NFL Black Monday roundup: Dolphins, Bears, Vikings fire head coaches

As the NFL regular season ends, the coaching carousel officially has begun spinning.

Black Monday, an annual bloody tradition of pink-slips for personnel who have disappointed, arrived with a big surprise and plenty of casualties. Here’s a roundup of the coaches and decision-makers who are now looking for new jobs:

Miami Dolphins

The biggest shock of the day emerged early, when Miami fired Brian Flores after three years and back-to-back winning seasons.

Flores, whose Dolphins went 9-8 this campaign and knocked off the Patriots on Sunday, is expected to be a top candidate elsewhere, ESPN reported.

Miami’s GM, Chris Grier, will remain for a seventh season.

“I made a decision today to part ways with Brian Flores,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. “After evaluating where we are as an organization and what we need going forward to improve, I determined that key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want it to be and felt that this decision was in the best interest of the Miami Dolphins. I believe we have a talented young roster in place and have the opportunity to be much better in 2022.”

Ross, who essentially is a Michigan booster, told reporters he is not eyeing Jim Harbaugh as Flores’ replacement.

Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota cleaned house, firing both head coach Mike Zimmer and executive vice president and general manager Rick Spielman after the two were married for eight years at the top of the organization.

The Vikings finished 8-9 this season and missed the playoffs for a second year in a row. Both seasons were entered with much higher expectations.

Zimmer finishes his tenure with a 72-56-1 record and three postseason appearances. He reached the NFC Championship following the 2017 season but lost to the Eagles.

This season, the Vikings’ defense was the problem, allowing the third-most yards in the NFL.

Spielman had been with the Vikings since 2006.

Chicago Bears

Chicago will be looking for a new head coach and general manager after firing Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace, respectively.

Nagy, the NFL Coach of the Year in 2018, never reached those heights again. After a 12-4 debut season with the Bears, the acclaimed offensive guru could not find the right quarterback to help Chicago win. He could not turn Mitchell Trubisky into a star, and his first season with first-rounder Justin Fields was a failure.

The Bears went 6-11 this season, without a winning record since 2018.

Pace had hired Nagy and was in charge of the drafts that brought in Trubisky and Fields. He also dealt two first-round draft picks for Khalil Mack, a superstar linebacker, in a much-hyped move that has not led to enough victories.

New York Giants

There’s been a target on Giants general manager Dave Gettleman’s back all season. This was the year to either shape up or get out. After four disastrous campaigns, the Giants chose the latter.

Gettleman was brought back in 2018 with the hope that he’d turnaround the franchise. Four years later, the team’s gone 19-46, its worst record in a four-year span in franchise history.

The Giants went 4-13 this season and were plagued by a weak offense and missteps by its backup quarterbacks.

The fate of Giants head coach Joe Judge remains up in the air as he waits to speak to the team’s owners. However, it is likely Judge will return to the Giants for another season.

Already gone

• The Broncos got a head-start on their coaching search by firing Vic Fangio on Sunday after three losing seasons. Denver also reportedly fired offensive coordinator (and former Giants coach) Pat Shurmur and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. The Broncos have suffered through five consecutive losing seasons.

• The Jaguars fired Urban Meyer in mid-December following one scandal after another, the final being a report that he kicked kicker Josh Lambo.

• Jon Gruden resigned as Raiders head coach in late October after years-old emails he sent were leaked, which included homophobic and misogynistic language (and which criticized commissioner Roger Goodell). Rich Bisaccia took over and has led Las Vegas to the postseason.