Professional sports are built on results, and nowhere is that pressure felt more intensely than by the head coach. Whether in football, basketball or soccer, coaches are the public face of a team’s performance, strategy and culture. When wins don’t come, expectations aren’t met or progress stalls, ownership often looks to the head coach as the most immediate solution for change.
The 2025-2026 NFL season offered a clear example of this volatility. Ten teams entered the offseason with new head coaches due to nine being fired and one stepping down. This level of turnover highlights just how quickly franchises are willing to move on in pursuit of better results, reflecting the league’s relentless competitiveness and win-now mentality.
Breaking down coaching turnover across the world’s biggest sports leagues
To understand how widespread this phenomenon is, we analyzed head coach turnover across North America’s Big Four leagues: the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. Alongside this data, we also assessed figures relating to six of the world’s top soccer leagues: the MLS, English Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and LaLiga.
Once collected, the results were analyzed at league, state/province and team levels to determine how turnover rates vary across different environments. For regional analysis, the study calculated the average number of coaching changes per team within each state or province, rather than using total coaching changes. This ensures that regions with more professional franchises are not unfairly penalized and that comparisons reflect relative instability rather than market size.
Which Big Four league fires coaches the fastest?
Coaching turnover has been a defining feature across North America’s Big Four leagues, but the scale varies significantly.
The NHL has seen the most total changes, with 88 new head coaches over the past decade, showing widespread turnover across the league. However, the NBA ranks highest for average changes per team at 2.9 compared to 2.75 in the NHL, indicating that certain basketball franchises cycle through coaches more frequently.
Meanwhile, the NFL has experienced a sharp increase, with 29% of all coaching changes occurring in just the last two seasons. The 2025-2026 offseason alone saw the most changes in the past ten years, highlighting growing pressure on football coaches.
By contrast, the MLB has been the most stable league, with 57 changes and the lowest average per team (1.9).
It’s also important to note that turnover isn’t limited to struggling teams. In both the NFL and NBA, some coaches have been fired despite strong records and championship success, reflecting the incredibly high expectations across professional sports.
NBA franchises cycle through coaches the fastest
The data shows that NBA franchises dominate the list of teams with the most head coaching changes over the past decade. In fact, seven of the top 15 teams with the highest turnover come from basketball, reinforcing the league’s reputation for frequent leadership resets.
The Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets top the ranking, each making seven head coaching changes since 2016, followed by the New York Knicks with six. Three other NBA teams, namely the Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks, have made five changes. This aligns with the NBA’s league-leading average coaching turnover, where certain franchises move on from coaches rapidly in pursuit of immediate results.
Teams from the NFL and NHL also feature prominently. The Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders have each made four coaching changes, highlighting the intense pressure present in football.
We then have the Vancouver Canucks (the only Canadian franchise in the top 15), Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres representing the NHL, each with four head coach changes since the 2015-2016 season.
However, not all teams follow this pattern. Some of the most successful franchises have demonstrated remarkable stability, including the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, and the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. Their long-term coaching continuity highlights how stability on the sidelines can play a key role in sustained success.
Which states and provinces fire coaches the most?
Coaching turnover varies widely across North America, with some states seeing far more changes than others. California ranks first in terms of overall total, with 35 head coaching changes in the past decade, followed by New York with 31. However, both states have a large number of teams across the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, which contributes to their higher totals.
To provide a fairer comparison, our study also analyzed the average number of coaching changes per team. Using this measurement, Arizona ranks as the most unstable state, averaging 4.00 changes per team, followed by New York at 3.88 and Nevada at 3.50. Georgia, New Jersey, Tennessee and Utah also show relatively high turnover, each averaging 3.00 changes per team.
In contrast, California has seen 35 changes but just 2.33 per team on average, showing that its high total is driven more by the number of franchises than unusually unstable individual teams.
Soccer bucks the global trend of coaching turnover
The MLS stands out as the most stable major soccer league when it comes to head coaching turnover. Over the past decade, the MLS has recorded 181 coaching changes, which is far fewer than Serie A (369), LaLiga (319) and the Premier League (260).
On average, MLS sees around 11 coaching changes per calendar year, compared to 22 in Serie A and 19 in LaLiga. The most recent saw just ten changes, slightly below the league’s long-term average and reinforcing its relative stability.
Mid-season firings are also less common in the MLS, averaging 11 per year, compared to 13 in Serie A and 12 in LaLiga. In Europe, it’s not unusual for a single club to make multiple changes in one season. Chelsea, for example, has gone through several managers in short periods while searching for long-term stability.
Overall, MLS shows far greater patience than its European counterparts, with fewer annual changes and more consistent leadership, making it the most stable major league in global soccer.
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Methodology
This study analyzes coach turnover across major professional sports leagues over the past decade to identify which leagues, teams and regions experience the highest levels of coaching change.
Coach turnover was measured from the 2015–2016 season through the 2025–2026 season. For the NBA and NHL, data reflects changes recorded up to February 12, 2026, as both seasons remain ongoing at the time of analysis. A coaching change was recorded each time a new head coach (or manager, in MLB) was officially appointed. Interim appointments were included where a new individual formally assumed leadership duties. Retirements, dismissals, contract expirations, and mutual partings were all treated consistently as coaching changes. Ongoing tenures were not counted as additional changes.
The leagues included in the analysis are:
- Big Four: NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.
- Soccer: MLS, Premier League (UK), Bundesliga (Germany), Serie A (Italy), Ligue 1 (France), and LaLiga (Spain).
Once collected, the results were analyzed at league level, state/province level and team level to find how turnover rates differ in different settings. For regional level analysis, rather than using total coaching changes per state, the study calculated the average number of coaching changes per team within each state or province. This approach ensures that states with a higher concentration of professional franchises are not disproportionately penalized and that comparisons reflect relative instability rather than market size.
All data was compiled from secondary sources, including historical coaching records and league reporting from platforms such as SI.com, Transfermarkt, ESPN, and official league and team pages, to ensure consistency and accuracy across competitions.
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