The Jacksonville Jaguars fired Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson in what will likely be the first of multiple “Black Monday” firings in professional football.
Pederson and New England’s Jerod Mayo were the first victims of the NFL’s annual dark ritual of finding scapegoats for a disappointing 2024 season, which came to an end on Sunday.
The Patriots moved quickly and fired their rookie head coach Mayo on Sunday, moments after completing their 4-13 campaign.
Pederson finished his three-year tenure in Jacksonville with a disastrous 4-13 season after going 9-8 in both 2022 and 2023.
It’s been a long fall from grace for Pederson, who was once the wunderkind who led the Philadelphia Eagles to the 2018 Super Bowl title.
He will always be credited with calling the “Philly Special,” a fourth-and-goal play that paid off in Philadelphia’s title game victory over the New England Patriots.
Head coaching jobs with the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys could also open later Monday.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is 49-35 at the helm of Dallas. But the franchise that calls itself “America’s Team” has won just one playoff game in McCarthy’s five years at the helm.
The Cowboys remain one of the most talked about and watched teams despite a 29-season drought without winning the Super Bowl. Dallas last won it all on Jan. 28, 1996, in the middle of Bill Clinton’s two terms in the White House.
The New York Jets, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints were already operating with interim coaches and are expected to begin searching for permanent replacements on Monday.
The New York Giants came out of the Black Monday carousel and announced that coach Brian Daboll would stay for his fourth season at the helm of Big Blue, although it appears he already has a short leash until 2025.
The Giants went 3-14 last season and Daboll’s three-season record is 18-32-1 (.363). The team set a franchise record for losses this season and will have the third pick in the upcoming draft.
Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen survived what was a particularly painful season while their former star running back, Saquon Barkley, thrived with division-winning Philadelphia.
Giants fans were constantly reminded of Barkley because of the behind-the-scenes cameras on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” franchise, which captured co-owner John Mara explaining how much it would hurt to lose Barkley.
“I’m going to have a hard time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philly, I’m telling you,” Mara told Schoen, in a remarkably prescient moment in contract negotiations with Barkley. “Like I told you, being around enough players, he’s the most popular player we have by far.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
