The day after the NFL regular season ends is known as Black Monday, a bleak day when failed head coaches are sent packing.

Black Monday came three weeks early this season, with the Kansas City Chiefs firing Todd Haley and the Miami Dolphins following a few hours later by dismissing Tony Sparano.

Neither move was a surprise, and the timing probably should not have been, either. With teams scrambling to find the right replacement - and fans agitating for rapid improvement - team owners do not want to be beaten to their preferred candidate. (The Jacksonville Jaguars were the first team to fire their coach this season, letting Jack Del Rio go Nov. 29.)

In Miami, owner Stephen Ross, who tried to woo Jim Harbaugh before he was hired by San Francisco, is sure to go for a big name. Jeff Ireland will remain the team's general manager, although there has been speculation that Ross might also find a front-office role for his longtime friend Carl Peterson, who ran the Chiefs for 20 years. Among Ross' probable targets: the former Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

"I'd like to find a young Don Shula," Ross said at a late afternoon news conference. Shula coached Miami from 1970 to 1995.

Sparano, a Bill Parcells protege, won a division title in 2008 with Chad Pennington at quarterback, but the Dolphins were not able to equal that success again, and there was a perceived divide between the coaching and personnel sides of the organization.

Ross showed his impatience - and his inexperience as an owner - when he flew across country last winter to talk to Harbaugh while Sparano was still working at his Dolphins office. Sparano received a contract extension to make up for that embarrassment, but when Miami started this season 0-7, Sparano's days were clearly dwindling. The Dolphins lost to Philadelphia, 26-10, on Sunday, falling to 4-9.

Haley, another Parcells product whose Chiefs won the AFC West last year but fell apart this season - and who were embarrassed Sunday, 37-10, by the New York Jets - was fired after almost three tumultuous seasons.

Haley's flameout was particularly acute, and included a long-strained relationship with general manager Scott Pioli. Haley might have been fired at the end of last season if the Chiefs had not made the playoffs. Haley ran an unorthodox training camp in the wake of the lockout, focusing on strength and conditioning instead of full-speed practices. But when the Chiefs started 0-3, Haley's job was already in jeopardy.

Then the Chiefs (5-9) won four games in a row to put themselves in playoff contention. But the roster became threadbare as major injuries to key players mounted.

The Chiefs have lost five of their last six games, and five of their losses over all have been by at least 27 points. The loss Sunday was marked by 11 penalties, including 81 yards' worth on one Jets drive, including a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Haley for remarks he made to an official.

Pioli said: "I don't perceive Todd Haley as a mistake. Todd Haley is a good football coach. I'll say that. What we need to do is figure out what direction we're headed in and how we're going to continue to make progress."

Pioli, a disciple of Bill Belichick's, now embarks on his second coaching search in less than three years. Before he hired Haley, he tried to lure Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, and Ferentz could again be on his short list. Josh McDaniels, the former Denver coach who is now the Rams' offensive coordinator, could also be a candidate. He and Pioli worked together in New England, and he was especially successful working with the Chiefs' Matt Cassel when Cassel took over for an injured Tom Brady in 2008 and the Patriots won 11 games with him at quarterback.