3 Ex-Vikings Coaches on Hot Seat
In five days, the NFL will undergo its annual “Black Monday” process, where a handful of head coaches get fired, setting into motion a carousel. This time, three prominent former Minnesota Vikings coaches lead the way for skippers who could be terminated.
Black Monday is close, and a trio of ex-Vikings skippers feel like realistic candidates to get the hard conversation.
The league always features at least one surprise transaction on Black Monday, but consider these three coaches firmly on the hot seat, listed alphabetically.
Black Monday Could Swipe Three Ex-Vikings Coaches
Coaches will be fired on Monday; you can set a clock to it.
1. Pete Carroll | Las Vegas Raiders
Time with Vikings: 1985-1989 as Defensive Back Coach
This 2025 Raiders experiment, led by Carroll, undeniably flopped. Las Vegas has a 2-14 record and is one of the worst teams in football — with no arguments from anybody. In fact, if the season ended this moment, the Raiders would pick first in the draft this April, likely taking the plunge with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Las Vegas hired Carroll to stabilize the franchise, a plan to whisk it from the doldrums and make it relevant overnight, especially with Tom Brady inside the ownership group. Instead, the Raiders may be on the brink of firing Carroll, who turned 74 a few months ago.
The Sporting News‘ Andy McNamara wrote about Carroll’s hot-seat status this week: “Currently in line for the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, this first season with the Raiders has been a complete disaster for Pete Carroll.”
“Player relation issues, the mid-season firings of both his offensive and special teams coordinators, and general poor performance across the board make him the top candidate to be fired. The offensive minded Carroll’s Raiders are also scoring the fewest points-per-game in the NFL.”
When next Monday arrives, the Raiders will probably end the one-year experiment and start fresh — with a new franchise quarterback trial on the way.
2. Jonathan Gannon | Arizona Cardinals
Time with Vikings: 2014-2017 as Asst. Defensive Back Coach
Gannon has been attached to the Cardinals for three seasons, and the experiment just isn’t working. His quarterback, Kyler Murray, appears to be on his way out after the team possibly benched him for Jacoby Brissett and later placed him on injured reserve. The Cardinals’ coaching staff and front office did little to refute the “soft benching” allegations.
Since Gannon took over at the start of 2023, Arizona has the league’s sixth-worst record. Gannon wins 30% of his games. A 15-35 record in three seasons.
As Gannon would theoretically enter Year No. 4, the franchise has no optimism for the future and no quarterback, unless the Cardinals reverse the messaging and keep Murray. What would you be excited about as a Cardinals fan?
Per EPA/Play, the Cardinals rank 17th on offense since Gannon took over, and 30th in defense. The major problem here? Gannon came from a defensive background. His defense is the NFL’s third-worst with him in charge. Is he making a difference? Unlikely.
Gannon was asked about the upcoming offseason after Sunday’s loss, and he replied, “I kind of do the same process as I’ve done the last two years: I try to take detailed notes, try to have a pulse of what’s going on, but you can’t let that … I do have to think about the future a little bit, obviously the seat that I’m in, but my focus is really on L.A. and that there’ll be a time to look at all of that and have those conversations and make changes.”
“No one’s happy. I’m not happy. Players aren’t happy. Through adversity, you’ve got to change. So, I got to change, and we got to change some things, but we’ll get to that.”
3. Kevin Stefanski | Cleveland Browns
Time with Vikings: 2006-2019 in Various Roles, including Offensive Coordinator
Before the season started, most people assumed the Browns wouldn’t amount to much, and here they are at 4–12 with fans already glued to mock drafts because there isn’t much else to cling to. Cleveland entered 2025 with Joe Flacco, rookie Dillion Gabriel, and rookie Shedeur Sanders at quarterback — a setup that felt doomed on arrival and has delivered exactly that. Sanders at least looks like a quasi-viable long-term option, but everything around him has collapsed.
Pretty much every concern NFL media raised in August has materialized. Stefanski now looks like the easiest pressure release, even though his résumé says otherwise. The guy has won Coach of the Year twice, which makes the likely ending feel especially harsh.
The real turning point came when Cleveland traded for Deshaun Watson. A fully guaranteed $230 million deal, controversy waved away, Baker Mayfield shipped out — he has totally revitalized his career in Tampa Bay. Whether Stefanski pushed for Watson or not, that move set the franchise on its current path. A dirty one.
If Cleveland decides to pull the plug, Stefanski won’t stay unemployed for long. Coaches with that track record usually resurface quickly, especially once distance grows between them and the mess left behind.
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