And with the last down played for the NFL regular season, the coaching carousel has begun. Every year, after the final game of the regular season, owners fire their head coaches looking for a new change. This year, heads came rolling as soon as midnight struck. Just after midnight, Atlanta Falcons HC Arthur Smith was fired following his 48-17 blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints. Additionally, Washington Commanders HC Ron Rivera was dismissed after his 38-10 blowout loss to the Cowboys.

The next day, six-year-long HC Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans – widely accepted as a good head coach – was dismissed. On top of that, legendary head coaches Seattle Seahawks HC Pete Carroll and New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick lost their jobs as owners felt it was time to move on from their star long-term head coaches.

These firings come in addition to the three that occurred throughout the regular season, Las Vegas Raiders HC Josh McDaniels, Los Angeles Chargers HC Brandon Staley, and Carolina Panthers HC Frank Reich. With these positions open, let’s run around the league and find out the reasons behind each firing and the future of each team.

Atlanta Falcons

Following three straight 7-10 seasons, the Falcons have finally given up on mustache-wearing Arthur Smith. His firing seemed especially likely after losing 48-17 to the Saints, and increasingly so after cursing out Saint’s HC Dennis Allen after his team scored an extra touchdown to rub salt in his division rival’s wound. Furthermore, Smith faced criticism throughout the year for refusing to use his star offensive talent, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson, and choosing to use basic offensive tactics. However, avoiding termination is General Manager Terry Fontenot, who, according to reports from the Falcons, will not be participating in finding Atlanta’s new coach. The search will reportedly be handled by Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank.

Carolina Panthers

After a 1-10 start to the 2023 season, the Carolina Panthers fired former Super Bowl-winning Offensive Coordinator Frank Reich. In doing so, Reich faces his second firing in two seasons and becomes the earliest coach to be fired during their first season. The Panthers followed Reich’s firing this past Monday, giving the axe to GM Scott Federer. Now, the famously impatient Panthers owner David Tepper will carry the mantle to find replacements for Federer and Reich.

Los Angeles Chargers

Going 24-26 over three years was not enough for Brandon Staley to survive the season. With franchise quarterback Justin Herbert, expectations were high, and when their division rival Raiders put 63 points on the Charger’s head, Staley was canned. In addition, general manager Tom Telesco lost his job, a decision that was emphasized after first-round rookie Quentin Johnston failed to produce in comparison to other WRs drafted below him. Once again, Dean Spanos will have to search for a head coach and general manager to help rebuild the team. University of Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh now finds his way to the City of Angels. Harbaugh has already reached the pinnacle of College football, winning a National Championship, and has tiring relations after receiving suspensions in two consecutive seasons. As Harbaugh played for the Chargers and Spanos during the turn of millennia, this seemed like an obvious choice.

Las Vegas Raiders

In his second season, the infamous Raiders HC Josh McDaniels was fired. After a Monday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions, McDaniels was pulled into an “air your grievances” meeting with ownership, management, and key players. However, as grievances were told, it quickly became a roast session that ranged from everything from culture to team schedule to even McDaniels’ looks. McDaniels, who spent two separate stints as the Patriots offensive coordinator, is rumored to go back to New England.

Interim HC Antonio Pierce took over for McDaniels partway through the season and helped rally a fairly poor team to a near-playoff birth. Pierce has had the team undergo a complete culture shift into one built on toughness and dedication, and is extremely popular among the Raider’s players. Furthermore, star DE Maxx Crosby declared that he would request a trade if Pierce doesn’t remain the head coach. In the end, Mark Davis decided to keep Antonio Pierce as the Head Coach to lead the Raiders.

New England Patriots

The Empire has fallen. Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots have agreed to part ways after nearly a quarter century, formalizing the end of the Patriots’ dynasty that won 6 Super Bowls for the city of Boston. The decision comes after a 4-13 season when the future of New England was in question – nothing seemed to work. The question about the future of the Head Coach vacancy for New England seems to be a simple one as the answer is reportedly in Belichick’s contract.

Inside Belichick’s contract, it stated that his successor must be current linebackers coach Jarod Mayo. All-Pro LB Jarod Mayo played under Belichick for eight seasons and won one Super Bowl. Now as Mayo takes over for Belichick, the question remains where will Belichick wind up? Will he continue to coach?

Seattle Seahawks

Another great, former Seahawks HC Pete Carroll, has lost his job. Carroll has agreed with Seattle ownership to move into a team advisor position and surrender his Head Coaching job – despite reports suggesting he fought to remain. Carroll, who coached his team for 14 seasons, brought the team to two Super Bowls, winning one. However, out of seemingly nowhere, Seattle ownership felt it was in their best interest to separate from Carroll. Likely the dismissal is related to the fact that Carroll is 72 years old. Time will tell if separating from one of the NFL’s greatest coaches works for the Seahawks.

Tennessee Titans

After six strong seasons with four playoff appearances, the Tennessee Titans have let go of HC Mike Vrabel. The ex-Patriots linebacker was dismissed after a culmination of events resulting in Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk believing her faith in Vrabel was not being reciprocated. Such events included Vrabel visiting the Patriots to be enshrined in their Hall of Fame, and stating to Strunk that he believed the new GM hire Ran Carthon was unfit for the job. Vrabel is projected to be a hot commodity in this off season’s coaching carousel. Without Vrabel, Strunk and Cathorn will look around the league for new talent to fill their coaching role, a vacancy many believe will take a downgrade from Vrabel this coming year.

Washington Commanders

After four years of Riverboat Ron Rivera, the Washington Commanders have gotten out of the boat. With four losing seasons and ten starting quarterbacks, a 4-13 season was enough to terminate Ron Rivera. For many however, the firing that came early on “Black Monday,” was not a surprise but understood, following the firing of his OC Scott Turner this past offseason, and DC Jack Del Rio midseason.

New owner Josh Harris – who took over for previous owner Dan Snyder just a year ago – will hope to erase the remnants of the Snyder era as he hopes to build a new culture for the team and bring back its glory of the 1980s.

As we see another round of coaching firings across the league, from L.A. to the nation’s capital, we can only guess how the coaching carousel will end up.