With the NFL postseason just around the corner, some teams will be playing for a spot at the Super Bowl, while others will be dreading their regular season choices and ending the season early. Expect to see plenty of fan frustrations and lots of teams changing up their front offices.
The first Monday after the regular season ends is often called Black Monday, due to how many major firings take place on teams who’ve missed their championship dreams. We’ve seen some huge names dropped from their squads over the years, with some teams being burned more than once in recent times.
So, with Black Monday rolling around once again on January 6, 2025, we wanted to take a look at which teams have lost the most money on firings since 2020. Through desk research, we estimated each coach’s buyout following their firing. We considered salaries, remaining contract time, news reports, social media discussions, and more, to figure out which NFL teams have most likely lost the most on buyouts. Here’s our list of the five teams who spent the most on fired coaches:
1. Carolina Panthers
Matt Rhule (January, 2020 – October, 2022) + Frank Reich (January, 2023 – November, 2023)
Since reaching the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos in 2016, the Carolina Panthers have been trying to regain some of their momentum, but fans have remained critical of their coaching staff. Since 2020, they’ve fired two coaches and spent $63.25m on contract terminations – the most of any team in recent memory.
Their first firing came when Matt Rhule was let go less than three seasons through his seven-year contract with the Panthers. His tenure was marked by an 11-27 record, cycling in new QBs each season, and chants of “Fire Rhule” dominating the Bank of America Stadium.
After Rhule was fired in October 2022, former Cardinals coach Steve Wilks took on an interim role until Frank Reich became the Panthers’ new head coach in January 2023. That year, the Panthers’ 1-10 start was the worst in the NFL, and Reich was let go in November after just 11 games – the shortest stint of any head coach on our list.
This season, the Panthers are still bottom of the table in the NFC South division, with mounting pressure for improvement after their 1st draft pick of Bryce Young failed to pay off.
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
Doug Marrone (January 2017 – January,2021) + Urban Meyer (January 2021 – December 2021)
At the start of his coaching career at the Jaguars, Doug Marrone was able to pull off some impressive feats. In 2017, he led the Jaguars to their first AFC South division title and their first playoff appearance in 10 years at the time. In the 2020 regular season, though, the team was only able to take one W and finished with a franchise-worst 1-15 record.
Shad Khan later fired Marrone and recruited Urban Meyer, who came out of retirement to lead the Jaguars in 2021. After just 13 games, he was fired with a 2-11 record. His time at the franchise saw a number of controversies, including a $100,000 fine for violating practice rules, and a public apology after videos surfaced of him dancing with a woman while he was married. His release was the most expensive in recent memory, and along with Marrone’s, it set back the Jacksonville office an estimated $50m over the last several years.
Since Meyer’s firing at the end of the 2021 season, the Jaguars have been coached by Doug Pederson. After a brief spark of hope in 2023, they’ve struggled this season following friction between Pederson and star quarterback Mac Jones.
3. Houston Texans
Bill O’Brien (December 2013 – October 2020), David Culley (January 2021 – January 2022) + Lovie Smith (February 2022 – January 2023)
The only team to have cycled through three coaches in our chosen time period, the Houston Texans have spent roughly $42m on firings according to our estimates.
Bill O’Brien enjoyed a long tenure with the Texans before a rough 0-4 start to the 2020 season. Their first two games that year saw them take on reigning Super Bowl champs the Kansas City Chiefs, followed by 2019’s #1 playoff seed Baltimore Ravens. Two more losses to the Steelers and Vikings saw the former Cleveland and KC coach let go.
His replacement was David Culley, a former NFL assistant for more than 25 years, whose job was impacted by DeShaun Watson’s allegations and subsequent trade request before even starting his coaching career. Texans GM Nick Caserio cited “philosophical differences over the long-term direction and vision for our program” when firing Culley, with his contract buyout costing an estimated $17m.
He was followed by former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Lovie Smith, who also only led the Texans for a single season. Ending the 2022 season with a 3-13-1 record – the second worst in the league that year – he became the third coach to be fired in as many years. For the last few seasons, the Texans have been coached by their former linebacker DeMeco Ryans, earning a playoff appearance in the 2023 postseason.
4. Las Vegas Raiders
Josh McDaniels (January 2022 – November 2023)
While all our previous teams have been set back by multiple firings, Josh McDaniels’ release from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023 was expensive enough to earn them a spot in our top 5.
McDaniels’ first season at the Raiders led to a 6-11 record, concluding with Derek Carr leaving the team. His second year was marked by controversial play decisions, including an infamous conclusion to their September 24th game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023. Towards the end of the season, a heated meeting with players and staff preceded his firing, alongside general manager David Ziegler.
The release made him the first NFL head coach to be fired before the conclusion of his second season at two separate teams, having also been let go by the Denver Broncos prior to the end of their 2010 season. The Raiders will have paid an estimated $40m to cover the remainder of McDaniels’ contract, making him one of the most expensive single releases on our rankings.
5. Tennessee Titans
Mike Vrabel (January 2018 – January 2024)
After six seasons with the Titans, and an AP Coach of the Year title in the 2021-22 season, Mike Vrabel was dismissed from the team in early 2024. His firing is believed to have cost roughly $39m, giving the Titans a place rounding out our top 5.
Rather than one particular controversy or poor performance, a series of miscommunications and internal issues built up heat on Vrabel over time. After a 6-11 performance from the Titans in 2023 (placing them bottom of the table in AFC South), he was replaced by Brian Callahan in January 2024, and is now working with the Cleveland Browns as a coaching and personnel consultant.
Once the shock of Black Monday wears off, the excitement of the NFL postseason can begin. Think you know which teams will make it to New Orleans for the 2025 Super Bowl? Stay up to date with Action Network’s latest NFL betting odds and picks.
Methodology
To analyze the cost of firing NFL head coaches, we compiled a list of all head coaches dismissed from the start of 2020. Interim coaches who were not permanently hired were excluded, as were cases where coaches resigned or stepped down voluntarily.
Using desk research, we estimated each coach’s buyout by reviewing historical news reports to determine their annual salaries and the remaining duration of their contracts at the time of dismissal. Social media discussions on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit were also analyzed for additional context.
These estimates allowed us to determine the initial buyout costs teams likely faced upon firing their head coaches. From this, we revealed which NFL teams have potentially spent the most on dismissed head coaches since 2020.
*It is important to note these figures are estimates – coaching contracts often include salary offsets, reducing a team's payout if a fired coach takes another job. While this may apply, the lack of public contract details means such scenarios cannot be reflected in our estimates.
