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senior NFL national reporter- ESPN staff writer
- Previously a college football reporter for CBSSports.com
- University of Florida graduate
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senior NFL national reporter- Dan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels. You can follow Dan on Twitter via @DanGrazianoESPN.
In just three-and-a-half weeks, 18 of the NFL's 32 teams will have played their final games, and a half-dozen or more of them will be looking for new head coaches.
The last time we presented a look at the projected 2021 offseason coaching landscape was Oct. 20, and both of us kept hearing the same thing at the end of our conversations with people around the league: "Check back after Thanksgiving." That makes sense. A lot can change in that amount of time. On Oct. 20, for example, the Bears were 5-1 and in first place. They have not won a game since then. The league-wide perception of their situation has, as you might imagine, changed.
Having checked back after Thanksgiving as instructed, we return to you with an updated look at the 2021 offseason coaching carousel, beginning with a team we'd never have imagined we'd be discussing in this context this soon:
Jump to a section:
Can Matt Nagy survive in Chicago?
Is Zac Taylor safe in Cincinnati?
Detroit has a plan, but what's next?
The leading candidates for coaching jobs
Potential general manager names to watch
Could the Eagles really fire Doug Pederson?
Things weren't great in Philly on Oct. 20. The Eagles were 1-4-1. But they were a half-game behind the 2-4 first-place Cowboys, who'd just lost their quarterback to a season-ending injury, and you had reason to believe the Eagles were the one team in the NFC East that would turn things around. They have not.
Carson Wentz -- the man handed a $128 million contract just 19 months ago to be the face of the franchise -- is broken. The Eagles' offense is broken, too, ranking 29th in yards per play (4.9) and 31st in yards per pass attempt (6.1). Wentz leads the NFL in interceptions (16) and sacks taken (50), leaving the 3-8-1 Eagles no choice but to bench him for Jalen Hurts in a season suddenly bringing next year's draft positioning into focus.
All this does not bode well for Pederson, who presides over this disaster along with general manager Howie Roseman.