The NFL’s most feared day is quickly approaching: Black Monday.
While some NFL coaches have already been let go, more will likely meet their respective ends once the regular season concludes on Sunday.
Teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Las Vegas Raiders might already be doing the work to find their new coaches, while other teams like the New England Patriots and Washington Commanders seem destined to part ways with their coaches.
We’ve identified six franchises that could make changes on the NFL’s saddest day, and why those coaches should perhaps be retained.
Let’s take the positive slant, shall we? Let’s ask why these six coaches should be retained at the end of the season as opposed to being let go.
Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Smith
WHY: He did nice work when the Falcons weren’t as good as this.
Smith has done commendable work helping rebuild the Falcons’ roster alongside general manager Terry Fontenot, and a lot of his offensive draft picks have made clear impacts on the field.
Also, he overachieved with a depleted roster in 2021 and 2022, showing that he knows how lead a franchise through tough times. However, his 2023 season was a stark disappointment and showed regression from 2022’s gains.
If Smith gets fired, it’s because his offense wasn’t good enough and sticking with quarterback Desmond Ridder for 2023 was to be the wrong move.
However, if he’s kept, it’s because of what he accomplished when he got to Atlanta with limited resources and will get one last attempt to find a quarterback.
Chicago Bears: Matt Eberflus
WHY: The Bears have been quite good lately.
While Chicago had as disastrous a start to 2023 as a team could have, the Bears have rebounded nicely behind an improving quarterback in Justin Fields and a resurgent defense led by draft acquisition Montez Sweat.
Eberflus has done commendable work in the second half of the season, as Chicago has won five-straight home games and Fields is starting to show the kind of dual-threat talent that got him drafted in the first round.
It might not be enough to wash away the disappointment of how the season began, but Eberflus has made a strong case for why he should stay.
New Orleans Saints: Dennis Allen
WHY: The Saints can make this work with Allen.
With New Orleans might be headed into a cap space nightmare this offseason, Allen doesn’t nearly seem like the biggest problem that the Saints have. If anything, his defense has consistently performed on days where the offense has sputtered.
The Saints might want to consider making some changes to the offensive coaching staff and find resourceful ways to add talent to that side of the ball, and the roster isn’t getting any younger.
New Orleans is technically still in the playoff mix, but there really isn’t any reason to make a change at head coach if they don’t win the NFC South.
Las Vegas Raiders: Antonio Pierce (interim)
WHY: Pierce has brought life to a stagnant franchise.
The Raiders have not looked like the same team that Josh McDaniels oversaw while he was head coach, and Pierce should be thanked for that.
While the Raiders aren’t suddenly a Super Bowl contender, they’re much more competitive with Pierce overseeing the sideline. Getting big road division wins at Kansas City and Los Angeles should matter.
While the Raiders might want a splashy hire to get the Las Vegas market interested, Pierce should get a serious look for how he’s done since taking over as interim coach. The Raiders may already have the right guy.
New England Patriots: Bill Belichick
WHY: He’s Bill Belichick.
If there’s a reason for not parting ways with the greatest NFL coach of all time, it’s because he’s the greatest NFL coach of all time.
Everything seems to be trending for a change here, but the Patriots could do much worse than by having Belichick on the sideline. After all, he led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins during the Tom Brady days.
You figure a change is going to happen, but the reason for keeping Belichick is because he’s Belichick, simple as that.
Washington Commanders: Ron Rivera
WHY: He doesn’t deserve what is about to happen.
Rivera is not going to be the coach of the Washington Commanders next season. Let’s get that out of the way first. It’s just not going to happen.
However, it’s not really fair to one of the better NFL head coaches of the last 15 years that this is how his head coaching career may end.
The Commanders have basically telegraphed throughout new owner Josh Harris’ tenure that changes are coming, leaving Rivera in an impossible spot to compete with a roster that traded two first-round defensive ends at the deadline.
If there’s a reason for keeping Rivera, it’s that he just doesn’t deserve things to end like this. Maybe he’ll get another chance, but it doesn’t feel likely.
The Commanders always seemed decently competitive under Rivera, but that won’t be enough to save his job. It just stinks it’ll happen like this to one of the NFL’s good guys.
