Let's Talk NFL openings and candidates

Current openings:

Texans
Falcons
Lions

Most likely openings:
Jets
Jaguars
Chargers

Possible openings:
Bucs (retirement)
Eagles (Does the Super Bowl win buy Pederson another year?)
Bears (Ownership lose patience with Nagy?)
Broncos (injury riddled season enough of an excuse to keep Fangio?)
Pats (retirement)

Unlikely openings:
Cowboys- Doubt Jerry parts ways this quickly.
Bengals- Mike Brown is usually patient with coaches.

I'm going to say we should expect about 8 openings in the NFL for 2021. Here are some of the candidates:

1. Brian Daboll
Lots of people enamored with his development of Josh Allen and the overall offense of the Bills. I'm not as bullish on him, but he will definitely get a job.

2. Eric Bienemy
I don't like his past and think he wouldn't be considered if he was another race, but lots of teams do like his experience behind Reid. However, you gotta worry how much of that is him and how much is he just along for the ride. I strongly believe he will land one of the openings as well.

3. Joe Brady
Wunderkind in the Sean McVay path of being a young offensive mind. wouldn't surprise me if a team takes a chance on him.

4. Dennis Allen
Top NFL defenses consistently. Will possibly get another shot at being a HC since his tenure with the Raiders was not really a fair one to judge him as a HC.

5. Matt Eberflus
Colts defense has been pretty good and he was solid with the Cowboys as well. But, I worry about consistency with him. We shall see if it's enough to get him hired.

6. Leslie Frazier
Retread, but the NFL LOVES retreads. Plus the Rooney rule will be in his favor,.

7. Todd Bowles
See above. However, his defense actually are very solid everywhere he has been.

8. Nathaniel Hackett
GB offense looks great this year. How much is Lafleur and how much is Hackett. That will determine if a team gives him a shot.

9. Byron Leftwich
Likeable player and has done well with the Bucs offense. Could be an interesting choice

10. Josh McDaniels
His first stint with Denver wasn't a disaster but it wasn't good. He was a hot name but backed out of the Colts. If Bill retires, then the pats job is his. If not, then maybe he gets a shot elsewhere.

11. Greg Roman
Has done a decent job designing his offense around Lamar, but is he expected and able to do that with different personnel? Would you want him to?

12. Jack Del Rio
Retread. BUT, he has WFT playing great defense and has won at both his previous stops as a HC. I think he should get another shot because I felt the raiders quit on him too quickly because they wanted Gruden.

13. Robert Saleh
Hotter name last year than this year, especially after that arse whipping Josh Allen and Daboll put on them. But, maybe he gets a shot somewhere.

14. Brian Schottenheimer
Last name nepotism, and NFL loves nepotism too. His star has faded these last few weeks in Seattle, but he could still be a hot name.

15. A few college candidates (Matt Campbell, David Shaw, Lincoln Riley, PJ Fleck, Dan Mullen, Luke Fickell). Campbell is a hot name right now and teams like his defensive innovation. Shaw is likely not an option, but you never know. Riley could be in the mold of Kliff. Fleck is likely not an option, but is a rah rah guy like Harbaugh. Dan Mullen is known as a QB developer and play caller and it could be attractive to an NFL team. Luke Fickell is close friends with Mike Vrabel, so it's a possibility.


My personal opinion is this is how it could shake out:

Texans- Lincoln Riley (Texas boy. They like what he could do in the spread with Watson like he did with Hurts and Murray)
Falcons- Eric Bienemy (Lots of smoke coming out that he is the falcons guy)
Lions- Nathaniel Hackett (Lions see his offense in their division. They try to lure him away)
Jets- Brian Daboll (Jets like what he hs done at the bills and think he can mold Trevor the same way)
Jags- Byron Leftwich (former player and they want to see what he can do with Fields)
Chargers- Jack Del Rio (So cal guy and the Chargers want someone to sure up their defense)
Buccaneers- Todd Bowles (promote from DC to keep smooth transition after Arians retires)
Bears- Josh McDaniels (Bears want an offensive mind and will go after Trey lance or Trask in the draft for their QB)
Eagles-Greg Roman (They're going to hire roman to see if he can build an offense around Hurts)