NFL Coaching Carousel (Page 2)

Watching Schiano's hangdog attitude in interviews for the past few weeks, he must have known he was a dead man walking.  Rumors were swirling last week that he was inquiring about some possible college openings (including Penn State).

I'd speculate that the Glazers will give take a hard look at Lovie Smith based on his time in Tampa as part of Dungy's staff. 

Mark

You really think that's a better situation than Detroit, which has a near-elite offense with CJ healthy, and at least as many "playmakers" on defense? Seems like a whole lot of talent just begging for leadership.

BTW, the FB (anti-Bama) rumors have started: Saban to the Lions!

If I were a head coach candidate, I'd probably make a decision based on the ownership situation rather than the potential talent in the locker room. 

Mark

I can't imagine Saban going anywhere unless he had total control, i.e., all coaching & personnel decisions.  That would certainly cut down the list of possibilities.  Money's certainly not an issue for him anymore (except for ego gratification).  From some of the articles that have been published recently it seems his wife would have some serious input on any job decision.  I wouldn't be surprised if he finished a couple more seasons at UA and then just walked away.

Mark

Exactly. Given enough time, you can amass talent on your own. But you can not replace the short sighted egomaniac that hired you. So, the list of undesirable jobs starts in Washington.

If I had my choice of NFL jobs, the things I'd look closely at is the strength of the division, current talent that will be around for 2-3 years, draft picks available, and salary cap issues.  The thing about the NFL is that teams can go from good to bad, or bad to good in a hurry mostly because of salary cap issues and lack of or poor draft choices.

Houston is probably the best choice due to a weak division, good current talent, and the #1 pick...but their salary cap situation is not ideal.  Lots of money tied into Schaub, Foster, Johnson, Joseph, and Brown.   JJ Watt will be looking for a new contract as well.  Luckily for Houston, the #1 pick no longer comes with a $70 million contract and $50 million guaranteed.  There is a win now requirement that comes with the job though.

I think Detroits job is a little overrated.  They also suffer from huge salary cap issues.  $50 million tied up between Stafford, Suh, and Johnson alone.  Certainly they are good players, but they need to carry their load as the rest of the team suffers with less money to go around.  Still a better than average job, but comes with the expectations of winning now.  7-9 or 8-8 isn't going to cut it.

Tampa and Cleveland aren't so bad IMO.  Draft picks and cap room.  Their divisions are tough, especially Tampa's, but a couple of 7-9 seasons to start out shouldn't get you fired.  You have time to build these teams up, and we all know that in the NFL, it's not often that teams stay at the top long.  San Fran, Seattle, Denver, New Orleans, Kansas City, and Carolina all have had losing seasons recently and all but New Orleans has had a recent coaching change.

With all the picks that Cleveland has, I think that would be a nice spot to coach.    Really the team showed a lot after the Richardson deal.     Surprised the coach was canned.     So with the picks and a good core, it would be fun to mold them into a winner.      Need that franchise QB tho

What difference does it make whether I consider it a coaching change or not?  My point is simply that teams that are really bad now can turn into really good teams in 2-3 years.  Potential hires for head coaching jobs in the NFL shouldn't be scared of taking over a team that's bad now...so long as they have draft picks and cap room.