{"id":260873,"date":"2025-12-30T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T15:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=260873"},"modified":"2025-12-30T07:59:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T12:59:00","slug":"3-nfl-coaches-that-could-be-fired-after-week-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/30\/3-nfl-coaches-that-could-be-fired-after-week-18\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Coaches That Could Be Fired After Week 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Week 18 is here, which means a few NFL coaches will lose their jobs at this point next week. While nobody wants to celebrate someone losing employment, the fact of the matter is the NFL is a results-based league. If you don&#8217;t win games or give your organization a reason to believe you&#8217;re on the right track, you&#8217;ll be out of a job.<\/p>\n<h2>3 NFL Coaches That Could Be Fired After Week 18<\/h2>\n<p>Two teams have already fired their coaches, but it&#8217;s safe to assume more heads will roll once the season is officially over. While there&#8217;s usually a surprise firing or two, the following three coaches are likely preparing for their last game with their respective organization.<\/p>\n        <div id=\"chuck-game-830738a7\" \n             class=\"chuck-game-container\" \n             data-game-id=\"28a5b1e3-ce06-481d-ade8-d863049ad5a8\"\n             data-game-type=\"lastout\">\n            \n            <!-- Loading State -->\n            <div class=\"chuck-game-loading\">\n                <div class=\"chuck-spinner\"><\/div>\n                <p>Loading game...<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            \n            <!-- Game Content (injected by JS) -->\n            <div class=\"chuck-game-content\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/div>\n            \n        <\/div>\n        \n        <script>\n        (function() {\n            document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {\n                if (typeof ChuckGamesEngine !== 'undefined') {\n                    ChuckGamesEngine.init('chuck-game-830738a7', {\"id\":\"28a5b1e3-ce06-481d-ade8-d863049ad5a8\",\"type\":\"lastout\",\"description\":\"The Last Out - 2026-04-07\",\"contentNotes\":null,\"organizationName\":null,\"unit\":null,\"categoryName\":\"Default\",\"gameDate\":\"2026-04-07\",\"questions\":[{\"id\":\"e3d36c05-1663-4949-8ff7-7ae851460049\",\"sequence\":1,\"question\":\"Who missed out on winning his first NFL MVP in 2025 by a single vote?\",\"optionA\":\"Justin Herbert\",\"optionB\":\"Trevor Lawrence\",\"optionC\":\"Drake Maye\",\"optionD\":\"Christian McCaffrey\",\"answer\":\"C\",\"funFact\":\"Maye led the Patriots to a 14-3 record and their first Super Bowl appearance of the post-Brady\\\/Belichick era\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":0,\"optionB\":0,\"optionC\":90,\"optionD\":10}},{\"id\":\"89a8f1a8-9776-4962-95cc-448a9fdceb39\",\"sequence\":2,\"question\":\"Who owns the single-season record for Intentional Walks?\",\"optionA\":\"Barry Bonds\",\"optionB\":\"Aaron Judge\",\"optionC\":\"Mark McGwire\",\"optionD\":\"Sammy Sosa\",\"answer\":\"A\",\"funFact\":\"Bonds was intentionally walked 120 times in 2004, and owns 6 of the top 10 spots on the single-season leaderboard\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":100,\"optionB\":0,\"optionC\":0,\"optionD\":0}},{\"id\":\"b79c6e25-d4c6-4a42-8ab0-5bd7aaf17a62\",\"sequence\":3,\"question\":\"Michigan just won the Men's NCAA Tournament for the first time since which Wolverine scored a single-Tourney record 184 Points in 1989?\",\"optionA\":\"Juwan Howard\",\"optionB\":\"Glen Rice\",\"optionC\":\"Jalen Rose\",\"optionD\":\"Chris Webber\",\"answer\":\"B\",\"funFact\":\"The Fab Five arrived 2 years after Rice had been drafted 4th overall by the Miami Heat\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":0,\"optionB\":50,\"optionC\":10,\"optionD\":40}},{\"id\":\"d03370f9-db07-4efc-8d1d-2576c0303bb6\",\"sequence\":4,\"question\":\"Rafael Nadal won at least 10 titles at all but which of the following tournaments?\",\"optionA\":\"French Open\",\"optionB\":\"Italian Open\",\"optionC\":\"Monte Carlo Masters\",\"optionD\":\"U.S. Open\",\"answer\":\"D\",\"funFact\":\"Nadal won 4 U.S. Opens, but that's nowhere near the 35 combined titles he won at the other 3 events listed, all of which are played on Clay\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":0,\"optionB\":22,\"optionC\":33,\"optionD\":45}},{\"id\":\"e5c53568-1501-4eb5-8d92-c28d1fa5c235\",\"sequence\":5,\"question\":\"Who was the first foreign-born player to win consecutive NBA MVPs?\",\"optionA\":\"Giannis Antetokounmpo\",\"optionB\":\"Steve Nash\",\"optionC\":\"Dirk Nowitzki\",\"optionD\":\"Hakeem Olajuwon\",\"answer\":\"B\",\"funFact\":\"Nash, who was born in South Africa and raised in Canada, won back-to-back MVPs in 2005 and 2006\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":33,\"optionB\":45,\"optionC\":11,\"optionD\":11}},{\"id\":\"8c98660a-647e-47ee-9bf7-5ec4ee854aa7\",\"sequence\":6,\"question\":\"Who is the youngest person ever to win the Masters?\",\"optionA\":\"Rory McIlroy\",\"optionB\":\"Jack Nicklaus\",\"optionC\":\"Jordan Spieth\",\"optionD\":\"Tiger Woods\",\"answer\":\"D\",\"funFact\":\"Woods was just 21 years old when he outpaced the field by a whopping 12 strokes at the 1997 Masters\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":11,\"optionB\":0,\"optionC\":33,\"optionD\":56}},{\"id\":\"0b9ba9c4-0b55-4d0a-a11e-cad7e0a33b13\",\"sequence\":7,\"question\":\"Who is the Seattle Mariners all-time Wins leader?\",\"optionA\":\"Freddy Garcia\",\"optionB\":\"Felix Hernandez\",\"optionC\":\"Randy Johnson\",\"optionD\":\"Jamie Moyer\",\"answer\":\"B\",\"funFact\":\"King Felix recorded all 169 of his Wins in Seattle, and had a solid jump from 20% to 46% on his 2nd Hall-of-Fame ballot earlier this year\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":0,\"optionB\":63,\"optionC\":25,\"optionD\":12}},{\"id\":\"db0d88c2-ce6d-4ebf-8960-07b966f91d72\",\"sequence\":8,\"question\":\"Which Hall-of-Famer set an unbreakable record by running for a 99-Yard TD against the Minnesota Vikings in 1982?\",\"optionA\":\"Eric Dickerson\",\"optionB\":\"Tony Dorsett\",\"optionC\":\"Walter Payton\",\"optionD\":\"John Riggins\",\"answer\":\"B\",\"funFact\":\"Derrick Henry (2018) is the only person who has matched Dorsett's feat since\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":11,\"optionB\":89,\"optionC\":0,\"optionD\":0}},{\"id\":\"30972d98-c68b-496b-9614-6ade009c3d50\",\"sequence\":9,\"question\":\"Harry Doyle, the fictional color commentator in \\\"Major League\\\", was portrayed by the longtime color commentator of which MLB team?\",\"optionA\":\"Chicago White Sox\",\"optionB\":\"Cleveland Indians\",\"optionC\":\"Milwaukee Brewers\",\"optionD\":\"Minnesota Twins\",\"answer\":\"C\",\"funFact\":\"Bob Uecker spent 54 seasons as the Brewers color commentator\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":11,\"optionB\":22,\"optionC\":67,\"optionD\":0}},{\"id\":\"5ea94eda-5211-429c-a087-aefa081d8d54\",\"sequence\":10,\"question\":\"Who owns the official record for most Blocks in a single NBA season?\",\"optionA\":\"Manute Bol\",\"optionB\":\"Mark Eaton\",\"optionC\":\"Artis Gilmore\",\"optionD\":\"Victor Wembanyama\",\"answer\":\"B\",\"funFact\":\"Eaton averaged 5.6 Blocks Per Game over the full 82 games in 1984-85\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":22,\"optionB\":78,\"optionC\":0,\"optionD\":0}},{\"id\":\"3b512469-4d4d-4502-9a74-9e7d71d5758b\",\"sequence\":11,\"question\":\"Who was the only person to record at least 2,000 Yards From Scrimmage in each of his final 3 NFL seasons?\",\"optionA\":\"Tiki Barber\",\"optionB\":\"Jim Brown\",\"optionC\":\"Terrell Davis\",\"optionD\":\"Barry Sanders\",\"answer\":\"A\",\"funFact\":\"Tiki is 15th all-time in Yards From Scrimmage despite having retired at just 31\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":22,\"optionB\":11,\"optionC\":45,\"optionD\":22}},{\"id\":\"ec17bb18-13b3-48a2-9459-1e45fd52a31e\",\"sequence\":12,\"question\":\"Who is MLB's all-time Hits leader among players who played at least half their career at 3rd Base?\",\"optionA\":\"Adrian Beltre\",\"optionB\":\"Wade Boggs\",\"optionC\":\"George Brett\",\"optionD\":\"Brooks Robinson\",\"answer\":\"A\",\"funFact\":\"Beltre, who turns 47 today, beat out Brett by 12 Hits\",\"answerStats\":{\"optionA\":0,\"optionB\":56,\"optionC\":22,\"optionD\":22}}]});\n                } else {\n                    console.error('ChuckGamesEngine not loaded');\n                }\n            });\n        })();\n        <\/script>\n        \n<p><em>Main Photo: Robert Deutsch &#8211; Imagn Images<\/em><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h3>3. Pete Carroll, Las Vegas Raiders<\/h3>\n<p>Going one-and-done would be an unfortunate way for Pete Carroll to end his coaching career, but you don&#8217;t hire a 74-year-old coach for a long-term rebuild. After <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/news\/raiders-fire-head-coach-antonio-pierce-after-just-one-full-season\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">parting ways with Antonio Pierce<\/a>, the Raiders hired Carroll and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/20\/geno-smiths-future-with-raiders-revealed-in-latest-report\/\" target=\"_self\">traded for quarterback Geno Smith<\/a> because they believed they had the roster to immediately compete for the playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>This proved to be false, as the Raiders are currently the odds-on favorites to earn the first-overall pick. Even if they land a franchise quarterback, this team is a long way from competing, and the organization would probably prefer to see a younger coach leading the way for years to come.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_257417\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-257417\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-257417\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Raiders will fire Pete Carroll\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/USATSI_27524516_168419650_lowres.jpg 1737w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-257417\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nov 6, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll gestures in the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h3>2. Raheem Morris, Atlanta Falcons<\/h3>\n<p>The Atlanta Falcons went all-in on the 2025 season when they traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/02\/15\/2025-nfl-draft-scouting-report-james-pearce-jr-tennessee\/\" target=\"_self\">pass rusher James Pearce<\/a>. The team entered the season with a strong defense and a promising second-year quarterback surrounded by talented playmakers. Despite all this, the team was out of playoff contention by November.<\/p>\n<p>Morris looked like a dead man walking for most of the offseason, but the team&#8217;s recent hot streak could save his job. Atlanta is now 7-9 and sits just one game behind the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South. While they cannot win the division thanks to tiebreakers, this late-season surge could be enough for ownership to believe Morris is capable of building a winning culture.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_257110\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-257110\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-257110\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"NFL Coaches\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/12\/NFL-Coaches.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-257110\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nov 30, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<h3>1. Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals<\/h3>\n<p>This one is inevitable. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/08\/31\/cardinals-head-coach-jonathan-gannon-tank-job\/\" target=\"_self\">Jonathan Gannon inherited a mess<\/a> when he joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2023, and nobody should blame him for not being able to win games with that roster. However, it&#8217;s been three years now, and the team is no closer to making the playoffs now than they were when he first took over.<\/p>\n<p>Arizona is 3-13 and will almost certainly move on from quarterback Kyler Murray in the offseason. This team is staring down another long, painful rebuild, and Gannon hasn&#8217;t done anything to show he can build a winning organization. He&#8217;s 15-35 during his Cardinals tenure, and that&#8217;s not good enough to save his job.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_206334\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-206334\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-206334\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Cardinals will fire Jonathan Gannon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/12\/USATSI_25047290-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-206334\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dec 22, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following three NFL coaches could lose their jobs after Week 18 once teams start looking towards the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":257110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,33,27,17],"tags":[9226,238,9277],"class_list":["post-260873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-cardinals","category-falcons","category-raiders","tag-jonathan-gannon","tag-pete-carroll","tag-raheem-morris"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260881,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260873\/revisions\/260881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}