Bill Belichick is the most successful head coach in NFL history. He also holds the record for the shortest coaching tenure: one day with the New York Jets.
That’s not a typo. On January 4, 2000, Belichick scrawled “I resign as HC of the NYJ” on a piece of loose-leaf paper and handed it to team officials moments before his introductory press conference. Within weeks, he was in New England building a dynasty. The Jets haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1969.
Belichick’s bizarre exit sits at the extreme end of a spectrum that includes Hall of Famers fired before the regular season, college legends who discovered the NFL wasn’t for them, and modern-day disasters that imploded under the weight of scandal and incompetence. Their stories reveal something uncomfortable about the NFL’s hiring process: sometimes the warning signs are there from the start, and sometimes the fit is simply wrong from day one.
Bill Belichick, New York Jets (2000)
Tenure: 1 day | Games coached: 0
The circumstances surrounding Belichick’s resignation remain shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories. After serving as the Jets’ defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells, Belichick was contractually guaranteed the head coaching job when Parcells stepped down. On January 3, 2000, the Jets announced Belichick as their new head coach. The next morning, he was spotted leaving the facility in an overcoat, carrying a briefcase.
What happened next became NFL legend. At what was supposed to be his introductory press conference, Belichick delivered a 50-minute resignation speech, citing uncertainty about the team’s ownership situation following the death of Leon Hess.
“I’ve been in situations, and more importantly my family has been in a situation, where I was the head coach of a team in transition,” Belichick said, referencing his rocky tenure in Cleveland. “Frankly, it wasn’t a really good experience for me or for them.”
The Patriots traded a first-round pick to acquire Belichick’s rights. In New England, he won six Super Bowls. The Jets, meanwhile, have made six playoff appearances in the 25 years since his departure, winning exactly one division title.
Years later, Belichick called the resignation “one of the great moments of my career.”
George Allen, Los Angeles Rams (1978)
Tenure: 2 preseason games | Record: 0-2
George Allen never had a losing season in 12 years as an NFL head coach. His career record was 116-47-5. He reached Super Bowl VII with Washington. The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him posthumously in 2002.
None of that mattered to Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom, who fired Allen after two preseason losses — before the regular season even began.
Allen had returned to the Rams in 1978 after seven successful seasons with the Redskins, but the dynamics were different. He no longer had full control over personnel, and his autocratic coaching style clashed with a new generation of players who chafed at his demanding practices and strict protocols. Several veterans, including standout linebacker Isiah Robertson, briefly walked out of training camp.
After the Rams lost 14-7 to New England and then 17-0 to San Diego in the preseason, Rosenbloom pulled the trigger. “I made a serious error of judgment in believing George could work within our framework,” the owner said.
Allen was shocked. “Do you think I got a fair chance, two preseason games?” he asked reporters. The Rams, under replacement coach Ray Malavasi, went 12-4 that year and reached the NFC Championship Game. Allen never coached in the NFL again.
Pete McCulley, San Francisco 49ers (1978)
Tenure: 9 games | Record: 1-8
Pete McCulley’s tenure with the 49ers is remembered less for what he did than for what came after. His firing opened the door for Bill Walsh, who transformed the franchise into a dynasty.
McCulley had never been a head coach at any level when San Francisco hired him in January 1978. He inherited a team that had traded five draft picks — including a first-rounder — for an aging O.J. Simpson, whose surgically repaired knee limited his effectiveness. The 49ers started 0-4, extended their losing streak to nine games, and committed 63 turnovers on the season, the second-most in NFL history at the time.
General manager Joe Thomas fired McCulley after nine games. The chaos extended beyond the coaching staff: Thomas got into a barroom fight with a reporter covering the team and was physically removed from the establishment. The following year, Walsh arrived and began building a team that would win five Super Bowls.
Frank Reich, Carolina Panthers (2023)
Tenure: 11 games | Record: 1-10
Frank Reich was supposed to be the steady hand that would develop the Panthers’ prized investment: No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. Instead, he became the first NFL head coach to be fired midseason in back-to-back years, having lost his job with the Indianapolis Colts just a year earlier.
The Panthers had traded two first-round picks and wide receiver DJ Moore to Chicago to move up for Young, a bet-the-franchise move that required Reich’s offensive expertise to pay off. It never materialized. Carolina’s offense ranked 30th in the league in total yards and 30th in passing — the exact opposite of what Reich, who had helped Carson Wentz post MVP-caliber numbers in Philadelphia and coordinated a Super Bowl-winning offense, was hired to deliver.
Young’s development stalled amid the dysfunction. The rookie quarterback was sacked 40 times through his first 10 games, tied for the fifth-most in NFL history for a player through that span. His passer rating of 74.9 ranked near the bottom of the league, a stark contrast to his counterpart C.J. Stroud in Houston, who was thriving as an MVP candidate.
Reich handed off play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, then took them back for the final two games of his tenure — a move that only highlighted his desperation. After a 17-10 loss to Tennessee left Carolina at 1-10, owner David Tepper fired Reich the next morning.
“There’s a heart-pounding disappointment in not hitting the marks that we needed to hit,” Reich told the Charlotte Observer. “It hurts me for the guys, the team, the coaches, and the fans.”
Reich’s 11-game tenure was the shortest for any NFL head coach since Pete McCulley’s nine games in 1978 — and a reminder that even Super Bowl pedigree can’t overcome a roster stripped of talent and a quarterback who wasn’t ready.
Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars (2021)
Tenure: 13 games | Record: 2-11
Urban Meyer’s NFL tenure was a disaster from start to finish, and the losing was the least of it.
The three-time national championship winner arrived in Jacksonville with no NFL experience and quickly demonstrated he hadn’t done his homework. According to reports, Meyer was unfamiliar with star players around the league, at one point asking a staffer about Aaron Donald: “Who’s this 99 guy on the Rams? I’m hearing he might be a problem for us.”
The scandals piled up faster than the losses. Meyer briefly hired a strength coach with a history of racial insensitivity allegations, who resigned within 48 hours. The NFL fined the Jaguars $200,000 and Meyer $100,000 for violations during organized team activities. After a Thursday night loss in Cincinnati, Meyer stayed behind in Ohio rather than flying home with his team, and a viral video emerged of him at a bar with a young woman who was not his wife.
The final straw came when former kicker Josh Lambo alleged that Meyer had kicked him during practice and called him vulgar names. Meyer denied the accusations, but owner Shad Khan fired him hours later.
“After deliberation over many weeks and a thorough analysis of the entirety of Urban’s tenure with our team, I am bitterly disappointed to arrive at the conclusion that an immediate change is imperative for everyone,” Khan said. “Regaining our trust and respect was essential. Regrettably, it did not happen.”
Bobby Petrino, Atlanta Falcons (2007)
Tenure: 13 games | Record: 3-10
Bobby Petrino’s Falcons tenure was supposed to be transformative. He arrived from Louisville with a five-year, $24 million contract and a mandate to develop Michael Vick into a more complete quarterback. Instead, Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for his role in a dogfighting ring before ever taking a snap for Petrino.
Without their franchise quarterback, the Falcons stumbled to a 3-10 record. Then, on December 10, 2007 — less than 24 hours after promising owner Arthur Blank he wasn’t leaving — Petrino resigned to become the head coach at Arkansas.
He didn’t tell his players in person. Instead, he left a 78-word laminated note in each locker: “Out of my respect for you, I am letting you know that, with a heavy heart, I resigned today as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. This decision was not easy, but it was made in the best interest of me and my family. While my desire would have been to finish out what has been a difficult season for us all, circumstances did not allow me to do so.”
Safety Lawyer Milloy taped the letter above his locker with a red “X” through Petrino’s words and a single word written in marker: “Coward.”
“The best way to describe the way we feel,” Blank said, “is betrayed.”
Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos (2022)
Tenure: 15 games | Record: 4-11
The Broncos fired Nathaniel Hackett on December 26, 2022, one day after a 51-14 Christmas Day blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams — the most lopsided defeat in franchise history. It was the shortest tenure for any head coach in Broncos history.
Hackett arrived with impeccable credentials: three years as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator, where he helped Aaron Rodgers win back-to-back MVP awards. Denver paired him with Russell Wilson, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade that cost two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and three players. Wilson signed a $245 million extension before taking a snap.
Instead, the dysfunction started immediately. In the season opener against Wilson’s former team in Seattle, Hackett botched clock management in the final seconds and opted for a 64-yard field goal rather than letting his $245 million quarterback try to convert fourth-and-5. The kick sailed wide left. Denver lost 17-16.
It got worse. The Broncos failed to score a touchdown in five consecutive goal-to-go situations to start the season. Fans at Empower Field sarcastically counted down the play clock to help the team snap the ball on time. Hackett admitted his shortcomings and hired a senior assistant specifically to help with game-day decisions — a wild acknowledgment of his struggles.
Nothing worked. Denver’s offense averaged 15.5 points per game, worst in the NFL. Wilson posted career lows in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating. When the Rams dismantled them on Christmas, players were fighting each other on the sideline.
“We recognize and appreciate this organization’s championship history, and we understand we have not met that standard,” owner Greg Penner said. “Our fans deserve much better.”
Hackett’s successor, Sean Payton, later called the 2022 Broncos “one of the worst coaching jobs in league history” — then reportedly apologized for saying it out loud.
Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders (2022-2023)
Tenure: 25 games | Record: 9-16
Josh McDaniels was supposed to have learned from his mistakes. His first head coaching stint in Denver ended after 28 games and an 11-17 record, derailed by a videotaping scandal and a team that collapsed after a 6-0 start. Twelve years later, with six Super Bowl rings as New England’s offensive coordinator, he got a second chance in Las Vegas.
It went even worse.
The Raiders hired McDaniels in January 2022 alongside general manager Dave Ziegler, both former Patriots executives, expecting them to elevate a team coming off an improbable playoff run. Instead, they inherited a 10-7 roster and went backward. The Raiders finished 6-11 in McDaniels’ first season, blowing a record-tying five games after taking double-digit leads, including a 20-0 halftime advantage against Arizona that became the biggest collapse in franchise history.
McDaniels’ relationship with his players deteriorated publicly. He benched nine-year starter Derek Carr for the final two weeks of 2022 to avoid triggering a contract guarantee, then let Carr walk for nothing in free agency. His replacement, Jimmy Garoppolo, led a league-worst offense in 2023 that averaged just 15.8 points per game and managed only 157 total yards in an embarrassing Monday Night Football loss to Detroit.
That defeat was the final straw. Owner Mark Davis fired McDaniels and Ziegler on Halloween night, 25 games into a six-year contract. Star receiver Davante Adams had slammed his helmet in frustration during the game. Running back Josh Jacobs, asked what might spark the offense, responded: “I don’t know, that ain’t my job.”
McDaniels became the first non-interim coach in the Super Bowl era to be fired by two franchises before completing his second season with either team. His combined head coaching record: 20-33.
