It will absolutely be a thought worth discussing.
First of all: I hope that, for the love all things holy, Kraft stays as far away as possible from the following 3 names:
Patricia
McDaniels
BOB
No more recycling the same regime. If you’re moving on from BB, don’t go back to the same tree and expect different results. You’re better off keeping Bill.
I’m also hesitant on hiring Mayo, but not quite as hesitant. He may be in the BB tree, but I think he would be more willing to adapt to change. He’s very young as a coach, and I could also see him being very willing to delegate out personnel decisions. He’s the one internal hire I wouldn’t hate.
Outside of that, what names would we be looking at? For me, the most intriguing assistant names I see out there right now:
Ben Johnson, OC Detroit: he has been incredible running that offense. I think Dan Campbell will miss him dearly once he leaves.
Bobby Slowik, OC Houston: he is doing amazing things with a very inexperienced offense. Also comes from the McVay tree, which has a high success rate.
Frank Smith, OC Miami, Ken Dorsey, OC Bills: more guys from a successful coaching trees. Would really be a nice move to snag someone from one of our rivals.
Brian Flores: DC Minnesota: if there is a defensive coach to hire, maybe bring Flores back in? He was honestly pretty good in Miami before things became weird there. Wouldn’t mind pairing him with a young OC.
List of candidates who could be fired or leave their current roles:
Mike Vrabel: I’m not really a fan of this one, but I could see him bring a candidate, going back to his NE roots.
Ron Rivera: This is one I’m not interested in. He’s been a great coach, but I think he’s getting past his prime.
Matt Lafleur: I doubt he gets fired, unless this season goes way downhill for them. But if he was available, I’d definitely take a look.
Sean McVay: another one that I doubt gets fired now. He’s honestly doing an amazing job this year with limited resources. I think it’s more likely he steps away altogether from coaching than he is to leave, and take another job.
Kevin Stefanski: he honestly had a great start to his coaching career, but seems like he’s in a toxic situation in Cleveland. Likely gets canned if they miss the playoffs this year. I could see him being more successful elsewhere.
John Harbaugh: if they missed the playoffs, would he finally be fired? It’s not impossible, although not likely. But of course, let’s be real: even if he was available: f*** this guy.
college HC candidates: Most college coaches that would be worth a look at becoming an NFL HC are ones that will likely never leave their role. Guys like Saban, Smart, and Day are pretty broken into their positions. There are two names to watch here:
Jim Harbaugh/ Lincoln Riley: Both are in very cushy roles that would take a perfect situation to leave. But if we are bad enough the rest of the season to stumble into the top pick, and are in a spot to draft Caleb Williams, it would become way more realistic.
