BroBible
Most NFL teams are willing to give a new head coach some time to find their footing after taking the reins. However, there have been more than a few occasions where a franchise decided to go in a new direction by kicking a new hire to the curb after a single season at the helm.
You obviously have to know a thing or two about football in order to land a job as the coach of an NFL team, but you’re also signing up for an incredibly high-pressure job where there’s a line of candidates who would be more than happy to replace you if you fail to live up to expectations.
You’re usually not inheriting an ideal situation when you’re hired to be the new coach of an NFL team, and franchises tend to give those skippers at least a couple of seasons to attempt to get them heading in the right direction. However, there have been dozens of cases where their patience ran out after what ended up being their first and only campaign.
There are some who left after a single season (or less) of their own accord (including one-and-done Jets coach Al Groh, Atlanta-to-Arkansas defector Bobby Petrino, Lou Holtz, and Ed Hughes), but I’m only including the ones who departed involuntarily.
Anyone who succeeded Bill Belichick as the coach of the Patriots was going to have some impossibly large shoes to fill, and Jerod Mayo was selected to replace the second-winningest coach in NFL history after his time in New England came to an end after 24 seasons.
Mayo had previously spent eight seasons with the Patriots as a linebacker but only lasted for a single one as their head coach, as the team reunited with Mike Vrabel after going 4-13.
Antonio Pierce earned the interim label after the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels midway through the season in 2023, and he earned the full-time gig after leading them to a 4-5 record that year.
He inherited a less-than-ideal quarterback situation after being forced to decide between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell, but that was far from the only reason Las Vegas ended up at 4-13 while going winless against its opponents in the AFC West.
Pierce was subsequently shown the door, and Pete Carroll returned from a brief hiatus to take over heading into 2025.
Frank Reich spent four full seasons with the Colts before being fired midway through his fifth one in 2022, and he got another chance with the Panthers the following year.
However, he did not even make it through a full season in Carolina, as he was fired after they got off to a 1-10 start to become the first NFL coach in history to be shown the door during an ongoing campaign in back-to-back years.
