In each of the two seasons preceding 2016, a head coach was fired after only four weeks. This year, with four weeks to go, no head coach has been fired yet.
The question becomes whether anyone will be.
There’s been a sense for several weeks that only one embarrassing loss is standing in the way of the Jaguars firing coach Gus Bradley and giving former Bills coach Doug Marrone a test drive for the balance of the campaign. Beyond Bradley, the coaches of the other struggling teams (Browns, 49ers, Bears, Jets) aren’t believed to be in danger of being let go before the day known in NFL circles as Black Monday.
If no coach is fired during the season, it will be only the fourth time that’s happened since at least 2000. Four years ago, no firings happened during the season.
Last year, the Dolphins fired Joe Philbin after a Week Four loss in London. The Titans also fired Ken Whisenhunt, and the Eagles fired Chip Kelly. In all, 27 head coaches have been fired during the season since 2000.
At this stage of the season, it’s smart to wait. Teams that appoint an interim head coach from the surviving staff often see a short-term improvement in performance, as the players try to help the interim head coach shed the temporary label. Otherwise, a new coach will arrive and commence the process of finding new players.
Then, once the interim head coach becomes the permanent head coach, the players can go back to playing the way they did before the prior coach got fired.