The NFL season had its fair share of controversy and saw the highest turnover of head coaches in league history. And here we are, trying to make sense of what was or what wasn’t. Here are some moments that still beg for understanding.
Speaking from the corner of Giants fandom, which leaves very little room for judgment, it’s still true that being a Jets fan was brutal in the 2025-2026 season. Benching a quarterback. Then not. Offensive woes. Losing by ridiculous margins. New York media questioning everything…everything. The Jets were an embarrassment, and as I said, being a Giants fan was no easy feat either, but the Jets never looked prepared for any game they played in, even the ones they miraculously won. It takes a long time to fix a losing culture, Aaron Glenn would know from experience in Detroit, but a Jets fan can’t stomach another losing season. Trekking to New Jersey to watch a team be the main character in an ill-fated comedy show…isn’t as funny as it seems.
Photo courtesy NESN
Apparently, to get into the Hall of Fame…you must…not be named Bill Belichick or Robert Craft or Eli Manning. Something about this year seemed personal. Like someone had a grudge to hold onto. The Patriots’ dynasty has its place in history. Obviously. Or would Tom Brady just be another guy? Whether or not you believe it was because of him that they won, it is a moot point. Belichick and Craft were crucial to the story as well. They should be in. Period. And somehow, leaving Manning out two years in a row is just as ludicrous. Critics can say what they want, but Eli Manning has two rings, and both were against those Patriots. Seriously, I’ll take the biggest gaffes in Hall of Fame history for 1000.
Buffalo Bills fans will look back at this season and wonder, what if? What if everything had gone according to plan? Like a Super Bowl appearance, maybe. Firing their head coach after a playoff loss against the Broncos seemed like adding salt to an open and gushing wound. Clearly, the team underperformed, but then the Bills’ owner opened a page that seemed hard to recover from. Joe Brady is under an enormous amount of pressure, and there is no other way to say it. It’s like when the Knicks hired Mike Brown. It’s now or never. All the cards are on the table for the Buffalo Bills. They can no longer reshuffle the deck. The cards are ripped and fading.
Photo courtesy Altoona Mirror
The turnover of NFL head coaches this season looked like a path of destruction. Tomlin is leaving the Steelers. Ravens and Harbaugh. The Raiders move on from Pete Carroll after one season. On and on. Unfortunately, the opportunity for African Americans seems to be shrinking with each hiring cycle. In a league that strives for diversity or at least attempts to, the facts are clear. 32 NFL teams. Three African American coaches remain. The Rooney Rule was created to prevent a decline in opportunities for African Americans, but it seems to have the opposite effect. Who is one to say that someone doesn’t deserve a position? Who is to say that McCarthy didn’t deserve another chance after the Cowboys blamed him for plenty of things, not his fault? Who is to say Harbaugh isn’t the guy that the Giants always needed? Those things may be true, and the lack of opportunity for African Americans may also be true. The NFL is always trying to lead the conversation on dominating the sports world, but somehow, it is still ten steps behind. It feels like betrayal. But was the intention ever well-meaning?
Streaming. Betting. It has led to positive and negative outcomes for the NFL. The expansion of international games has clearly helped the league, with more countries enjoying American football. But streaming has made notable games inaccessible to fans unless they pay a fee. Betting has already racked one league, the NBA, and it’s laughable to say that it’s all but gone. A league that has had to dodge numerous accusations of “fixing” the game has continued to make betting organizations among its main sponsors. To each its own. The problem is that once the NFL opened its door to these things; they invited a level of skepticism that has not gone away. The call in the Bills/Broncos game was the epicenter of it all. Was it a catch? Was it an interception? Was there some hidden motive for the NFL? Conspiracy theories run rampant, especially in the age of social media. The league’s credibility continues to lessen amongst casual fans. And truthfully, the NFL wants those fans on their side more than anyone else.
What will define the 2026-2027 season? We have yet to see, but one thing is for certain: the storylines will be provided.
