Antonio Pierce latest NFL head coach to be fired after one season or less with team

ByESPN staff ESPN logo
Tuesday, January 7, 2025 9:54PM
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Antonio Pierce became the latest name to join a not-so-fun list Tuesday: non-interim NFL head coaches who were fired after at most one season in charge.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired Pierce after a 4-13 season that included a 10-game losing streak. He took over Las Vegas on an interim basis during the 2023 season before the franchise removed the interim tag in January 2024 to make him the head coach.

He is the 11th one-and-done head coach in the past 10 years (including coaches replaced during their first season). Since 2021, at least one coach has gone one-and-done every year, including two firings after the 2024 season.

Here's a look at each non-interim head coach from that span who didn't make it to a second season.

Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots

Year: 2024

Record: 4-13

The Patriots fired Mayo after the team defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-16. The victory dropped New England from the No. 1 pick to No. 4 in the 2025 NFL draft. Mayo finished 4-13, including two stretches of six straight losses.

Mayo was the first Patriots coach to be fired after his first season since Rod Rust in 1990.

Frank Reich, Carolina Panthers

Year: 2023

Record: 1-10

Reich inherited a Panthers team that selected quarterback Bryce Young at No. 1 in the previous draft but struggled to make it work. Carolina firedReich after just 11 games following a Week 12 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

The Indianapolis Colts let Reich go the season prior after five years, making him the first NFL head coach since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to be fired in back-to-back seasons.

Nathaniel Hackett, Denver Broncos

Year: 2022

Record: 4-11

After years as an offensive coordinator in the NFL, Hackett's first run as head coach ended abruptly. The Broncos firedhim after a 4-11 start, punctuated by a 51-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Denver averaged a league-low 15.5 points per game at the time of Hackett's dismissal -- its lowest point total at that point in a season since 1966. It also marked the shortest tenure of any non-interim head coach in franchise history.

Lovie Smith, Houston Texans

Year: 2022

Record: 3-13-1

The former 2005 AP Coach of the Year went one-and-done in Houston. Like Mayo, Smith won the last game of the season, impacting the Texans' draft position. They dropped from the No. 1 pick to No. 2, selecting quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Houston had recent experience with head coach searches ...

David Culley, Houston Texans

Year: 2021

Record: 4-13

The Texans made Culley the oldest first-time NFL head coach at age 65, then let him go a year later. Houston firedCulley four days after the end of the season.

The Texans were outscored by 172 points with Culley as head coach, the largest point differential in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

Urban Meyer, Jacksonville Jaguars

Year: 2021

Record: 2-11

A dysfunctional season with the Jaguars didn't conclude without Meyer being held responsible. The franchise firedhim after 13 games following a 20-0 loss to Tennessee, marking the fourth shutout loss in Jacksonville's history.

At the time, Meyer was just the fourth NFL head coach since the 1970 merger who didn't finish his first season with his team -- Reich and Hackett joined him later.

Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

Year: 2019

Record: 6-10

Three straight losses -- including a final one to the Cincinnati Bengals, who were 1-14 at the time -- proved to be too much for Kitchens to survive. He was firedonce the team returned from Cincinnati, ending his first and to date only tenure as NFL head coach.

Cleveland ranked in the top five in penalties and penalty yardage all season. Weeks before being fired, Kitchens caused controversy after being photographed wearing a "Pittsburgh started it" T-shirt to the movies, referencing a meleeduring the Browns' matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the season.

Steve Wilks, Arizona Cardinals

Year: 2018

Record: 3-13

The Cardinals' worst record in 18 years led to Wilks being dismissed a day after the season ended.

Arizona started the season 0-4, then went 1-7 after its bye week. After losing to the then-Oakland Raiders in Week 11 to fall to 2-8, it marked the fourth time since 1990 that the franchise started a season with just two wins in its first 10 games.

Chip Kelly, San Francisco 49ers

Year: 2016

Record: 2-14

After being fired by the Philadelphia Eagles in the previous season, Kelly suffered a similar fate at his next stop -- just one year in. San Francisco won its first game, then dropped 13 straight.

With Jim Tomsula relieved a season earlier, it was the second time since the 1970 merger that a team had to replace back-to-back coaches after only one full season each, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Jim Tomsula, San Francisco 49ers

Year: 2015

Record: 5-11

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