3 NFL head coaches who won’t survive Black Monday and their dream replacement

There is no day on the calendar that NFL head coaches can't stand more than Black Monday. The day after the end of the regular season is always when several head coaches lose their jobs. Deserving or not, no head coach wants to be fired, or witness others receive that treatment.

So far this season, we've already seen three head coaches get fired, and once the season comes to an end, several more will end up losing their jobs as well. Here are three who fit that description.

3) The Jaguars should replace Doug Pederson with Liam Coen

The 2024 season was an absolute disaster for the Jacksonville Jaguars. They entered the year hoping to put together their third straight winning season and to make up for last season's collapse, but they never looked competitive from the jump. Jacksonville's Week 18 loss dropped their final record to 4-13.

Is it all Doug Pederson's fault that the Jaguars struggled as much as they did this season? No, of course not. However, while Trent Baalke did not build him close to a perfect roster, this team has more talent on it than its 4-13 record would dictate. The fact that 10 of their losses came by one possession would validate that.

Poaching Liam Coen away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be Jacksonville's dream scenario. Trevor Lawrence, while he's had some strong moments, has not looked like the high-end quarterback he was projected to be when he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick back in 2021. What Coen has been able to do with Baker Mayfield should get the organization excited about what he can do with Lawrence. The only question is will Coen want the Jacksonville opening?

2) The Jets should replace Jeff Ulbrich with Mike Vrabel

What was supposed to be a magical year for the New York Jets turned out to be one full of embarrassment. The Jets entered the year with Super Bowl aspirations, only to fire Robert Saleh after an underwhelming start, fire Joe Douglas soon after, and enter their Week 18 matchup with a 4-12 record.

Jeff Ulbrich took Saleh's place and has led New York to a 2-11 record running the show. His track record as a defensive coordinator is excellent, but he did not look like a competent NFL head coach in his short stint. It'd be pretty shocking if the Jets kept him around as their head coach after their brutal finish to the season.

Mike Vrabel might not be the offensive coach many fans want, but everything else he can provide feels like a win for New York. In six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, he went 54-45 and made three playoff appearances. That track record for a Jets franchise that hasn't finished with a winning record since 2015 and hasn't made the playoffs since 2010 would be a nice one to bring to East Rutherford.

The Jets need a culture shift, and Vrabel can command the respect of all 53 members of their roster. Hopefully, Woody Johnson doesn't scare him away.

1) The Bears should replace Thomas Brown with Ben Johnson

The Chicago Bears began this season 4-2, looking like a team that could easily compete for a playoff berth, before completely collapsing. Chicago lost 10 games in a row, looking uncompetitive in most of them, before finally earning a win in their final game of the season.

The Bears replaced Matt Eberflus with Thomas Brown amidst the team's struggles, but they went just 1-4 under Brown, looking like one of the worst teams in the NFL in all of those losses. This roster has flaws, but it's one that should've, at the very least, been in the NFC playoff picture for most of the year.

It goes without saying that Ben Johnson is Chicago's dream replacement. Johnson is the offensive coordinator of the best offense in the NFL, and the Bears, despite rostering a ton of talent on that end of the football, entered their final game averaging just 17.9 points per game.

Chicago's No. 1 priority should be finding an offensive-minded head coach who can gel with and get the most out of Caleb Williams. Nobody fits that description better than Johnson, who is going to be the most coveted individual in this offseason's head coaching cycle.