(Reuters) – For struggling NFL teams the end of the regular season triggers an annual exercise in bloodletting known around the league as “Black Monday” and the action got under way early this year as head coaches were sent packing.
After failing to make the 14-team playoff tournament that will culminate with the Feb. 9 Super Bowl in New Orleans, the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars quickly showed their head coaches the door.
The Jaguars announced early on Monday their decision to fire Doug Pederson a day after the team capped their 4-13 season with an overtime loss at the Indianapolis Colts.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan said he informed Pederson of the decision early on Monday.
“Doug is an accomplished football man who will undoubtedly enjoy another chapter in his impressive NFL career, and I will be rooting for Doug and his wife, Jeannie, when that occasion arrives,” Khan said in a statement.
“As much as Doug and I both wish his experience here in Jacksonville would have ended better, I have an obligation first and foremost to serve the best interests of our team and especially our fans, who faithfully support our team and are overdue to be rewarded.
“In that spirit, the time to summon new leadership is now.”
Pederson, who won a Super Bowl in February 2018 as coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, joined Jacksonville in 2022 and went 22-29 as head coach while missing the playoffs in his final two seasons.
The Patriots did not bother to wait until the official start to “Black Monday” as they parted ways with head coach Jerod Mayo after one season on Sunday shortly after the team beat the Buffalo Bills to finish the campaign with a 4-13 record.
The 38-year-old Mayo spent his eight-year playing career in New England and then joined head coach Bill Belichick’s staff in 2019 as the linebackers coach.
Mayo took over the head coaching job in January 2024 after Belichick, who helped steer the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, and the team mutually agreed to part ways.
“When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped.”
The New York Giants made a surprising decision when they announced on Monday that head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen would remain in their roles after the team posted a joint-worst 3-14 record this season.
“As disappointing as the results of the season have been, (team chairman Steve) Tisch and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team,” said Giants president John Mara.
“We look forward to the future and achieving the results we all desire.”
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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