Shortest Coaching Tenures in Pro Sports

by Jeremy Block - 5/5/2025

In the wide, weird world of professional sports, coaching jobs can be a dream or a disaster waiting to happen. One minute you're shaking hands at the press conference, and the next, you're packing up your office plant after three games and a very awkward phone call. Sometimes it’s performance-based. Sometimes it’s front office sabotage. And occasionally, the coach just realizes the job sucks and taps out before the first invoice clears.

This list isn’t about guys who eventually flamed out. These are the true one-hit blunders, the blink-and-you-missed-it coaching stints that barely count as employment. With that said, let’s dive into some of the shortest coaching tenures in pro sports history.

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Jerry Tarkanian – San Antonio Spurs, 1992

There’s awkward firings, and then there’s Jerry Tarkanian coaching the Spurs for 20 games awkward. After years of dominating college basketball with UNLV, Tarkanian dipped his toe into the NBA and immediately realized the water was filled with sharks, broken promises, and David Robinson's injured thumb. The team went 9–11, but it felt worse, mostly because he was clashing with owner Red McCombs over personnel issues constantly.

He butted heads with management, hated the front office politics, and found out quickly that coaching grown millionaires isn’t the same as running through the Big West with college kids and a towel in your mouth. Tarkanian took the buyout, dipped out midseason, and never looked back.

Bill Belichick – New York Jets, 2000 (for literally one day)

If you want to talk short stints, it doesn’t get any more absurd than Bill Belichick’s time as head coach of the New York Jets. He was hired, and then resigned the next day. His resignation letter? Handwritten on a napkin. You can’t make this stuff up. One day in Jets history, and he still might’ve been their best coaching hire in 20 years.

Of course, Belichick bailed because he saw the circus coming and wanted no part of it. The Patriots swooped in, gave him the keys, and the rest is six-rings-and-counting history. The Jets, meanwhile, were left holding a scribbled note and a deep sense of betrayal.

Bobby Petrino – Atlanta Falcons, 2007

No one ghosted a locker room quite like Bobby Petrino. Midway through his first NFL season, with the Falcons spiraling and Michael Vick in federal court, Petrino decided he had seen enough. Instead of finishing the year, he left a note on the players’ lockers and bolted for Arkansas under the cover of darkness. This was after just 13 games.

To add insult to injury, Petrino had signed a five-year, $24 million contract to coach the Falcons, and he bailed without even saying goodbye. Petrino, who clearly had no interest in adjusting to the pro game, ran off to the college ranks without any regard for the mess he left behind.

George Allen – Los Angeles Rams, 1978

In theory, bringing back a legendary coach to recapture some old glory sounds great. In practice, it ended with George Allen getting fired two preseason games into his return with the Rams. Yes, you read that right. Allen was hired, tried to reinstitute his old-school, militaristic ways, and the players immediately revolted like it was a coup.

The front office saw the mutiny brewing and yanked the plug before the season even started. It was a legendary flameout by a Hall of Fame coach who clearly didn’t get the “times have changed” memo.

Mike Dunlap – Charlotte Bobcats, 2012–13

You know things aren’t going well when winning 21 games in a season actually feels like an improvement. That was the Mike Dunlap experience with the Charlotte Bobcats. Hired out of nowhere after a career in college basketball and assistant gigs, Dunlap lasted exactly one season before being shown the door.

He was brought in to develop young talent and bring structure. What actually happened was a lot of confusion, some very ugly basketball, and locker room chatter that players just tuned him out completely. The team was still recovering from the 7–59 disaster the year before, so expectations were low, and somehow, he still underwhelmed. Charlotte gave him one shot and decided that was more than enough.

Phil Garner – Detroit Tigers, 2002

Phil Garner's time with the Detroit Tigers in 2002 was a coaching stint that could be measured in games rather than seasons. Hired to lead the team, Garner's tenure was abruptly cut short after just six games. The Tigers, struggling with an 0–6 start, decided to part ways with Garner, marking one of the shortest managerial tenures in MLB history.

This quick exit highlighted the high expectations and low tolerance for underperformance in professional sports. Garner's brief time with the Tigers serves as a reminder of the pressure managers and coaches face when trying to turn around struggling teams.

Lou Holtz – New York Jets, 1976

If Lou Holtz’s NFL coaching career were a movie, it would be about ten minutes long. After years of success in college, Holtz brought his experience and Notre Dame lingo to the New York Jets, a franchise that lives off of optimism. Sadly, he made it 13 games into the season, went 3–10, and basically said, “Yeah, this ain’t for me.”

Holtz resigned before the season even ended, and sprinted back to the college game like someone escaping a haunted house. Pro players weren’t interested in fighting for old Notre Dame slogans, and Holtz clearly wasn’t interested in trying to relate.

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Shortest Coaching Tenures in Pro Sports

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