Cardinals, Raiders, and Dolphins Coaching Vacancies

All three of these teams share similar traits: quality defensive parts in place without an offensive direction.

The Cardinals D-Coordinator Clancy Pendergast showed some potential with his unit this year, but ultimately injuries derailed the progress they started to show. He runs an aggressive style of defense that should continue to improve as they add talent. By firing Dennis Green and retaining Pendergast, the Cardinals front office has shown that they're happy with the direction the defense is going, and that they'll most likely be looking the hardest at an offensive minded head coach. They'll need to add some quality players to their offensive line, namely a tackle. I'm sure Wisconsin's OT Joe Thomas is high on their draft board, but I'm not sure he'll fall to them. They should move Leonard Davis back to guard, his natural position, assuming they resign him. He's been their best offensive lineman of the past few season, and their lack of talent along the line necessitated the move to tackle. The problem is that he's now a free agent, and if he convinces another team that he'll play a quality LT, he'll price himself well beyond what Arizona would pay him as a guard. Cam Cameron's name is high on their list, and they should really inquire about Mike Martz. Given the heart condition that befell Martz at the end of his tenure in St. Louis, I'm not sure if he's ready to go back to being a head coach, but he'd be a perfect fit to mold Leinart. Given what he got out of Roy Williams and more impressively Mike Furrey this past year, could you imagine the numbers Leinart, Fitzgerald, and Boldin would put up? Edge is already a solid receiving back, and I'm sure Martz would utilize him well. Cameron wouldn't be a bad idea either to mold Leinart given the success story he now has under his belt with Phillip Rivers, although he runs more of a run-first offense.

Al Davis is the real coach killer, not Michael Vick. He's notoriously hard to work with, and it shows by the coaching carosel that's existed in Oakland for years. The Raiders had a very impressive turnaround on the defensive side of the ball, and Rob Ryan deserves a lot of credit. Derrick Burgess was an excellent acquisition, Warren Sapp had a rebound year, and their secondary was among the NFL's best all year long. Little known Nnamdi Asomougha might just be the best cover corner not named Champ Bailey. That being said, they are an absolute disaster on the offensive side of the ball. Aaron Brooks was not good, Andrew Walter continues failing to impress, Randy Moss quit, Jerry Porter quit a year ago, and their offensive line, namely Robert Gallery, is a mess. With a good, young defense in place and an up-and-coming defensive coordinator running that show, they will undoubtedly look for a head coach who can turn this offensive wasteland around. Whoever they choose will be in for quite the restoration project, but with the #1 pick and LaMont Jordan aiding him, he'll have a few options to get started with.

The Dolphins also have a quality defense, but it's an aging one as Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas push past 30 years old. The key to their run defense, Keith Traylor, is almost 37. Due to Saban's departure, they have their whole chain of command left to be worked out. Their offense is the true problem with Culpepper still rehabbing his knee, so deciding their 2007 signal caller is their most important question. They have a very talented RB in Ronnie Brown, and Chris Chambers was possibly the most under-utilized player in all of football last year. Randy McMichael remains a quality pass-catching TE, and Marty Booker proved that he's still a reliable 2nd WR. Cleo Lemon flashed some potential in the last few games, perhaps making Harrington expendable. Hudson Houck, the offensive line coach, is one of the leagues best and has turned around several careers, most recently L.J. Shelton this past season. The pieces are in place; they just need to find the right person to put them together and use them correctly. The offense should really focus around Ronnie Brown and use him to open up the defense for McMichael and Chambers, so Cameron might be a great fit here.

Fantasy Impact: All owners or potential drafters of Leinart, Edge, Boldin, Fitzgerald, Jordan, Moss, Brown, Chambers, and McMichael should keep a close eye on the developments concerning the head coaching positions for these teams. Given all of them favor an offensive minded head coach, the right one could really boost the value of these players from where they are right now. Just look what Scott Linehan's departure from his offensive coordinator position with Miami did to Brown and Chambers, and how his acquisition by St. Louis boosted Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson.