The Giants became the latest team to make a coaching change this week, firing Brian Daboll after a disappointing 2–8 start to the 2025 season. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka will take over in the interim, and is tasked with guiding rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart—among others—through what's seemingly a lost remainder of the campaign.
Being tabbed to take over an NFL franchise on an interim basis puts coaches in a tough position. For starters, most come in having worked for the person who was fired by the team, and have to do their best to galvanize a group of players going through what is already a tumultuous season.
Moreover, they’re essentially working a dead-end job—as interim coaches are rarely retained when teams inevitably open up a wider search at season’s end.
Despite all of this, however, these coaches have actually fared pretty well to begin their interim tenures—especially in recent years. Here's a closer look at how teams have performed in their first games under a new head man in charge.
How interim NFL head coaches have fared in their first game since 2000
Since the beginning of the 2000 NFL season, 49 teams have either fired, moved on from or had their coach resign mid-campaign. Of those 49, 20 have won their first game with a new voice at the helm.
From 2000 to '09, just two of 14 interim coaches won their debut, while more recently—since '18, to be exact—those stop gaps have gone a respectable 9–10.
Here's a year-by-year look at each coach fired, the interim tabbed in his place, and the result of their first game:
2000
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Cincinnati Bengals
Bruce Coslet
Dick LeBeau
L 31–16
Arizona Cardinals
Vince Tobin
Dave McGinnis
L 21–20
Detroit Lions
Bobby Ross
Gary Moeller
W 13–10
Washington Redskins
Norv Turner
Terry Robiskie
L 32–13
2001
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Minnesota Vikings
Dennis Green
Mike Tice
L 19–3
2002
2003
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Atlanta Falcons
Dan Reeves
Wade Phillips
L 38–7
2004
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Miami Dolphins
Dave Wannstedt
Jim Bates
L 24–17
Cleveland Browns
Butch Davis
Terry Robiskie
L 42–15
2005
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Detroit Lions
Steve Mariucci
Dick Jauron
L 21–16
2006
2007
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Atlanta Falcons
Bobby Petrino
Emmitt Thomas
L 37–3
2008
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
St. Louis Rams
Scott Linehan
Jim Haslett
W 19–17
Oakland Raiders
Lane Kiffin
Tom Cable
L 34–3
San Francisco 49ers
Mike Nolan
Mike Singletary
L 34–13
2009
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Buffalo Bills
Dick Jauron
Perry Fewell
L 18–15
2010
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Dallas Cowboys
Wade Phillips
Jason Garrett
W 33–20
Minnesota Vikings
Brad Childress
Leslie Frazier
W 17–13
Denver Broncos
Josh McDaniels
Eric Studesville
L 43–13
San Francisco 49ers
Mike Singletary
Jim Tomsula
W 38–7
2011
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jack Del Rio
Mel Tucker
L 38–14
Miami Dolphins
Tony Sparano
Todd Bowles
W 30–23
Kansas City Chiefs
Todd Haley
Romeo Crennel
W 19–14
2012
2013
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Houston Texans
Gary Kubiak
Wade Phillips
L 25–3
2014
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Oakland Raiders
Dennis Allen
Tony Sparano
L 31–28
2015
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Miami Dolphins
Joe Philbin
Dan Campbell
W 38–10
Tennessee Titans
Ken Whisenhunt
Mike Mularkey
W 34–28
Philadelphia Eagles
Chip Kelly
Pat Shurmur
W 35–30
2016
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Los Angeles Rams
Jeff Fisher
John Fassel
L 24–3
Jacksonville Jaguars
Gus Bradley
Doug Marrone
W 38–17
Buffalo Bills
Rex Ryan
Anthony Lynn
L 30–10
2017
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
New York Giants
Ben McAdoo
Steve Spagnuolo
L 30–10
2018
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Cleveland Browns
Hue Jackson
Gregg Williams
L 37–21
Green Bay Packers
Mike McCarthy
Joe Philbin
W 34–20
2019
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Washington Redskins
Jay Gruden
Bill Callahan
W 17–16
Carolina Panthers
Ron Rivera
Perry Fewell
L 40–20
2020
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Houston Texans
Bill O’Brien
Romeo Crennel
W 30–14
Atlanta Falcons
Dan Quinn
Raheem Morris
W 40–23
Detroit Lions
Matt Patricia
Darrell Bevell
W 34–30
2021
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Las Vegas Raiders
Jon Gruden
Rich Bisaccia
W 34–24
Jacksonville Jaguars
Urban Meyer
Darrell Bevell
L 30–16
2022
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Carolina Panthers
Matt Rhule
Steve Wilks
L 24–10
Indianapolis Colts
Frank Reich
Jeff Saturday
W 25–20
Denver Broncos
Nathaniel Hackett
Jerry Rosburg
L 27–24
2023
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Las Vegas Raiders
Josh McDaniels
Antonio Pierce
W 30–6
Carolina Panthers
Frank Reich
Chris Tabor
L 21–18
Los Angeles Chargers
Brandon Staley
Giff Smith
L 24–22
2024
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
New York Jets
Robert Saleh
Jeff Ulbrich
L 23–20
New Orleans Saints
Dennis Allen
Darren Rizzi
W 20–17
Chicago Bears
Matt Eberflus
Thomas Brown
L 38–13
2025
Team
Coach Fired
Interim Coach
First Game Result
Tennessee Titans
Brian Callahan
Mike McCoy
L 31–13
Notable interim head coach performances
As we mentioned before, these interim are typically a stop gap to what ends up being wider coaching search in the offseason. Other times however, they do a good enough job to land—or at least deserve to land—the full-time gig.
Here's a look at some notable coaches who took over in the interim:
Jason Garrett, 2010 Dallas Cowboys
Jason Garrett took over for Wade Phillips midway through the 2010 season and after going 5–3 down the stretch, was hired as the Cowboys full-time head coach in January '11.
Garrett would end up spending the next nine years in Dallas, going 85–67 overall and leading the Cowboys to three playoff appearances. He was fired at the end of the 2019 season.
Doug Marrone, 2016 Jacksonville Jaguars
After the Jaguars fired Gus Bradley amid a 2–12 start to the 2016 season, they tabbed Doug Marrone to guide the franchise on an interim basis. Jacksonville finished the year 1–1, and Marrone was hired as the full-time head coach heading into the next season.
Marrone saw instant success in Duval County, leading the Jaguars to a 10–6 record and a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2017. Unfortunately, three consecutive seasons with win percentages of .375 or worse followed, and he was fired after a 1–16 campaign in 2020.
Gregg Williams, 2018 Cleveland Browns
Gregg Williams went 5–3 as the Browns' interim head coach in 2018 after they parted ways with Hue Jackson, and had them on the doorstep of the playoffs heading into January.
That offseason, however, Cleveland went with Freddie Kitchens—who had been working closely with rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield—as their full-time head coach.
Rich Bisaccia, 2021 Las Vegas Raiders
Rich Bisaccia took the reins of a 3–2 Raiders team in 2021 after coach Jon Gruden resigned amid his leaked emails scandal. Las Vegas went 7–5 to finish out the year and even made it to the postseason, losing to the Bengals in the wild-card round.
Many clamored for Bisaccia to get the team's full-time head coaching job the following season, but they instead opened up a search and hired Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels—who we'll get to later.
Jeff Saturday, 2022 Indianapolis Colts
The Colts fired Frank Reich after a 3-5-1 start to the 2022 season and instead of appointing someone on the current staff, team owner Jim Irsay turned for former center Jeff Saturday to lead the charge.
At the time, Saturday was working as an analyst with ESPN and his only coaching experience had been at the high school level. Needless to say, the hire got a lot of flak.
Amid the noise, Saturday led Indy to a 25–20 win over the Raiders in his first game, but finished the season 0–7 and was not retained in 2023.
Antonio Pierce, 2023 Las Vegas Raiders
Known for firing coaches mid-season, the Raiders moved on from Josh McDaniels just eight games into his second year and turned to linebackers coach Antonio Pierce in the interim.
Pierce led Las Vegas to a 5–4 finish to the 2023 season, and this time, team owner Mark Davis listened to his players. He hired Pierce as the team's full-time coach in '24, but fired him this past January after a 4–13, fourth-place finish in the AFC West.
