The 2023 NFL campaign is still underway, but the 2023-24 head coaching cycle has already begun. One head coach has been fired this season. Others could be let go during the year, while plenty of teams will change head coaches in the offseason.
Let’s take a look at the NFL head coaches fired in 2023.
NFL Head Coaches Fired in 2023
The 2022 NFL offseason featured nine head coaching vacancies, the most of any offseason over the past decade. But Black Monday in 2024 could bring even more changes.
Here are the coaches who have already been let go.
Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders
Josh McDaniels became the first NFL head coach to be fired in 2023 when he and general manager Dave Ziegler were let go by the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 31. McDaniels and Ziegler, two ex-New England Patriots staffers, were hired during the 2022 offseason, and tasked with improving a team that had gone 10-7 and snuck into the playoffs the year before.
MORE: List of Current NFL Head Coaches
Instead of honestly assessing a roster that had probably outperformed its underlying metrics, McDaniels doubled down on the club’s existing talent, signing QB Derek Carr, WR Hunter Renfrow, and TE Darren Waller to extensions. The Raiders also traded its first and second-round picks in the 2022 draft for Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams, signaling they wanted to compete immediately.
But Las Vegas finished 6-11 in McDaniels’ first season at the helm. Carr was benched for the Raiders’ final two games and then released. Waller was traded to the New York Giants. Renfrow has essentially been removed from the team’s offensive plans.
McDaniels and Ziegler targeted another ex-Patriot — Jimmy Garoppolo — to take over under center in 2023. But Jimmy G has been alternately ineffective and inefficient and ranks 30th in QBR. Interim Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce immediately benched Garoppolo in favor of fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell.
McDaniels ended his Las Vegas tenure with a ghastly 9-16 record. He’s now 20-33 overall as a head coach, and it’s hard to imagine he’ll get another chance at the top.
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