San Francisco 49ers fire DC Steve Wilks after Super Bowl LVIII loss [Updated]
Steve Wilks source: Getty Images It’s one of the toughest times of the NFL calendar. The end of the regular season has been unofficially dubbed “Black Monday” for the head coaches, general managers, and coordinators who will ultimately lose their jobs. In some cases, a relationship has simply run its course, and a business-driven league demands results. In others, like the Tennessee Titans’ dismissal of head coach Mike Vrabel, change is simply made for the sake of change, and a franchise may quickly come to regret its decision.
Here is the list of all current openings around the league, and the legacy those fired left behind.
Steve Wilks
source: Getty Images Role: San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator
Tenure: 1 season
Accolades: Led a top-five defense in the NFL, blew another double-digit lead to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl
Vic Fangio
source: Getty Images Role: Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator
Tenure: 1 season
Accolades: Founded the current defensive meta in the NFL
Joe Barry
source: Getty Images Role: Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator
Tenure: 3 seasons
Accolades: Helped keep Dallas’ streak of playoff embarrassments alive
Matt Patricia
source: Getty Images Role: Philadelphia Eagles senior defensive assistant
Tenure: 1 season
Accolades: Keeps getting work despite being bad at his job
Brian Johnson
source: Getty Images Role: Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator
Tenure: 1 season
Accolades: Helped invent the Tush Push.
Sean Desai
source: Getty Images Role: Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator
Tenure: 1 season
Accolades: Demoted, lost playcalling duties midseason to Matt Patricia
Shane Waldron
source: Getty Images Role: Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator
Tenure: 3 seasons
Accolades: Helped Geno Smith win a Comeback Player of the Year Award
Pete Carmichael
source: Getty Images Role: New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator
Tenure: 15 seasons
Accolades: Super Bowl XLIV champion, lasted multiple seasons without Sean Payton, somehow made me feel bad for Derek Carr.
Alex Van Pelt
source: Getty Images Role: Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator
Tenure: 4 seasons
Accolades: Ran an offense where 39-year-old Joe Flacco could thrive and Deshaun Watson could barely function.
Bill Belichick
source: Getty Images Role: New England Patriots head coach and GM
Tenure: 24 seasons
Record: 266-121
Accolades: Six Super Bowls, three-time Coach of the Year, one-time Executive of the Year, G.O.A.T.
Pete Carroll
source: Getty Images Role: Seattle Seahawks head coach
Tenure: 13 years
Record: 137-89-1
Accolades: Super Bowl XLVIII champion, Legion of Boom orchestrator, moved on from Russell Wilson and made Geno Smith cool
Don “Wink” Martindale
source: Getty Images Role: New York Giants defensive coordinator
Tenure: 2 years
Accolades: Forced thousands of people to call a grown man “Wink,” made zero blitzes cool again
Luke Getsy
source: Getty Images Role: Chicago Bears offensive coordinator
Tenure: 2 years
Accolades: Made Justin Fields look interesting enough to make drafting a quarterback No. 1 overall this year a semi-legitimate conversation
Mike Vrabel
source: Getty Images Role: Tennessee Titans head coach
Tenure: 6 years
Record: 54-45
Accolades: Back-to-back division wins, 2021 Coach of the Year
Ron Rivera
source: Getty Images Role: Washington Commanders head coach
Tenure: 4 years
Record: 26-40-1
Accolades: Beat cancer while still coaching team, made the playoffs with Taylor Heinicke
Scott Fitterer
source: Getty Images Role: Carolina Panthers GM
Tenure: 3 years
Accolades: Outlasted Matt Rhule
Mike Caldwell
source: Getty Images Role: Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator
Tenure: 2 years
Accolades: Finished with a 10th-ranked defense by DVOA and still got fired
Arthur Smith
source: Getty Images Role: Atlanta Falcons head coach
Tenure: 3 years
Record: 21-30
Accolades: Routinely pissed off those who play fantasy football
Brandon Staley
source: Getty Images Role: Los Angeles Chargers head coach
Tenure: 3 years
Record: 24-24
Accolades: Dubbed an analytics darling for, like, half a season
Tom Telesco
source: Getty Images Role: Los Angeles Chargers GM
Tenure: 11 years
Accolades: Drafted Justin Herbert, added a bunch of washed, expensive defensive talent
Frank Reich
source: Getty Images Role: Carolina Panthers head coach
Tenure: Less than 1 season
Record: 1-10
Accolades: Wanted to draft C.J. Stroud over Bryce Young, but got overruled.
Jack Del Rio
source: Getty Images Role: Washington Commanders defensive coordinator
Tenure: 4 years
Accolades: Only person in the NFL fined for Jan. 6 remarks
Matt Canada
source: Getty Images Role: Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator
Tenure: 3 years
Accolades: Four-year Steelers tenure bookended by 400-yard offensive outbursts despite never having one as an OC
Ken Dorsey
source: Getty Images Role: Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Tenure: 2 years
Accolades: Bills offense was third in EPA/Play before Dorsey’s firing and sixth in EPA after firing, per RBSDM
Josh McDaniels
source: Getty Images Role: Las Vegas Raiders head coach
Tenure: 2 seasons
Record: 9-16
Accolades: Somehow finished with a bottom-five offense despite having Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs, former Patriot Jakobi Meyers, and his choice of quarterback.
Dave Ziegler
source: Getty Images Role: Las Vegas Raiders GM
Tenure: 2 years
Accolades: Landed Davante Adams in a trade
Mick Lombardi
source: Getty Images Role: Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator
Tenure: 2 years
Accolades: Squandered one of the most expensive offensive rosters in the NFL. Nepo baby.