(12-26-2021, 12:56 PM)newporttom Wrote: Not that either is likely to be available, but if either Payton or Tomlin were let go, they jump to top of list.

Did a little more research on Pederson. Apparently he was never allowed to picks his assistants and it was his insistence on finally naming his own OC that was the breaking point. He wanted Press Taylor (Zac Taylor's brother) who is now an Offensive Asst with Indy.  Pederson in said to be assembling a staff and that Press Taylor will be his OC wherever he goes.  So Pederson likes Taylor, and obviously Reich does.

Makes you think that if he is assembling a staff and has picked an OC, he probably has a DC in mind, and that would be the end of Cullen.

I like that he took a year off and assessed his coaching.

So Pederson is my #1 - I think they chances of success are high and failure low.  But he is from Washington State and said coaching at home would be appealing so if you want Pederson, root for Carroll to be retained. 

Caldwell is a safe choice. But I think with him the chances of success is average and chance of failure low. One thing that put me off about Caldwell is age. He's 67 in a month. If it takes three years for us to be a contender he'll be 70.  His sideline demeanor worries me.  He always seemed to be in a stupor. And in his two stints as HC teams started off hot and then drifted to mediocre.  I think Caldwell could get you to 9-7.  I worry it would never go higher. Where I would like Caldwell is if you hire a first time HC, tp put him in a VP position as a mentor.

In seven seasons as head coach, Caldwell went higher than 9-7 three times including a 14-2 season.  He also went exactly 9-7 twice.  He only had two losing seasons in seven years and one of them was still 7-9.  The only time he went below that was a season where his starting quarterback was lost for the season, and they didn't have a competent backup on the team.  If you feel that 9-7 is "mediocre", then you shouldn't like Pederson.  4 out of his 5 seasons were 9-7 or worse.

That being said, I agree with your other point.  Caldwell is about turn to 67.  That's his big negative.  If it weren't for that, he would be my first choice among the candidates being mentioned (not counting head coaches still employed).

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