I don’t know that I agree with this list. I saw another that had the Broncos at the top. This one has the Raiders. I do agree with the bottom of the list.
I think that Derrick Carr proved himself this year as a “leader” as well as a QB.
I also think the this list gives too much credit to Kirk Cousins, I don’t think he is as good as they infer.
And Trevor Lawrence is an unknown at this point but they rank him 9 out of 10?
The rest could probably be picked randomly, although I think the Giants should be last.
The Broncos job really depends on the ownership. Getting a QB has proven difficult, but it’s fixable. If the coach takes the job and then the new owner doesn’t like them and wants to blow things up or whatever, it could be a bad situation. Otherwise, it’s a good spot. A lot of people think that there’s a good core of players and insert quality QB and they’re contenders, not just for the playoffs, but more. The problem is, the new coach will be hired before the ownership situation is resolved.
I actually hear that a lot on sports radio around here too.
The question is, is Drew Lock the right QB and has just been mismanaged, or do they need to get a new one?
I hope things turn out better in Denver than they did with Washington when it was in the same situation in 1999. You could have written the exact same thing then.
That is the question. He makes bad decisions, but could he still improve with Pat Shurmer gone? Maybe. The new coach will have to have a plan. I suspect the GM may want him to sit behind Rodgers or Wilson for a couple of years, winning a SB as a backup in the process.
I can see Lock being in the mold of Alex Smith, just needing the right system and coach.
Maybe. Earlier this year, he came into a game against SD for a bit, had a fumble and a horrible interception that turned the momentum for a while. Bridgewater came back in the second half and they won the game, but a lot of people were saying that was Lock’s last chance. He played better toward the end of the year, but the offense was still stagnant and they lost.
Honestly, I blame Shurmer more than Lock or Bridgewater, but I’m not yet convinced Lock is the answer. He had a few good games toward the end of his rookie year, was supposed to really get his shot the next year, but didn’t get a training camp because of Covid, and he played poorly, so they brought in Bridgewater to compete. I had kinda hoped that Lock would win the competition just to see if he’s any good, but Bridgewater fit Fangio’s conservative style more. Fans started calling him “Teddy two yards.” Lock might have thrown more TDs (hard to say), but he’d almost certainly have thrown more INTs.
The one thing that goes against my opinion/belief.
If you lost out to Teddy Bridgewater, you may really just be that bad.
With the Raiders I question Gruden. Al Davis thought he knew everything. Mark Davis knows what he doesn’t know, but he hires the wrong people. Plus, as I understand, his cash flow situation is not all that great.
Kirk Cousins is the type of quarterback who will win some games for you if you put him in the right system. He is not a franchise quarterback who can carry a team on his own.
With Jacksonville the big issue for any coach is General Manger Trent Baalke. He has a habit of surviving while coaches get canned. Him being there might be a big turn-off. Aside from that Jacksonville’s owner Shad Khan is patient to a fault with his coaches, which shows how bad Urban Meyer had to have been for him to get canned so soon.
I think the Texans belong at the bottom. Their salary cap situation is a mess and their ownership leaves a lot to be desired. With the Giants the past several years have been lousy, but prior to that the ownership has been good. I can see the right hire given the opportunity to clean up that mess.
I did not take cap into the equation.
Good point
I think the surprising vacancy is Miami coach Brian Flores. After a poor start he led them to 7 or 8 wins in a row?
From a Miami paper: "Stephen Ross promptly fired head coach Brian Flores due to “communication” issues. " Whatever that means!
It means he wasn’t on the same page as the GM and owner. He’ll probably get one of the other open jobs.
I think I shared this in another thread.
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2022/1/10/22876955/brian-flores-fired-miami-dolphins-stephen-ross
I can remember back when the Dolphins were a well-run organization. It is a big contrast to the clown show the organization is today.
Here’s an unexpected one.
He has also interviewed for the Jags job.
Update: There are five head coaching vacancies now. Of them, the Jaguars are doing their best to rival the Texans as the biggest clown show. Byron Leftwich reportedly said he will not coach there unless GM Trent Baalke goes.
If you believe reports, there is mutual interest between the Vikings and Jim Harbaugh. That is probably the most attractive opening now. I would put New Orleans at number two, with Miami at number three but closer to Houston and Jacksonville in terms of attractiveness.
I think the Ravens won the Harbaugh Lottery.
John comes off thoughtful and sane.
Jim needs some Counseling.
Flores is now suing the league. Messages released as part of the Gruden suit seem to indicate that Bellichick accidently told Flores that someone else had the Giants job, days before Flores was to interview, suggesting his interview was a sham.
Kudos to Leftwich, that takes balls (if true).
My only problem with him is most of his success came when he had Tom Brady, so we don’t really know how good he is.