The NFL coaching carousel is about to be full tilt with Black Monday on the imminent horizon.
Despite 10 NFL teams making a change at the helm last offseason, nothing is going to stop the coaching carousel with Black Monday rapidly approaching.
No, there are not going to be 10 job openings in this cycle. This is because there are not enough quality candidates to be had this offseason. Although we should be getting somewhere in the five-to-six range, like we do pretty much every Black Monday, expect for it to be on the lower end of the spectrum. Owners need to give the coaching candidate pool enough time to be replenished.
But onto the coaching carousel we must go! Here is who has been fired and who has been hired.
NFL coaching carousel tracker 2023: Who’s been fired? Who’s been hired?
NFL coaching carousel tracker 2023: In-season changes (3)
Carolina Panthers: Matt Rhule ->
The Carolina Panthers were the first team to pull the plug on their head coach. Newish owner David Tepper made a bold move to pry former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule of Waco, despite him only having had one year of NFL experience prior to 2020. Even though he never had a franchise quarterback at the helm, Rhule was let go because of Carolina’s persistent offensive ineptitude.
While Rhule returned to the college game by taking over for Scott Frost at Nebraska, his run in Charlotte was a forgettable one. Rhule went 11-27 in parts of three years at Carolina, including a 1-4 mark before getting whacked a third of the way through the 2022 NFL season. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks took over in the interim, going a commendable 5-6 in his first 11 games.
Although Wilks is a candidate to have the interim tag removed, Tepper is going big game hunting.
Indianapolis Colts: Frank Reich ->
While there was no surprise over the Indianapolis Colts moving on from Frank Reich midseason, their impulsive owner Jim Irsay going with Ring of Honor member Jeff Saturday over anybody on Reich’s staff in the interim was not only unprecedented, it was unheard of! Reich needed to go because he was not going to win the AFC South crown after a 3-5-1 start during his fifth season.
Sure, you can say Reich did not have a franchise quarterback during his Indianapolis run, but he did have plenty of talent at the position. From Andrew Luck, to Jacoby Brissett, to Philip Rivers, to Carson Wentz, to Matt Ryan, Reich was unable to win enough games in five seasons to win a division title. He went 40-33-1 during his Colts tenure, but was never victorious in Jacksonville…
With Saturday keeping the seat warm, Irsay is about to totally hit the reset button in Indianapolis.
Denver Broncos: Nathaniel Hackett ->
There is no other way around it. Nathaniel Hackett was a complete disaster leading the Denver Broncos. Hired by the Broncos to help bring Aaron Rodgers to Denver, they ended up with a totally washed Russell Wilson instead. So over his skis, Hackett went a disastrous 4-11 in 15 games as the Broncos head coach. He was the fifth NFL head coach to not make it through his first season.
In an incredibly weird twist, the Broncos named senior assistant Jerry Rosburg the interim head coach. Rosburg was the guy Hackett brought onto his staff to help manage the game clock better. Regardless, Denver how has new ownership with The Waltons taking over. They did not hire Hackett in the first place. Their preference is to hire a guy with previous head-coaching experience.
Going with a retread makes sense for Denver, but an NFL retread is an NFL retread for a reason…
FanSided will keep you up to date on all the coaching carousel moves happening until we are done.