrew Luck’s sudden retirement in August of 2019, and they’ve had three head coaches since firing Chuck Pagano in 2017. They are the only team to have not won the AFC South since 2014. If Richardson doesn’t show significant improvement in his third season, everyone could be out the door for Indy in 2026.
First Year Coaches Fired
Firing first year head coaches has been a point of contention when talking about the league in recent years. Both Jerod Mayo for the Patriots, and Antonio Pierce for the Raiders, were fired after their first year as head coaches (Pierce was the interim coach for the end of the 2023 season).Â
For many fans, it was clear that these two guys just didn’t have what it took, whether it was the on-field results, or the reports of what was taking place inside the locker room. However, is it fair to fire them based just on that?Â
New England Patriots
The Patriots were in a total rebuild going into this season. They liked Drake Maye, but didn’t want to start him right out of the gate because the roster wasn’t good. I actually thought that was the smart move. They were coming out of the Bill Belichick era and needed to establish a new identity. They were not expected to win many games. So why fire Jerod Mayo?
Yes, he clearly had his problems, but this season went about exactly as you expected if you’re a realistic fan. He was also a Belichick/Patriots guy, being a very good linebacker for the organization for years. A head coach can’t change a culture that’s been there for over two decades in just one season. Now the Pats have to force a new system, coach, and culture on Drake Maye. Which, as previously stated, is a recipe for disaster.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are now paying three head coaches to NOT coach the team: Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, and now Antonio Pierce. The Raiders don’t know what they want. They fired Jon Gruden and then Rich Bisaccia was the interim, and the players loved him. They didn’t bring him back, and instead hired McDaniels, who the players hated. They didn’t want to make the same mistake with Pierce as they did with Bisaccia, so they hired him full time, only to fire him after one season. All the while, they got rid of Derek Carr and have been in QB hell ever since (not that I’m high on Carr, but he is better than what they have now). Much like Mayo, Pierce had his problems addressing the media, the locker room, and it just looked like bad vibes over there in Vegas, but it was still year one. Neither of these coaches even got a fighting chance.Â
The Dilemma
Head coaches are a lot like relationships. When you find ‘The One’, you’ll know. That’s how owners operate. They don’t like you? you’re out. Is that fair? Probably not, because these guys don’t even get a chance to plant their roots and build something. Unfortunately, that’s also the nature of the beast. There are only 32 NFL head coaching jobs in the entire world, so if you don’t execute your plan early, it’s very difficult to recover. It’s a thin line between rightfully firing a head coach in his first year and keeping him on too long and now you’ve set yourself back years. Time to see if these franchises made the right choice.Â
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