The NFL’s Black Monday is one of the toughest days of the year. Not only do head coaches get fired, but many more staff members are also out of jobs when those decisions are handed down. After Black Monday, there are now six job openings across the NFL—including the Raiders, who own the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft where Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the heavy favorite on FanDuel Sportsbook.
In addition to the Raiders, the six total openings are the Cardinals, Falcons, Browns, Giants, and Titans. For four of those teams—Vegas, Arizona, Cleveland, and New York—the general managers who hired the previous head coach are staying on board. Among the latest NFL news is the Giants indeed keeping general manager Joe Schoen, which has led to a major uproar from both fans and the New York media.
Following a 9-7-1 start in 2022 with mostly players left over from the previous regime, Schoen oversaw the Giants going a combined 13-38 over the past three seasons—and 7-27 in 2024 and 2025.
A big reason many in New York are so frustrated with Schoen staying is that he has not inspired much confidence not only with the results but with his overall competency. His press conferences have gotten a lot of attention, but maybe he just isn’t good on his feet in those types of situations.
The indictment in my opinion, however, is that Schoen and his front office looked truly incompetent during the offseason Hard Knocks in 2024. The headliner was allowing Saquon Barkley to leave, but the worst look might have been night before the 2023 NFL Draft, when the top executive appeared incredibly distraught. Ideally, you’ll have the person selecting the players in the draft calm and confident in himself.
The series was so bad that it was quietly pulled down from HBO Max, and no other team has been willing to do an offseason addition of Hard Knocks again (which probably says a lot about the state of many front offices).
That said, the media narrative—with how these things go, the narratives are often pushed as basically mouthpiece reporting—is that the Giants have some phenomenal young core. I’d hope you have a good young core when you’re picking near the top of the draft every year.
Which brings us to the Falcons. Their fired general manager Terry Fontenot was in the position since 2021, while head coach Raheem Morris was at the helm just the past two years. If you think the Giants’ talent is impressive, you must be totally blown away by Atlanta’s recent draft class.
The Falcons added pass rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.—trading their 2026 first-round pick to the Rams to get Pearce in a move that was heavily criticized but landed a future star who had 10.0 sacks as a rookie—along with third-round steal Xavier Watts at safety. The offense is talented and has Bijan Robinson at running back.
Overall, a lack of a clear identity is probably what hurt the Falcons and led to changes, which’ll include a new president of football operations position that very interestingly is likely to go to former league MVP Matt Ryan.
The Falcons also hired Turnkey ZRG and Sportsology to assist on the head coach and general manager searches. Despite the hype, those firms are hit or miss like many hires turn out to be.
The Browns moved on from two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski, as was fully expected. Cleveland won two straight to end the year, and Shedeur Sanders showed good things down the stretch as a rookie quarterback. But the Browns, with general manager Andrew Berry fortunately having a stellar draft class at the right time to stay in place, sound open to major moves at the game’s most important position.
Mike McCoy had the interim role for the Titans after the team moved on from Brian Callahan earlier this season. Watch Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy there, as he has head coaching experience with the Bears, and many see Cameron Ward as having a similar skillset to Patrick Mahomes.
The most surprising firing to this point was the Cardinals moving on from Jonathan Gannon after three seasons (while keeping general manager Monti Ossenfort). Arizona had the most injuries in the league this year, and the quarterback situation was never settled. But it sounds like Gannon had a ton of respect from the players, including Kyler Murray even shouting him out on social media despite that relationship not being the best in Year 3.
For the Raiders, the level that legendary quarterback Tom Brady is involved in the head coach and quarterback decision will be compelling. The first year for general manager John Spytek did not go well, to say the least, but it’s a mystery how much power he had with Carroll there.
As for the head coaches being fired while general managers stayed, it feels a bit unfair. Let’s go back to the Schoen case. We’ve seen maligned executives suddenly turn things around, but it often takes a transcendent type of hire to make that happen. So, maybe a stellar coaching hire can get things on track and save Schoen and others for years to come.