LA Rams DC Staley is NFL’s hottest coaches, but he’s not leaving yet

Look for five new head coaches in 2021

So far, the NFL head coaches list includes the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons.  I would add the New York Jets (HC Adam Gase), the Detroit Lions (HC Matt Patricia), and Los Angeles Chargers (HC Anthony Lynn) as NFL teams with an eye to a coaching move for 2021. Conservatively, that’s five head coaching positions that should be open for the 2021 NFL season.

Other teams that are struggling this year are just one year in on their coaching change from a year ago and are unlikely to change leaders so quickly. New head coaches like Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, despite a horrific 3-8 start, can and will likely successfully argue that they did not have sufficient time nor healthy players to implement any scheme changes in this year.

Interim coaches are interesting this year

Still, we’ve seen how quickly some struggling teams can recover with a change at the helm.  Of course, that transition is paramount to having a seasoned coordinator on the staff who can seamlessly assume the helm and just do a better job of player relations and communication.

Texans interim head coach Romeo Crennel is 4-3 with the team, after an 0-4 start. He has a shot at being hired full time. Falcons interim head coach Raheem Morris is 3-2 with their team, after a start of 0-5.  He too has made a compelling case to be hired as the full-time head coach as well. While we’ve witnessed that succeeding as an interim most certainly does not guarantee being hired as the head coach, nor even a guarantee of remaining with the team, it proves to other teams that both coaches can win in the NFL.