Embrace the tank? 3 teams in play for Arch Manning thanks to dubious Black Monday decisions

The 2024 NFL regular season wrapped up on Sunday, which can only mean one thing: Black Monday is upon us. After slogging through 18 weeks of disappointment, teams around the league finally have the opportunity to clean house, and they're taking full advantage of it. Already we've seen the New England Patriots let go of Jerod Mayo and the Jacksonville Jaguars fire Doug Pederson, while the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks have both made major coordinator changes.

But today is as much about teams opting not to make a change — even though they probably should. Entering Monday, it seemed like close to a third of the league might try to find a new head coach this offseason. At least some of them appear set on staying the course, however, seemingly setting the stage for yet another losing season in 2025. But to fans who might be frustrated by their team's inaction, take heart: At least Arch Manning is likely to headline the 2026 NFL Draft class, so maybe you're just getting a head start on the tank job.

3. New York Jets

The Jets got a jump on things, firing both head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas before the season had even ended. And for as dysfunctional as the organization seems to be from the top down, it's hard to find too much fault with those decisions. It's easy, however, to find fault with what the team has done since Black Monday began. Below is a complete list of interviews New York has requested with head coaching candidates, as of Monday afternoon:

Vrabel is the headliner, but it already seems like a foregone conclusion that he'll be headed to New England. And beyond that, things get awfully grim, with Vikings DC Brian Flores and Lions DC Aaron Glenn the two big exceptions. From retreads like Ron Rivera and Rex Ryan to B- or C-tier offensive coordinators like Matt Nagy and Arthur Smith, this sure seems like a team that doesn't actually know which direction it wants to go. Unless something unforeseen happens, don't be surprised if the Jets are picking even higher in the draft come 2026.

2. Las Vegas Raiders

Let this be an object lesson in the perils of removing the interim tag. The entire Vegas locker room rallied around Antonio Pierce down the stretch of last season, but he looked every bit a first-timer in 2024, making several baffling game management decisions that directly or indirectly cost his team games.

It seemed like that was going to cost Pierce his job after just one season, but now the tide has turned, and all signs are pointing toward Mark Davis keeping his embattled coach around for at least one more year.

Later in that same press conference, Pierce announced that he didn't plan on making any changes to his coaching staff and that he'd be going with his gut more when it came to game management decisions moving forward. All of which seems to point to another lost season in Vegas, especially with the team no closer to figuring out its QB quandary. Don't be surprised to see this team Abandoning for Arch down the stretch next year.

1. New York Giants

Speaking of teams who decided against all odds to keep their head coach (and general manager)! You could argue that Brian Daboll hasn't been given the tools to succeed in New York, but that responsibility falls squarely on GM Joe Schoen, and it's hard to look for a new general manager when they won't get to choose who their head coach will be.

So, instead of cleaning house, the Giants opted to do nothing, with John Mara giving yet another sternly worded press conference in hopes that this time the message will sink in. Spoiler alert: It probably won't, at least not unless Evan Neal turns his career around and fixes the offensive line or Sam Darnold (or another free-agent target) puts together a second career year. This team is fundamentally broken, and has been for over a decade now; bringing Daboll and Schoen back for another season feels like little more than shuffling deck chairs.