2023 was not a kind year to NFL head coaches. Three lost their jobs before the NFL’s regular season even ended. Five more followed once Week 18 wrapped, including former coach of the year recipients like Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick and Ron Rivera.
Their losses create new opportunities for rising young coordinators and retread veterans alike. One quarter of the league started off 2024 in the market for a new head coach, creating a seller’s market for hot commodities — and putting teams with depleted rosters, tangled salary cap commitments and disheveled, impatient ownership (cough, Carolina Panthers) at a disadvantage when it comes to nabbing the hottest candidates.
Here are all the hirings so far, starting with the first man to earn his stripes — New England Patriots’ head coach Jerod Mayo.