What those in the NFL call Black Monday — the day after the regular season ends when coaches, general managers, coordinators and others who are part of organizations that didn’t have the season they wanted begin to get fired — arrived right on schedule.
Among those let go were former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll by the Raiders, former two-time NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland and Jonathan Gannon in Arizona. The Falcons got a head start by firing Raheem Morris on Sunday night.
The Seahawks were in the spotlight during Black Monday the last two years, letting go of Carroll following the 2023 season (the move actually happened on Wednesday of the week following the season) and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb last year.
This year, things are noisy at the VMAC in all the ways the Seahawks prefer — the sounds of a team preparing for the playoffs after tying for the best record in the NFL at 14-3 and claiming the top seed in the NFC playoffs and inquiries from other teams who want to poach their coaches, specifically offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Reports surfaced Monday that Atlanta wants to talk to Kubiak about replacing Morris.
It’s a juxtaposition that proved anew that the Seahawks got it right by hiring Mike Macdonald as head coach after firing Carroll.
Macdonald was one of eight new hires for the 2024 season.
Already, four have been fired, including Morris, who had a virtual interview with the Seahawks before taking the Atlanta job.
Only two have winning records: Macdonald and his former boss, Jim Harbaugh, who was coming off a national title winning season at Michigan and was considered maybe the surest thing in the Class of 2024 for new head coaches.
Here’s a look at each:
Still Active
Mike Macdonald
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Record: 24-10.
Comment: Macdonald has the best record in the group, and his mark stands out even more when you consider the Seahawks are 20-5 since the midway point of the 2024 season, when they made significant changes to the defense following a 4-5 start. Macdonald has the best two-year start to a coaching career in team history, pulling ahead of Chuck Knox’s 21-11 mark in 1983-84 by winning the last seven this year.
Jim Harbaugh
Team: Los Angeles Chargers
Record: 22-12.
Comment: Harbaugh has led the Chargers to wild card playoff berths each season after taking over a team that went 5-12 in 2023.
Dan Quinn
Team: Washington Commanders
Record: 17-17.
Comment: Quinn was considered by many as a favorite for the Seahawks job, because of his ties to the organization, when Carroll was fired. Quinn got the Washington job the day after the Seahawks hired Macdonald. Quinn was the darling of this class last year when he led the Commanders to a 12-5 record and the NFC conference title game. A massive amount of injuries this year contributed to a reversal in fortune as Washington finished 5-12 and lost 10 of its last 12 games. Quinn is considered safe for this season but will enter next year on the hot seat.
Dave Canales
Team: Carolina Panthers
Record: 13-21.
Comment: The record for the former longtime Carroll assistant isn’t glittering. But there was a lot of work to do as the Panthers still haven’t had a winning season since 2017. Canales guided Carolina to an 8-9 record this year and one of the more unlikely playoff berths in NFL history by winning the NFC South in a three-way tie. Canales began to get more out of QB Bryce Young, but how the Panthers do in a home playoff game against the Rams on Saturday will set the stage for how he’ll be viewed heading into year three.
Already fired
Raheem Morris
Team: Atlanta Falcons
Record: 16-18.
Comment: Morris was fired despite Atlanta winning its last four and five of its last seven to finish in a three-way tie at the top of the NFC South, though officially in third because of tiebreakers. That seems to show the impatience of 83-year-old owner Arthur Blank to get to another Super Bowl quickly.
Antonio Pierce
Team: Las Vegas Raiders
Record: 9-17.
Comment: Pierce became the permanent coach in 2024 after taking over on an interim basis in 2023 when Josh McDaniels was fired. He was fired after a 4-13 season in 2024 that paved the way for Carroll, who went 3-14. That seems to indicate the Raiders’ issues run far deeper than the head coach.
Brian Callahan
Team: Tennessee Titans
Record: 4-19.
Comment: Callahan was fired early in the 2025 season when the Titans began 1-5 after going 3-14 in 2024 in his first season taking over for Mike Vrabel. When Callahan was fired, many noted that the Titans had an early interview with Macdonald before setting their sights on Callahan, due in part to his history as an offensive coordinator with the Bengals from 2019-23 and the hope he could groom a quarterback of the future. That didn’t work and the Titans are again looking for someone to guide 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward.
Jerod Mayo
Team: New England Patriots
Record: 4-13.
Comment: Mayo, a longtime Patriots player and assistant, got just one year after he was designated as the heir apparent to Bill Belichick. That agreement was made before the team knew Vrabel would be available, and the Pats moved on quickly from Mayo once they could get Vrabel. While every situation is different, the Vrabel-led turnaround from 4-13 to 14-3 may reinforce in the eyes of NFL owners that a short leash for coaches isn’t necessarily a bad one.
Advantage: Macdonald
Macdonald walked into a better situation than most first-time coaches often do. The Seahawks had just one losing season in the previous 12 before he was hired.
Macdonald has benefited greatly from the moves made by general manager John Schneider, who has put to rest any question about how he’d handle the challenge of running things without Carroll on board. Carroll had final say in all personnel decisions during his tenure in Seattle.
Macdonald’s reputation as a defensive wunderkind has only strengthened as he took a unit that ranked 25th in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed in Carroll’s final season in 2023 to first and sixth this year.
While some wondered how he’d handle the intangible aspects of the job, as he had never been a head coach and was just 36 years old when hired, Macdonald quickly won over players with his approachability, straightforward communication and attention to detail.
“His leadership I think has gained a lot of respect from the team, defensive lineman Leonard Williams said recently. “You can see people respect him and listen to him. I think a part of it is he points out when he has flaws, which allows players to feel comfortable when they have flaws pointed out as well.”
Macdonald signed a six-year contract with the Seahawks reported to be worth roughly $9 million annually in 2024. It will surprise no one if he gets a few years and a few dollars added to that deal at some point this offseason.
“It’s a tough day,” Macdonald said Monday when asked about other coach firings around the league during his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710. “It’s a tough part of the year. But it also makes you very thankful and very grateful for what we have here. The opportunity that we have and that we still have that we get to come to work a day at a place like this and go try to make this thing happen.