Official 2026 NFL Black Monday Thread

[Joemailman]

Already Fired in 2025:

Brian Callahan - Tennessee
Brian Daboll - New York Giants

Some Hot Seat Guys:

Mike McDaniel - Miami (7-9)
Pete Carroll - Las Vegas (2-14)
Kevin Stefanski - Cleveland (4-12)
Zac Taylor - Cincinnati (6-10)
Jonathan Gannon - Arizona (3-13)
Aaron Glenn - New York Jets (3-13)

Maybe Warm Seat

John Harbaugh - Baltimore (8-8)
Dan Quinn - Washington (4-12)
Todd Bowles - Tampa Bay (7-9)

[bobblehead]

Already Fired in 2025:

Brian Callahan - Tennessee
Brian Daboll - New York Giants

Some Hot Seat Guys:

Mike McDaniel - Miami (7-9)
Pete Carroll - Las Vegas (2-14)
Kevin Stefanski - Cleveland (4-12)
Zac Taylor - Cincinnati (6-10)
Jonathan Gannon - Arizona (3-13)
Aaron Glenn - New York Jets (3-13)

Maybe Warm Seat

John Harbaugh - Baltimore (8-8)
Dan Quinn - Washington (4-12)
Todd Bowles - Tampa Bay (7-9)

Bowles getting fired would work if Halfwit gets a head gig. I'm trying to figure out how MiLF is on the hot seat when he isn't shitting the bed on offense with a backup QB, but Halfwit gives up 300 yards rushing and the media assures me he is all but gone.

[Joemailman]

Bowles getting fired would work if Halfwit gets a head gig. I'm trying to figure out how MiLF is on the hot seat when he isn't shitting the bed on offense with a backup QB, but Halfwit gives up 300 yards rushing and the media assures me he is all but gone.

If MLF is on the hot seat, it's because Policy sees the team spinning its wheels. 3 straight 7th seed finishes. Tom Silverstein pointed out this week that if the NFL had not expanded to 14 playoff teams in 2020 (MLF's 2nd season), the Packers would be in their 4th straight season of not making the playoffs. Whether to offer MLF an extension is not a no-brainer. My guess is a 2 year extension.

[texaspackerbacker]

There are some good coordinators on that list of failed head coaches. If Hafley goes, maybe we get one of them as his replacement. What we really need IMO is a good strong Offensive Coordinator with play calling abilities. Stenavich definitely is not that. LaFleur IMO is a very decent Head Coach, but he is at least a little bit deficient as a play caller.

[falco]

If MLF is on the hot seat, it's because Policy sees the team spinning its wheels. 3 straight 7th seed finishes. Tom Silverstein pointed out this week that if the NFL had not expanded to 14 playoff teams in 2020 (MLF's 2nd season), the Packers would be in their 4th straight season of not making the playoffs. Whether to offer MLF an extension is not a no-brainer. My guess is a 2 year extension.

Joe, I think this is right.

It's hard to argue with MLFs success, both with Love and Rodgers (and even Willis).

That said, this year has to be considered a disappointment. With Love's 3rd year as a starter and the acquisition of Parsons, the expectation should have been a dominant division winner and potential #1 seed.

I'm guessing the rash of injuries buy MLF more time, but the inconsistent performance of both the O and the D at times prior to the injuries has to be concerning.

I don't know the answer, but I think expectations for next year should be nothing less than a deep playoff run.

[Patler]

If MLF is on the hot seat, it's because Policy sees the team spinning its wheels. 3 straight 7th seed finishes. Tom Silverstein pointed out this week that if the NFL had not expanded to 14 playoff teams in 2020 (MLF's 2nd season), the Packers would be in their 4th straight season of not making the playoffs. Whether to offer MLF an extension is not a no-brainer. My guess is a 2 year extension.

That is very mediocre performance, especially when you consider their playoff record the last 3 years. If they are one and done this year, I would not be surprised if a change is made. I've said for several years that the team just does not seem to establish an identity. No consistency, at all.

As for injuries this year, I don't see it as much of an excuse. Kraft is good, but hasn't ever been a real focus of the passing game. If you don't feature a guy, does losing him really hurt what you want to do all that much? Parsons isn't a guy they had planned on having anyway. Essentially, the effect of the Parsons injury was like losing Kenny Clark for the remainder of the season. Jenkins wasn't playing well, so no real loss there. Wyatt has been more expectation than performance so far in his career. I don't see that injuries give any excuse.

Essentially, I think this coaching staff has continually failed to maximize what the roster consists of at any given time, from year to year with and without injuries.

[falco]

Essentially, I think this coaching staff has continually failed to maximize what the roster consists of at any given time, from year to year with and without injuries.

I think this is the interesting part. We've seen both the offense and defense play at a very high caliber this year, but rarely simultaneously and never consistently.

[Fritz]

I agree with both of you. If nothing else, the inconsistent play on the offensive side of the ball over the past couple of years is disconcerting. Unsettling. At least.

The defense started strong, but teams seemed to have figured out how to beat Halfley's defenses, or at least how to beat the Packers and minimize the impact of the Packers' defense. I even wondered at times if Halfley relied too much on rushing just four because he counted on Parsons to be disruptive, and that ended up costing the team.

But mostly it's been the offensive side of the ball - LeFleur's specialty - that has been disappointing. Flashes and short stretches of brilliant play-calling and execution, and long stretches of "WTF?" playcalling and execution. Going back to the well again and again with, for example, relying on Jacobs's pass blocking.

I have a sense that Policy will offer a short (two year?) extension, so as to give The Flower another shot next year. But that also depends on the playoffs, of course. If the Packers win a game or two, then that short extension is more likely than if, say, the Packers put on a piss-poor showing and get whupped in the first playoff game.

But what about Guter? Is he culpable, too? He seems, to my way of thinking, to be an above-average GM. He's not awful (look at the Minnesota GM's track record so far), but he's not Howie Rosen in Philly, either. But he does seem to have provided The Flower with a fair amount of talent. His first round track record is not good - even Alexander and Gary flamed out after good second or third years, and Jordan Morgan is a man without a home in his second year - and as Bobble has pointed out, Guter drafts guys in the first round that don't develop into players until right before the rookie contracts are up, and then they're stuck making difficult decisions about the likes of Gary and Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt.

So are Guter and The Flower a package deal? And is there any scenario in which Policy keeps The Flower but not Guter?

[pbmax]

That is very mediocre performance, especially when you consider their playoff record the last 3 years. If they are one and done this year, I would not be surprised if a change is made. I've said for several years that the team just does not seem to establish an identity. No consistency, at all.

As for injuries this year, I don't see it as much of an excuse. Kraft is good, but hasn't ever been a real focus of the passing game. If you don't feature a guy, does losing him really hurt what you want to do all that much? Parsons isn't a guy they had planned on having anyway. Essentially, the effect of the Parsons injury was like losing Kenny Clark for the remainder of the season. Jenkins wasn't playing well, so no real loss there. Wyatt has been more expectation than performance so far in his career. I don't see that injuries give any excuse.

Essentially, I think this coaching staff has continually failed to maximize what the roster consists of at any given time, from year to year with and without injuries.

I think the record is pretty mixed. I don’t agree on Wyatt or Watson or Walker, to give more examples. Wyatt showed plenty on the stat sheet in pressures against the pass and the run D post his injury is a good exhibit for his value there.

Watson has improved each year in spite of injuries. Walker isn’t lights out at MLB, but he is miles better than as a rookie. Running back in general has been good. More on that below.

The failings have been on the offensive line and at cornerback. A team that has demonstrated a capacity to find both in previous years shouldn’t be struggling like this. It was also a bad year for Gute to miss in FA though that looks better if Banks continues to settle down to adequate. I think Jenkins being miserable surprised them but his mini holdout shouldn’t have.

I am disappointed by those positions this year but I think that the front office contributed disarray there.

My main question is about LaFleur and the passing game. It’s never come together consistently like the run game. I think he needs help there. I mean seriously, it’s weirdly non functional for too many games. If he cobbled together passing like he does the run game then the offense would be remarkable. Hadley has outdone LaFleur as a coordinator this year. If I am the front office, I need to find out why the disconnect. The o line did not help this year at all and that’s on both the offensive coaches and the FO.

[Anti-Polar Bear]

Wrong thread

[pbmax]

Outside of the Jacksonville guard signing, have there been a cascade of players leaving deserving of second contracts?

[Joemailman]

Raheem Morris out at Atlanta. Possibly Hafley replacement?

[George Cumby]

Raheem Morris out at Atlanta. Possibly Hafley replacement?

Yaaaaas.

[call_me_ishmael]

I really don't think Hafley is going to get a job. Why would he? The defense has been only okay for most of the year.

[Joemailman]

Browns fire Kevin Stefanski.