There are currently five NFL teams that have a vacancy in their head coach position. All five of these teams had losing seasons and ended up with a top 10 draft pick. These teams have already started conducting interviews for their next guy at the helm. Who will these teams pick? Let’s analyze the options and what I think the choice will be in this week’s edition of The Offseason.

Arizona Cardinals: Eric Bieniemy

Kliff Kingsbury’s coaching career really did go off the cliff. The Cardinals’ entire offense completely collapsed from what it was last season. The team is now a far cry from what it was the previous season. Despite the offense falling off, I do believe that the Cardinals have the proper pieces to fix it, and I believe that that person who can do this is Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs, as everyone should know, has one of the most explosive offenses in the league under Bieniemy, finishing in 1st place by a long shot in yards per game with 413.6 yards per game.

Carolina Panthers: Jonathan Gannon

After the Panthers fired Ron Rivera, it seemed like Matt Rhule was the guy, but after his atrocious record as the most recent Panthers head coach, this appears to have been a very bad mistake. With the defense being the only bright spot on the team, it seems that the Panthers will lean toward a coach with a defensive mind. I believe they’ll pursue Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Gannon has many years of serving as a defensive coach in the NFL, including defensive quality, defensive back, and of course defensive coordinator. This year, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense ranked 2nd in yards given up per game at 301.5 yards per game.

• As of Thursday, January 26, 2023, the Carolina Panthers have hired former Colts coach Frank Reich.

Denver Broncos: Sean Payton

In my opinion, Nathaniel Hackett was the worst coach hired during last year’s off-season. His inability to get anything done offensively despite acquiring Russell Wilson in a blockbuster trade is a clear sign of ineptness. Clearly, the Broncos are going to attempt to find an offensive-minded coach that will hopefully fix their broken offense that was statistically one of the worst the league. The Broncos have reportedly interviewed ex-New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton. He had coached New Orleans for nearly twenty years, he has a Super Bowl ring, and he coached future Hall of Fame quarterback, Drew Brees. and is a no-brainer head coach candidate, who I believe the Broncos will pull off in hiring.

Houston Texans: Leslie Frazier

After back-to-back years of one-year-wonder coaches, the Texans are in this position for seemingly the one-hundredth time in a row. David Culley and Lovie Smith were given next to no resources in their years as head coach and are also very old guys who are long past their prime. The Texans front office does not know at all what it is doing, and I believe it will show in their next coach: Leslie Frazier, defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo’s defense was painfully average this season under Frazier. There were times where he shined, and other times, such as the divisional round against the Bengals, where he stunk it up.

Indianapolis Colts: Dan Quinn

If Frank Reich wasn’t bad enough, Colts fans had to suffer through the tenure of interim coach Jeff Saturday. He may be someone who loves the team, but he is no position to coach an NFL team ever again. As many of these teams start to start a full-fledged search for their coach, it seems that the Colts have a particular interest in Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Dallas Cowboys finished 2nd in turnover differential at +10. In addition, Quinn was previously the coach for the Atlanta Falcons, who had a Super Bowl appearance under his tenure.

Only time will tell how accurate my predictions will be, and for the sake of these organizations, I hope that some end up being completely wrong. But it is important that these teams select a good head coach because a good coach can take a team from the bottom and send it to the top in a season.