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On Monday, December 31st, there was a frenzy of activity in the NFL as Black Monday brought about the firings of a number of head coaches. With that, some esteemed head coaches instantly became available. And in the coming days we should see various recent vacancies be filled with some of the top candidates.
Philadelphia and Chicago parting ways with Andy Reid and Lovie Smith opened opportunities for other teams in the league to improve.
Coaches like Reid and Smith are going to be able to choose where they want to go. Of them, the first name to pick up steam was the former Eagles coach. Shortly after the Arizona Cardinals fired Ken Whisenhunt, they were linked to Andy Reid.
Andy Reid has emerged as the leading candidate to become Arizona's next HC and could be named to job by end of the week, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 1, 2013
One league source reported they were "95-percent certain" Reid will end up in Arizona, while another suggested the head coaching search for the organization is just beginning.
Fooch's Note: Reid will apparently first interview with the Kansas City Chiefs before heading to Arizona for that interview.
Of course, if he winds up in the desert, Reid would be reunited with his former QB that he traded away in Kevin Kolb. This does not mean that Reid would accept the position because of Kolb. In fact, there is no guarantee that Kolb would be in the team’s plans at all.
At this point, everything is still hypothetical. The one thing we can be sure of is that the NFC West is going to get even more competitive.
In three consecutive years since 2010, the Seahawks, 49ers and Rams have replaced Jim Mora, Mike Singletary and Steve Spagnoulo with Pete Carroll, Jim Harbaugh and Jeff Fisher. There has been a very apparent spike in the performance of these NFC West teams.
This year, both the 49ers and Seahawks are in the NFL postseason, hoping to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. And with Fisher, the Rams are even more spirited, as a team on the rise.
The Cardinals are looking to land a big name coach that could give them a legitimate foundation for a fresh start. Andy Reid would fit that bill, giving another NFC West team a chance to find new life. Reid would inherent a tough defensive unit and one of the greatest playmakers in all of football in Larry Fitzgerald.
San Francisco must realize their window is getting smaller. Other organizations are poaching their staff and building directly beside them. Their level competitiveness upped the ante in the division, forcing other teams to go all in.
The Cardinals were a disaster in 2012 and need to start from scratch. I would bet they get their man.