The carnage of ‘Black Friday’ is already well underway but some teams that have fired head coaches have wasted no time trying to line up their replacements. BetOnline.ag has ‘Next Head Coach’ props posted for several teams and we’ll give them a quick evaluation.
One team and arguably the biggest name among eligible coaching candidates is absent from these lists. Reports suggest that the Washington Redskins are planning to hire former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera is still held in very high regard by his peers and the NFL media. In fact, many question the wisdom of the Carolina Panthers when they fired Rivera on December 3. He quickly became the most sought after candidate with speculation that he could end up in Cleveland or Dallas. It looks like Redskins owner Dan Snyder is well aware of the level of demand for Rivera and wanted to get a jump on the competition.
The timing of the Redskins’ announcement of team president’s Bruce Allen’s firing is likely not a coincidence. Snyder is the owner and is going to have his input but the prevailing wisdom was that many coaches would find the Washington job unattractive due to potential meddling from Allen. Rivera likely indicated that he wouldn’t take the job with Allen still at the helm. Given the tumultuous personnel situation that has existed in Washington for several years you can be certain that Rivera has insisted on considerable personnel input as a condition of employment.
CAROLINA PANTHERS NEXT HEAD COACH
Right now, former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is the favorite in the BetOnline.ag coaching market at +250. The Panthers have interviewed McCarthy and are reportedly interested but this all might have more to do with logistics than anything else. McCarthy spent a year out coaching after the Packers fired him. This means that he was available to be interviewed immediately after Rivera was dismissed. This isn’t the case with most candidates who are currently employed by other teams and usually not available until after the season. Reports indicate that the Cleveland Browns will also interview McCarthy.
McCarthy had considerable success in Green Bay but there’s not much enthusiasm for him becoming Carolina’s next head coach, at least among fans and media. One name that keeps coming up as a possibility–and one that will be interviewed by the Panthers–is current Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman. Roman has shot to the top of the eligible coaching candidates due to his work with Ravens’ QB and presumptive NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. Cleveland is also interested in interviewing Roman along with current New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
One potential candidate isn’t listed in the BetOnline.ag betting market for the Panthers’ next head coach–at least not yet. Carolina has requested permission to interview Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. Bieniemy has become one of the rising stars in NFL coaching circles due to his success with the Kansas City Chiefs offense. Since assuming the role of offensive coordinator in 2018, Bieniemy has presided over one of the most unstoppable scoring attacks in the NFL. Bieniemy has attracted the interest of several teams looking to fill a coaching vacancy. In addition to Carolina, the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns have requested to
