ALREADY DONATED TO IT. ALL RIGHT. A FIRST IN FIVE YEARS FOR THE BENGALS. THE TEAM ENDING THE SEASON WITH A LOSING RECORD. IT WAS A MASSIVE DISAPPOINTMENT. LET’S JUST SAY IT HOW IT IS FOR FANS AND ALSO PLAYERS, HOWEVER. HOWEVER, THE BENGALS OWNER, MIKE BROWN, SAYS NO BIG CHANGES ARE BEING MADE AS FAR AS THE COACHING STAFF GOES. HEAD COACH ZAC TAYLOR AND THE DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL DUKE TOBIN, WILL BE AROUND NEXT SEASON. BROWN SAYS THAT HE’S CONFIDENT THAT THEY ARE THE RIGHT LEADERS TO GUIDE THE TEAM FORWARD, ADDING THAT HE TRUSTS THEIR PLAN AND EXPECTS FOR THE BENGALS TO RETURN TO THEIR DESIRED LEVEL OF SUCCESS. HEAD COACH ZAC TAYLOR, BY THE WAY, IS EXPECTED TO TALK IN JUST ABOUT 20 MINUTES HERE, OUR SPORTS DIRECTOR, CHARLIE CLIFFORD, IS AT PAYCOR RIGHT NOW WAITING ON THAT NEWS CONFER
Zac Taylor is here to stay. Here are the 8 NFL teams that did let go of their head coach this season
Updated: 1:24 AM EST Jan 11, 2026
As the 2025 NFL season begins to wind to a close, a fourth of all teams have now fired their head coach due to lackluster results.However, after significant speculation, the Bengals officially confirmed last week that they will not be joining them in getting rid of head coach Zac Taylor.This comes even as Cincinnati had its worst season since 2020 with a 6-11 record, marking a significant step backwards for a team that just a few seasons ago made it to the Super Bowl and an AFC Championship Game in back-to-back years.Bengals President Mike Brown directly addressed the calls for Taylor and Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin to be fired on Monday, saying that he trusted their joint vision to return Cincinnati to future success.”We came into the season with high expectations, coming off four straight winning seasons with leaders in place that took us to a Super Bowl and two AFC Championship games,” the statement from Brown read. “We know this season has been frustrating and disappointing. The results fell short of our standards, and missing the playoffs again proves there is more work to do.””Our focus is on building a team that can consistently compete at the highest level, with the goal of winning championships,” the statement continued. “After thoughtful consideration, I am confident that Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor are the right leaders to guide us forward. They have proven they can build and lead teams that compete for championships. We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success. We are taking a hard look at everything we do as we approach this offseason with focused determination to build a championship-caliber roster that wins consistently. We are fully committed to delivering results that match the pride, passion and expectations of this organization and our fans.”However, by traditional standards, the decision to let go of Taylor would not have been surprising if it had happened. Three of the eight teams that let go of their coaches had better seasonal records than the Bengals this year, with one being the Baltimore Ravens’ longtime coach of nearly two decades, John Harbaugh.In fact, of all nine of the NFL teams that had equivalent or worse records than the Bengals’ 6-11 performance this year, only four — the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, and New Orleans Saints — did not fire their head coach, putting the split at exactly half among the bottom 10 teams in seeking a new coaching direction.So why was Zac Taylor spared the axe when so many others weren’t? Other than the fact that Taylor’s contract reportedly does not expire until after 2027, and would lead to the Bengals to have to pay two coaches at once during that span, Brown is correct that Taylor does have a past track record for success. In fact, Taylor has a better lifetime record with the Bengals than almost all of the other coaches who were fired this season.At the end of the 2025 season, Taylor’s lifetime coaching record with the Bengals stands at 52-63-1 outside of the postseason, a win percentage of 44.8%. Only the Ravens’ John Harbaugh and the Miami Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel have higher regular-season win percentages with their teams, at 61.4% and 51.5%, respectively.Meanwhile, the remaining six coaches all had lower lifetime winning percentages with the teams that they were fired from, even as two — Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns and Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons — only slightly trailed Taylor’s record with Cincinnati.Almost all of the coaches were fired in quick succession throughout this past week as the regular season came to an end. However, Brian Callahan of the Tennessee Titans was fired after Week 6 as the Titans got off to a 1-5 start this season, while Brian Daboll was fired after Week 10 as the Giants got off to a 2-8 start. Callahan previously served as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2023 and helped develop Cincinnati’s offense into one of the best in the NFL before joining Tennessee. See the full list of coaches who have been let go from their teams this season below.NFL head coaches not returning for 2026Baltimore Ravens — John Harbaugh (8-9 record this season, 180-113 overall with the Ravens)Atlanta Falcons — Raheem Morris (8-9 record this season, 20-25 overall with the Falcons)Miami Dolphins — Mike McDaniel (7-10 this season, 35-33 overall with the Dolphins)Cleveland Browns — Kevin Stefanski (5-12 this season, 45-56 overall with the Browns)Arizona Cardinals — Jonathan Gannon (3-14 this season, 15-36 overall with the Cardinals)Las Vegas Raiders — Pete Carroll (3-14 record this season, his first and only with the Raiders)New York Giants — Brian Daboll (2-8 record this season before being fired, 20-40-1 overall with the Giants) Tennessee Titans — Brian Callahan (1-5 record this season before being fired, 4-19 overall with the Titans)
As the 2025 NFL season begins to wind to a close, a fourth of all teams have now fired their head coach due to lackluster results.
However, after significant speculation, the Bengals officially confirmed last week that they will not be joining them in getting rid of head coach Zac Taylor.
This comes even as Cincinnati had its worst season since 2020 with a 6-11 record, marking a significant step backwards for a team that just a few seasons ago made it to the Super Bowl and an AFC Championship Game in back-to-back years.
Bengals President Mike Brown directly addressed the calls for Taylor and Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin to be fired on Monday, saying that he trusted their joint vision to return Cincinnati to future success.
“We came into the season with high expectations, coming off four straight winning seasons with leaders in place that took us to a Super Bowl and two AFC Championship games,” the statement from Brown read. “We know this season has been frustrating and disappointing. The results fell short of our standards, and missing the playoffs again proves there is more work to do.”
“Our focus is on building a team that can consistently compete at the highest level, with the goal of winning championships,” the statement continued. “After thoughtful consideration, I am confident that Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor are the right leaders to guide us forward. They have proven they can build and lead teams that compete for championships. We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success. We are taking a hard look at everything we do as we approach this offseason with focused determination to build a championship-caliber roster that wins consistently. We are fully committed to delivering results that match the pride, passion and expectations of this organization and our fans.”
However, by traditional standards, the decision to let go of Taylor would not have been surprising if it had happened. Three of the eight teams that let go of their coaches had better seasonal records than the Bengals this year, with one being the Baltimore Ravens’ longtime coach of nearly two decades, John Harbaugh.
In fact, of all nine of the NFL teams that had equivalent or worse records than the Bengals’ 6-11 performance this year, only four — the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, and New Orleans Saints — did not fire their head coach, putting the split at exactly half among the bottom 10 teams in seeking a new coaching direction.
So why was Zac Taylor spared the axe when so many others weren’t? Other than the fact that Taylor’s contract reportedly does not expire until after 2027, and would lead to the Bengals to have to pay two coaches at once during that span, Brown is correct that Taylor does have a past track record for success. In fact, Taylor has a better lifetime record with the Bengals than almost all of the other coaches who were fired this season.
At the end of the 2025 season, Taylor’s lifetime coaching record with the Bengals stands at 52-63-1 outside of the postseason, a win percentage of 44.8%. Only the Ravens’ John Harbaugh and the Miami Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel have higher regular-season win percentages with their teams, at 61.4% and 51.5%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the remaining six coaches all had lower lifetime winning percentages with the teams that they were fired from, even as two — Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns and Raheem Morris of the Atlanta Falcons — only slightly trailed Taylor’s record with Cincinnati.
Almost all of the coaches were fired in quick succession throughout this past week as the regular season came to an end. However, Brian Callahan of the Tennessee Titans was fired after Week 6 as the Titans got off to a 1-5 start this season, while Brian Daboll was fired after Week 10 as the Giants got off to a 2-8 start. Callahan previously served as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2023 and helped develop Cincinnati’s offense into one of the best in the NFL before joining Tennessee.
See the full list of coaches who have been let go from their teams this season below.
NFL head coaches not returning for 2026Baltimore Ravens — John Harbaugh (8-9 record this season, 180-113 overall with the Ravens)Atlanta Falcons — Raheem Morris (8-9 record this season, 20-25 overall with the Falcons)Miami Dolphins — Mike McDaniel (7-10 this season, 35-33 overall with the Dolphins)Cleveland Browns — Kevin Stefanski (5-12 this season, 45-56 overall with the Browns)Arizona Cardinals — Jonathan Gannon (3-14 this season, 15-36 overall with the Cardinals)Las Vegas Raiders — Pete Carroll (3-14 record this season, his first and only with the Raiders)New York Giants — Brian Daboll (2-8 record this season before being fired, 20-40-1 overall with the Giants) Tennessee Titans — Brian Callahan (1-5 record this season before being fired, 4-19 overall with the Titans)