With the 2023 regular season ending on Sunday, 18 of the NFL’s 32 teams are done for the year. That means it’s time to turn our attention toward the league’s coaching carousel where there are currently five vacancies: the Carolina Panthers, the Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers , and the Atlanta Falcons with the team firing Arthur Smith Sunday evening just after midnight along with the Commanders moving on from Ron Rivera on Monday.
Current openings
The Panthers made Frank Reich the first coach fired after letting him go on Nov. 27 following Carolina beginning the year 1-10 in his first season in charge. Reich’s 11-game tenure is the shortest with a team since Pete McCulley lasted nine games with the 1978 San Francisco 49ers. Carolina finished the season with the NFL’s worst record, 2-15, and the league’s worst scoring offense (13.9 points per game) in 2023 first overall pick quarterback Bryce Young’s rookie season.
The Raiders fired Josh McDaniels on Halloween after 3-5 start. He went 9-16 in two seasons as the Raiders head coach. McDaniels reportedly lost the locker room as his players ripped into for his leadership approach. Las Vegas went 5-4 under linebackers and interim head coach Antonio Pierce to finish the season 8-9 overall. Their 15.9 points per game allowed from Weeks 9-18 under Pierce ranked as the fewest in the NFL.
The Chargers fired Brandon Staley on December 15 following a 5-9 start that included being blown out 63-21 in his final game in charge. Los Angeles was without quarterback Justin Herbert, who was out with a fractured index finger on his right, throwing hand. The Chargers ranked 28th in both scoring and total defense under Staley in 2023, a far cry from when he coached the league’s best scoring and total defense as a defensive coordinator with the Rams in 2020.
The Atlanta Falcons fired Arthur Smith following the conclusion of the final day of the regular season on Jan. 7 after finishing 7-10 in each his first three seasons. That run made Smith the first Falcons head coach to ever lose 10 games in three consecutive seasons. Game management wasn’t his strong suit this season as Atlanta had four losses when leading in the final minute of a game this season. That’s the most by any team since the 2015 New York Giants.
His biggest failing as a head coach is being resistant to featuring the three offensive skill position players the…
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