The NFL is a ruthless business, and head coaches are often the first to take the fall when things go south. But sometimes, even successful, well-respected, or downright legendary coaches get shown the door in moves that leave fans and analysts stunned.
Whether it was due to front-office drama, ownership impatience, or just plain bad luck, these firings rocked the league. Here are the 10 most shocking head coach firings in NFL history.
10. Jim Harbaugh – San Francisco 49ers (2014)
Harbaugh took the 49ers from mediocrity to three straight NFC Championship appearances and a Super Bowl berth, yet somehow, that wasn’t enough to keep his job. After years of butting heads with management, the team mutually parted ways with their best coach in decades—aka, they fired him without saying they fired him.
9. Tony Dungy – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2001)
Dungy built the Buccaneers into a contender after years of irrelevance, yet after just one playoff loss too many, the team pulled the plug. To make things worse, Tampa immediately won the Super Bowl the very next season—under Jon Gruden, using the dominant defense Dungy had built.
8. Brian Flores – Miami Dolphins (2022)
Flores took over a rebuilding Dolphins team and led them to back-to-back winning seasons, including a seven-game win streak in his final year. But despite that turnaround, Miami shockingly fired him—leading to a lawsuit against the NFL and plenty of speculation about behind-the-scenes drama.
7. Tom Landry – Dallas Cowboys (1989)
Landry was the Dallas Cowboys for nearly 30 years, so when Jerry Jones bought the team and immediately fired him, it felt like the end of an era. It didn’t matter that the team had struggled in recent years—seeing a two-time Super Bowl-winning legend get dismissed like that was a shock to the entire football world.
6. Andy Reid – Philadelphia Eagles (2012)
Reid was the winningest coach in Eagles history and had taken the team to multiple NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl. But after one bad season in 2012, Philly let him go—only for him to quickly resurrect his career in Kansas City and become one of the best coaches of all time.
5. Marty Schottenheimer – San Diego Chargers (2007)
Schottenheimer led the Chargers to a 14-2 record in 2006, and yet, he was fired after a playoff loss. The reason? A fractured relationship with ownership, proving that even one of the best regular-season coaches in history wasn’t safe from front-office dysfunction.
4. Lovie Smith – Chicago Bears (2012)
Smith took the Bears to a Super Bowl and had them in playoff contention for most of his tenure, yet he was still let go after a 10-6 season. Chicago quickly learned that replacing him was no easy task, as they cycled through a parade of mediocre coaches in the years that followed.
3. Jon Gruden – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009)
Gruden had just led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title a few years prior and was still one of the biggest names in coaching. But after a late-season collapse in 2008, Tampa Bay stunned everyone by showing him the door—setting up his eventual return to the Raiders years later.
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2. Jimmy Johnson – Dallas Cowboys (1994)
Johnson built the Cowboys into a powerhouse, winning back-to-back Super Bowls, yet owner Jerry Jones still pushed him out. The move made no sense at the time and still doesn’t today, especially since Johnson’s departure led to a power struggle that kept Dallas from winning another title for decades.
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1. Doug Pederson – Philadelphia Eagles (2021)
Pederson delivered the first Super Bowl in Eagles history, with a backup quarterback, no less—and just three years later, he was out of a job. While there was tension between him and ownership, firing the only coach to ever bring Philly a championship felt like an all-time shocking decision.
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