pastabelly's take:
Dick Vermeil, Kansas City (retired)
Overview: Despite having one of the NFL's most powerful offenses in Vermeil's stint, the Chiefs advanced to the playoffs just once in his five years with the club. And now, this is a team at the crossroads, with one of the oldest rosters in the league and perhaps too few emerging youngsters. With president/general manager Carl Peterson at the helm, Kansas City is one of the NFL's best-run operations. But the Chiefs haven't developed a young quarterback, the supposed upgrades on defense seemed to diminish as the season wore on, and the rest of the division remains formidable.
Next for Vermeil: At age 69, and with plenty of outside ventures still on his plate, Vermeil has said his retirement is permanent. At least as far as coaching, you've got to take him at his word. But before making his initial return to the NFL sideline after a lengthy hiatus, Vermeil worked as a college football analyst and a return to the broadcast booth certainly is not out of the question.
Next for Chiefs: Vermeil has been lobbying the last two years for Al Saunders, his offensive coordinator, to succeed him. Then last week, he mentioned Herm Edwards of the
New York Jets in a totally unsolicited comment. But it's Peterson, not Vermeil, who will determine the new coach, and so the process might be more inclusive than anyone has realized. Don't rule out Ferentz, who has previous NFL experience. And we would all be naïve, given all the smoke surrounding Edwards, to think there isn't some fire that accompanies it. Edwards, as ESPN.com has noted in recent weeks, is going to make an issue of his compensation level. How big an issue? Big enough. In the end, he's likely to remain with the Jets, but his situation bears watching