5 more NFL head coaches on the chopping block after Brandon Staley fired
By John Buhler
As a surprise to absolutely no one, Brandon Staley has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Fired alongside long-time general manager Tom Telesco, there are now three head coaching vacancies across the entire NFL: The Carolina Panthers who are striving to be hot dog water and the Las Vegas Raiders, a team who cleaned the Bolts' clock on Thursday night.
With Justin Herbert out for the season, the Chargers were shamelessly starting to circle the drain. After having been a fringe playoff team for the better part of three years now, a 5-9 start to 2023 was not going to cut it. I feel oh so terrible for Chargers owner Dean Spanos for having to eat every last stinking penny of Staley's cheap head-coaching contract. Thankfully, the suffering is officially over.
Last offseason only saw five head coaching jobs come available, one of which was the god-awful monstrosity known as the Panthers. Usually, we get around a quarter of the league's coaches whacked on and around Black Monday. Trust me when I say this, there will be more than three jobs available by the time the NFL Playoffs get here. As for what jobs could open up, I have some thoughts.
Here are five franchises that feel the most likely to fire their head coach after this season right now.
5. Bill Belichick may mutually part ways with the New England Patriots
I wouldn't bank on this happening, but Bill Belichick's New England Patriots are 3-10 on the year and going nowhere fast. The thought of Belichick coaching in the Senior Bowl low-key sustains me, but now would be a perfect time for The Krafts to pivot off their legendary head coach for someone more jovial and youthful. The Patriots are about to St. Louis Stallions bad, so draft the next Drew Bledsoe.
The Patriots are in an ideal spot to land the second quarterback off the board, assuming the Chicago Bears move off Justin Fields this offseason. They have the Carolina Panthers' pick after all. So with a fantastic shot at being able to draft either Caleb Williams out of USC or Drake Maye out of North Carolina inside the top three with your pick, can you trust Belichick to do what is right in the draft?
It will be more painful than ripping the proverbial band-aid off, alright, but this sort of coaching malpractice on the offensive side of the ball cannot continue in New England. In truth, I do not think the Patriots have the stones to fire Belichick, but they will strongly encourage him to take the golden parachute offer and sail off into retirement. A mutual parting of ways feels like a very real possibility.
Belichick may really want to develop either Williams or Maye, but the guy is firmly in his 70s already.