The Carolina Panthers have fired Ron Rivera. They did it early as they wanted to get the jump on the coaching search and now it\u2019s begun. The question is who will they end up with? The Panthers have a generally attractive situation with what should be a quality offense and a defense that is typically respectable. However, it is a smaller market and they don\u2019t always vie for the biggest names in the business. Let\u2019s take a look at who is likely to end up as the Panthers head coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The former offensive coordinator for the 49ers under Jim Harbaugh and the current offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens has done a lot of good work for a sustained period of time. He\u2019s helped with the development of Lamar Jackson, who is now the front runner to win the NFL\u2019s MVP award, and he\u2019s orchestrated the Ravens\u2019 offense, which is No. 1 in the NFL in points per game and second in yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is one of the NFL\u2019s most respected and accomplished coordinators and has a career track record which ought to finally lead to a head coaching job. Roman is 47, so he has certainly paid his dues and bided his time. However, he\u2019s not the sexiest name on the board. There are questions as to whether he\u2019s one of those guys who is a good coordinator but not a great head coach. He\u2019s never been a head coach at any point in his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current Cowboys coach is likely to be fired. Given that he spent a long time in Dallas under a powerful owner, Jerry Jones, any job Garrett might take would be less stressful by comparison. A team in search of a coach might think that Garrett will be in a more comfortable situation where he faces less pressure and might coach even better than he did in Dallas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s remember that for all of Garrett\u2019s many failures in Dallas, he did coach the Cowboys to the NFC\u2019s No. 1 seed in the 2016 season and did win a playoff game. The Cowboys have won at least 10 games in three of the last six seasons and been to the playoffs in each of those years. He\u2019s only finished with a record under .500 just once in his time in Dallas. Other coaches have been far bigger failures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man whose attempted courtship of the Indianapolis Colts turned into a disaster and whose brief tenure with the Denver Broncos was a mess, has to prove to an NFL organization that he will run a clean, tight ship and allow other people in management to do their jobs. McDaniels has a reputation for trying to be dictatorial in his operations and a poor communicator. If he shows that he is willing to cooperate with others, his tenure as Tom Brady\u2019s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator in New England gives him credentials many other coaches lack. He would have some good offensive parts to work with here with Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, Curtis Samuel and possibly Cam Newton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robert Saleh is one of the hot names out there but he would probably take the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 job before this one. The San Francisco 49ers\u2019 defensive coordinator would have his pick of jobs and unfortunately, the Panthers probably wouldn\u2019t come first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons might be retained, but if he isn\u2019t, he probably would not move to a division rival. As for Jim Harbaugh, he is not leaving Michigan as he has unfinished business to tend to at his alma mater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GREG ROMAN +300 Get the latest NFL football odds and information–follow BetOnline.ag on Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JASON GARRETT +550
ROBERT SALEH +700
DAN QUINN +750
JIM HARBAUGH +750
JOSH MCDANIELS +800
DAVID SHAW +900
MIKE MCCARTHY +1200
URBAN MEYER +1200
JAY GRUDEN +1400
DOUG MARRONE +1600
MIKE LAFLEUR +1600
MARVIN LEWIS +1800
PAT SHURMUR +1800
DOUG PEDERSON +2000
BILL COWHER +2500 <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n