Black Monday will be especially dark this year.
The coaching carousel is spinning again, with Ben McAdoo already fired and a number of NFL head coaches sure to follow him out the door after their seasons finish Sunday.
Here’s a roundup of how things stand as Week 17 kicks off:
Probably gone
Marvin Lewis, Bengals: Though he has denied the report, Lewis is believed to be leaving the team after 15 seasons, in which he’s made Cincinnati respectable yet could not take the next leap.
Chuck Pagano, Colts: It is tough to win without a quarterback. Indianapolis has tanked for the second straight year without Andrew Luck, entering Sunday 3-12, and this appears to be the end of Pagano’s reign. There have been reports that Indy will look toward Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Jim Caldwell, Lions: Detroit’s home game against Green Bay on Sunday figures to be Caldwell’s last. Another lost season for the Lions, who are 8-7 but have been eliminated from the playoffs. Detroit reportedly will target New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
John Fox, Bears: Chicago will finish last in the NFC North for the third straight year, and this one will see some bloodshed. Fox reportedly will be let go after this season, a coach who took the Broncos to the Super Bowl never finding similar success in Chicago. His record with the Bears is 14-33.
Bruce Arians, Cardinals: One of the more contested hot seats is in Arizona, where Arians is likely stepping away from football, according to ESPN. Arians has not definitively said he is leaving, but the 65-year-old has had multiple health scares with the Cardinals and has missed the playoffs the last two seasons.
Maybe gone
Vance Joseph, Broncos: Denver has not made a final decision on Joseph, but momentum is not on his side. The Broncos are 5-10, and the first-year head coach faces “increasingly longer odds” to return for his second season, according to ESPN. Sunday’s game against the Chiefs looms large.
Bill O’Brien, Texans: Though Houston is 4-11, it could be a relationship, not a record, that does in O’Brien. The Texans head coach and general manager Rick Smith have a “toxic” relationship, according to the Houston Chronicle. Yet, according to ESPN, the two likely will keep working together, as O’Brien is believed to be staying in Houston, where he shares a good relationship with rising star Deshaun Watson.
Mike Mularkey, Titans: If Tennessee makes the playoffs with a win over Jacksonville on Sunday, the head coach appears safe. If not — or, perhaps, if they go one-and-done in the playoffs, according to NFL Network — Mularkey’s third year with Tennessee will be his final one.
Seemingly safe
Hue Jackson, Browns: Owner Jimmy Haslam has said that he intends to keep Jackson, even after a 1-15 2016 season and a 2017 year that likely will not see a win.
Dirk Koetter, Bucs: Tampa made a run at Jon Gruden, who may be headed to Oakland instead. Without their top choice, the Bucs reportedly will stick with Koetter, who led the team to a surprising 9-7 run last year but this year has fallen all the way to 4-11.
Jack Del Rio, Raiders: He got an extension last offseason, and he appears safe despite a disappointing 6-9 year. Yet, if Gruden wants a return to the sidelines, that could change fast.