The list of first-year NFL coaches that have been fired throughout league history is surprisingly long. While there have been a number of very unique circumstances surrounding some of these “one and done” head coaches, most of the time, their dismissals have come due to either poor performance or poor attitude.
One and Done: List of First-Year NFL Coaches Fired Throughout League History
Since the AFC and NFC merger in 1970, there have been a whopping 34 one-and-done NFL head coaches that have been fired in their first year with a team. With a few candidates potentially being added to this list this year, let’s take a look at some of the failed head coaching tenures throughout time.
1970-1980
- Bill Austin, Washington, 1970
- Harvey Johnson, Buffalo Bills, 1971
- Ed Hughes, Houston Oilers, 1971
- Don McCafferty, Detroit Lions, 1973
- Monte Clark San Francisco 49ers, 1976
- Lou Holtz, New York Jets, 1976
- Ken Meyer, San Francisco 49ers, 1977
- Peter McCulley, San Francisco 49ers, 1978
1981-2000
- Les Steckel, Minnesota Vikings, 1984
- Rod Rust, New England Patriots, 1990
- Richie Petitbon, Washington, 1993
- Pete Carroll, New York Jets, 1994
- Joe Bugel, Las Vegas Raiders, 1997
- Ray Rhodes, Green Bay Packers, 1999
- Al Groh, New York Jets, 2000
2001-2010
- Marty Schottenheimer, Washington, 2001
- Art Shell, Las Vegas Raiders, 2006
- Cam Cameron, Miami Dolphins, 2007
- Bobby Petrino, Atlanta Falcons, 2007
- Jim Mora Jr., Seattle Seahawks, 2009
2011-2024
- Hue Jackson, Las Vegas Raiders, 2011
- Mike Mularkey, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2012
- Rob Chudzinkski, Cleveland Browns, 2013
- Jim Tomsula, San Francisco 49ers, 2015
- Chip Kelly, San Francisco 49ers, 2016
- Steve Wilks, Arizona Cardinals, 2018
- Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns, 2019
- Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021
- David Culley, Houston Texans, 2021
- Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos, 2022
- Lovie Smith, Houston Texans, 2022
- Frank Reich, Carolina Panthers, 2023
- Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots, 2024
- Antonio Piece, Las Vegas Raiders, 2024
Jerod Mayo Joins An Unfortunate List
Jerod Mayo went 4-13 in his first season with the New England Patriots, and his final win was a costly one as it dropped New England from the No. 1 pick to No. 4. After a disappointing season, some fans and analysts called for a coaching change.
Well, Robert Kraft and Co. listened, parting ways with Mayo shortly after the team’s final game. The Patriots allowed pressure at the third-highest rate this season. New England was slightly above average in this respect in 2023 prior to Mayo, a ranking that needed to be sustained with rookie Drake Maye under center rather than tanking.
Of course, some of that blame falls on Maye, but the head coach is responsible for developing a plan, and the plan to keep the rookie quarterback comfortable failed.
Antonio Pierce Another One-and-Done Head Coach
Antonio Pierce was 9-17 in parts of two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. He took over as interim coach in 2023 when Josh McDaniels was fired. Now, after going 4-13 this year, the team decided to move on.
Looking at PFN’s DEF+ metric, the Raiders struggled to create pressure without bringing additional help (25th in non-blitzing pressure rate, a figure that was bottom-10 prior to Maxx Crosby getting injured), something that fueled the fourth-lowest turnover rate in the league:
- 2023 Ranking: 15th
- 2024 Ranking: 21st
When examining PFN’s OFF+ metric, Vegas failed to clear 20 points in seven of eight games following their bye week this season, a continuation of a downward-trending unit that finished the season ranking 31st in EPA per play. The underwhelming metrics have been the status quo of late:
- 2022 Ranking: 14th
- 2023 Ranking: 21st
- 2024 Ranking: 29th