2024 NFL coaching tracker: News, rumors, personnel changes

As the postseason plays out, the teams that didn’t make it have begun preparations for 2024, which means the coaching carousel is spinning.

Head coaches, coordinators and league executives are already on the move as franchises search for better results in 2024. The right hire can bring instant success as six first-year head coaches have led their teams to the playoffs since 2021. 

Here’s a breakdown of the latest coaching and executive changes across the league, corresponding interviews requested and scheduled, and rumored candidates for the 2024 hiring cycle.

PERSONNEL CHANGES (general managers, head coaches, coordinators)

Atlanta Falcons

• HC Arthur Smith was fired on Jan. 7 after going 21-30 in three seasons in Atlanta.

Carolina Panthers

• HC Frank Reich was fired on Nov. 27 after going 1-10 to start the season. Reich was in his first season in Carolina.
• GM Scott Fitterer was fired on Jan. 8 after the Panthers failed to make the postseason in his three seasons at the helm. Fitterer notably made the trade with the Chicago Bears in the 2023 offseason to land the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, giving up the pick that eventually turned into the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 as part of the deal.
• HIRED: Dan Morgan is being hired as the team’s next general manager, the Panthers announced on Jan. 22. Morgan, who played with the Panthers for seven seasons, has worked as Carolina’s assistant general manager since 2021. He previously worked his way up the ranks of the Seahawks’ front office before serving as the Bills’ director of player personnel for three years (2018-20).

Chicago Bears

• OC Luke Getsy was fired on Jan. 10, along with QBs coach Andrew Janocko and WRs coach Tyke Tolbert. Getsy, Janocko and Tolbert joined Matt Eberflus’ staff when he became the head coach in 2022. The Bears ranked 28th in total offense that year and improved to 20th in 2023, but that uptick wasn’t enough for Getsy and Janocko to keep their jobs. Chicago’s offense could look very different in 2024: The team holds the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and could select a QB to replace Justin Fields.
• HIRED: Per NFL Media, the Bears are working to hire Shane Waldron as their offensive coordinator. Waldron spent the last three seasons working for Pete Carroll as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator. He has also coached for the Los Angeles Rams, New England and Washington.

Cleveland Browns

• OC Alex Van Pelt was let go by the team on Jan. 17. It’s a bit of a surprise move — Van Pelt worked for an offensive-minded coach in Kevin Stefanski, but he helped oversee a resurgence in 2023. The Browns went 11-5 and claimed just their second playoff berth in 20 years behind midseason pickup Joe Flacco after starting quarterback Deshaun Watson went down with a shoulder injury. Cleveland finished 16th in total offense and 19th in scoring offense last season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

• Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell was fired Jan. 8 along with most of his staff on that side of the ball, FOX Sports’ Greg Auman first reported. The Jaguars finished 22nd in the NFL in total defense and 26th in scoring defense this season. Jacksonville allowed more than 343 yards per game and over 24 points per game during its 1-5 finish to the season that knocked the team out of the playoffs.
• HIRED: The Jaguars are working to hire Falcons DC Ryan Nielsen to the same role, per ESPN. Nielsen oversaw a defensive turnaround for Atlanta, which ranked No. 11 in the NFL in total defense this past season, but was free to look for other work after the Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith at the end of the season.

Las Vegas Raiders

• HC Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler were fired on Oct. 31 after the Raiders got off to a 3-5 start. Both were in their second year in Las Vegas. Antonio Pierce went 5-4 during his time as interim head coach and earned the permanent head-coaching job. Champ Kelly served as the team’s interim general manager and is a candidate for the permanent role there.
• HIRED: Antonio Pierce’s interim tag removed and he was officially promoted to full-time head coach on Jan. 19. The move was widely expected as the Raiders, despite reported interest in Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, only interviewed ex-Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and ex-Saints defensive coordinator Kris Richard for the role aside from Pierce.
• HIRED: A few days after taking the interim head coach tag off of Antonio Pierce, the Raiders are reportedly hiring former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco to be their next general manager, NFL Media reported on Jan. 23. The move comes as a bit of a surprise as interim general manager Champ Kelly was reportedly viewed as the front-runner for the job. Kelly reportedly remains under contract as assistant general manager. Telesco is expected to join the Raiders after spending the last 11 seasons with the Chargers, posting six winning seasons over his time there. But his tenure ended in December after the Raiders, coincidentally, blew out the Chargers in the midst of their disappointing 2023 season.

Los Angeles Chargers

• HC Brandon Staley was fired on Dec. 15, a day after the Chargers lost to the Raiders 63-21 in a primetime game. The loss dropped Los Angeles to 5-9 on the season after it made the playoffs a year prior. The Chargers went 24-24 in Staley’s three seasons at the helm.
• GM Tom Telesco was also fired on Dec. 15, ending his 11-year tenure with the team.

New England Patriots

• HC/GM Bill Belichick mutually parted ways with the team on Jan. 11 after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles.
• HIRED: The Patriots promoted linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to head coach on Jan. 12, one day after they mutually parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick. Mayo was reportedly widely regarded inside and outside the Patriots’ building as a future head coach, most notably by team owner Robert Kraft. The former All-Pro linebacker spent his entire NFL playing and coaching career in New England under Belichick. He had a clause put in his contract last offseason that allowed the Patriots to promote him to head coach without going through a formal interview process.

New Orleans Saints

• The Saints dismissed offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and two other assistant coaches on Jan. 16, the team announced. Carmichael was the last remaining member of Sean Payton’s original 2006 staff in New Orleans, starting as quarterbacks coach before getting promoted to offensive coordinator in 2009, a position he’d held ever since.

New York Giants

• DC Wink Martindale resigned from his post with the Giants on Jan. 8. Martindale’s decision is a twist from what head coach Brian Daboll told reporters earlier that day, saying he expected the longtime coach to return for a third season in New York. Martindale and Daboll were reportedly at odds earlier in the 2023 season as New York’s defense struggled. Martindale’s departure is part of the exodus of Giants assistants. Daboll said that special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson will be replaced. Outside linebackers coach Drew Wilkins and defensive assistant Kevin Wilkins were also fired.

Philadelphia Eagles

• The Eagles have dismissed defensive coordinator Sean Desai after one year, per NFL Media. Desai, hired from the Seahawks last offseason to replace newly hired Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, oversaw a decline in a unit that was one of the league’s best when Philadelphia reached last year’s Super Bowl. Desai was replaced as play-caller by longtime Patriots assistant and former Lions head coach Matt Patricia in mid-December, but the move backfired as the Eagles defense only backslid further under Patricia. However, it gave the implication that Desai was not long for Philadelphia after the Eagles’ 1-5 finish to the regular season and 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round.
• Philadelphia will not retain offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, multiple sources reported on Jan. 23. Johnson had been promoted from quarterbacks coach to replace Shane Steichen, who left to become head coach of the Colts after the Eagles’ Super Bowl appearance last season. But under Johnson, the Eagles offense dropped year-over-year in points per game (28.1 to 25.5), passing (241.5 ypg to 225.5) and rushing (147.6 ypg to 128.8). There were also reports of discord between Johnson, head coach Nick Sirianni and QB Jalen Hurts.

Seattle Seahawks

• HC Pete Carroll stepped down from his post on Jan. 10, ending his tenure after 14 years.

Tennessee Titans

• The Titans fired Vrabel on Jan. 9. The former Patriots linebacker and Texans defensive coordinator is expected to be one of the top head-coach candidates on the market. Vrabel has gone 54-45 in six seasons with the Titans, making the playoffs three times, but he has missed the postseason in each of the past two years, including a 6-11 finish in 2023.
• HIRED: On Jan. 22, the Titans were finalizing a deal to hire Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as Tennessee’s next head coach, per multiple sources.

Washington Commanders 

• HC Ron Rivera was fired on Jan. 8 after the Commanders went 4-13 this season. Rivera went 26-40-1 over his four seasons in Washington.
• HIRED: The Commanders tabbed 49ers assistant GM/VP of player personnel Adam Peters as their general manager on Jan. 15. It’s the first major hire in the ownership of Josh Harris, who took over the team from the embattled Dan Snyder last summer. Harris brought in former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers to help with the search, and Myers and Peters knew each other from their shared time in the Bay Area. Peters, who has been in San Francisco since 2017, won Super Bowls while working in New England and Denver.

LOOMING DECISIONS 

Las Vegas Raiders

• DC Patrick Graham has reportedly received interest from other teams to be their defensive coordinator, but the Raiders have denied him permission to interview.

Washington Commanders

• GM Martin Mayhew and executive vice president of football/player personnel Marty Hurney will reportedly remain with the team through the process of finding the next head coach and head of football operations. The Commanders filled the first of those roles when they hired former 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters on Jan. 15.

INTERVIEWS, CANDIDATES

Atlanta Falcons (HC)

Carolina Panthers (HC)

Chicago Bears (DC)

• Titans defensive pass game coordinator/cornerbacks coach Chris Harris (will interview)

Cleveland Browns (OC)

• Former Bills OC Ken Dorsey (interviewed)

Las Vegas Raiders (HC)

• Raiders interim HC Antonio Pierce (interviewed)
• Former Bills DC Leslie Frazier (interviewed)
• Former Saints DC/DB coach Kris Richard (interviewed)

Las Vegas Raiders (GM)

• Raiders interim GM Champ Kelly (interviewed)
• Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gay
• 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters (hired by Commanders)
• Former Chargers GM Tom Telesco (interviewed)
• Broncos executive Kelly Kleine Van Calligan (interviewed)

Las Vegas Raiders (OC)

• Former Bears OC Luke Getsy (will interview)

Los Angeles Chargers (HC)

Los Angeles Chargers (GM)

• Chargers interim GM JoJo Wooden (interviewed)
• Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham (interviewed)
• Bears co-director of player personnel Jeff King
• Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz (interviewed)
• Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gay (interviewed)
• Giants assistant GM Brandon Brown (interviewed)
• 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters (hired as Commanders GM)
• Saints assistant GM/VP Jeff Ireland

New England Patriots (OC)

• Rams tight ends coach Nick Caley (will interview)
• Rams pass game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson (will interview)

New York Giants (DC)

New York Giants (Special Teams)

• 49ers special teams coach Matt Harper

Philadelphia Eagles (DC)

• Former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera (will interview)

Seattle Seahawks (HC)

Washington Commanders (HC)

STAYING PUT 

Las Vegas Raiders

• The Raiders made interim coach Antonio Pierce the full-time head coach on Jan. 19. He had been elevated on Halloween after Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels. Pierce went 5-4 during his interim tenure and won over the locker room.

Los Angeles Rams

• Sean McVay indicated on Jan. 2 that he would return to the sideline in 2024, regardless of how the team’s postseason went. The Rams lost in the wild-card round to the Detroit Lions on Jan. 13. The head coach publicly mulled retirement in each of the past two offseasons before opting to return to the Rams.

Chicago Bears

• Matt Eberflus will remain in Chicago after reportedly holding “extensive meetings” with the Bears’ top officials over the first two days of the offseason. The head coach was rumored to be on the hot seat for much of the 2023 season as the Bears got off to an 0-4 start after finishing with the league’s worst record in his first year on the job in 2022. But the Bears improved as the season went along, winning four of their final six games to finish 7-10. There will be changes made on Eberflus’ staff though as offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been let go.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Mike Tomlin reportedly told his players that he would remain in Pittsburgh following its season-ending playoff loss on Jan. 16. The longtime Steelers coach is entering the final season of his contract, leading to speculation that he could leave the team. Following Belichick’s departure from the Patriots, Tomlin is the longest-tenured head coach in the league.

Dallas Cowboys

• Team owner/GM Jerry Jones released a statement on Jan. 17 committing to coach Mike McCarthy for another year after the Cowboys’ stunning 48-32 upset loss to the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 13. McCarthy has led Dallas to three straight 12-5 seasons and playoff berths, but the Cowboys are 1-3 in the postseason in his tenure, including two losses at home. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is also reportedly expected to keep his role if he does not get a head coaching job despite Dallas struggling mightily on that side of the ball against Green Bay.