Black Monday is upon us, and the end of the NFL regular season is typically when teams choose to let go of their general managers. The Miami Dolphins already got ahead of the curve by firing former general manager Chris Grier in late October, and others are expected to join him in due time.
There have been eight new general managers hired around the NFL in the last two seasons, so there’s been a lot of turnover in recent offseasons. That makes it more likely we see a quieter GM cycle in 2026, since many recent hires still have a lot to prove this early in their tenure.
Joe Schoen, New York Giants
The New York Giants brought Joe Schoen over from the Buffalo Bills in the same 2022 offseason in which they hired Brian Daboll from the same team. Things started well for the pairing, as they bounced back from a 4-12 season under the last regime to lead the Giants to a 9-7-1 season and a playoff appearance.
More recent seasons haven’t been as fruitful for New York, though. They’ve won just 12 games combined over their last three seasons, finishing in last place in the NFC East in their last two years. Their poor play was enough to get Daboll fired midway through the 2025 season, though Schoen currently remains as the team’s GM.
Schoen has drafted some intriguing young players, including Jaxson Dart, Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo, Abdul Carter, and Tyrone Tracy Jr., over his last two drafts. That said, he also let Saquon Barkley walk, he signed Daniel Jones to a cripplingly bad contract, and there’s been a serious lack of success. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported that Schoen is expected to lead the Giants’ head coaching search, but don’t rule anything out just yet.
Chris Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
No team had a bigger midseason collapse than the Indianapolis Colts. Heading into Week 18, they’re on a six-game losing streak and find themselves out of playoff contention after looking like a Super Bowl contender early in the year. That all came after general manager Chris Ballard gave up two first-round picks for cornerback Sauce Gardner.
The longest-tenured GM on this list, Ballard, has done a good job of keeping the Colts competitive throughout his tenure. In his nine years with the organization, Indianapolis has had fewer than seven wins twice. They started 2025 with an 8-2 record, so there’s proof this team has the talent to be good.
There’s a significant lack of postseason success, though; he has just one playoff win in those nine seasons. Of the 13 GMs who have been in their jobs for seven or more years, Ballard is the only one who hasn’t made a conference championship appearance. There’s a clear ceiling with him at the helm, and the Colts might have to face that sooner rather than later.
Terry Fontenot, Atlanta Falcons
With the Atlanta Falcons winning their last three games, it appears as though they are picking up some momentum near the end of the 2025 NFL regular season. They’re still eliminated from playoff contention, though, and with nine losses going into Week 18, they’re locked into their eighth sub-.500 seasons in a row.
Of those eight seasons, Terry Fontenot has been the Falcons’ general manager in the last five. They haven’t been particularly bad with him at the helm, but five consecutive seasons with a losing record and no playoff appearances in that span are not a book of success worthy of keeping around.
Fontenot has hired two head coaches as the Falcons’ GM: Arthur Smith and Raheem Morris. Neither of them has brought the franchise to glory. His decision to sign Kirk Cousins to a massive extension, only to draft Michael Penix Jr. that same year, hasn’t aged well through two seasons. Atlanta might look to go in a different direction this offseason.
Andrew Berry, Cleveland Browns
It may be time for the Cleveland Browns to hit the reset button in the 2026 NFL offseason. One could certainly argue that head coach Kevin Stefanski is more likely to get fired on Black Monday than general manager Andrew Berry.
There’s sound reasoning for keeping Berry, and much of it comes from the Browns’ 2025 draft class. The likes of Mason Graham, Quinshon Judkins, Carson Schwesinger, Harold Fannin Jr., Shedeur Sanders, and even undrafted signing Isaiah Bond have all grown into contributors as rookies. That’s a great look for Berry.
That said, there’s still some valid reasoning for the Browns to move on. They’ve won only seven games in their last two seasons, and in the six years he’s been their general manager, they’ve made the playoffs only two times. I’d lean towards him staying this offseason, but he’s going to need to start producing soon.
