The list of ex-coaches sitting on the sidelines this year is awfully long, awfully talented, and will likely cast a lengthy shadow upon the entire NFL this year and into the next off-season.  It's generally accepted any more that there will be signficant coach turnover in the NFL.  Every year, websites and bloggers discuss which coaches are on the 'hot seat' and speculate that without a stellar season, that coach will lose his job.  With the cadre of talent on the sidelines, I would think that some owners will look long and hard at the talent patrolling the sidelines of his (losing) team, and the list of coaches waiting for a call, and pick up the phone - both to fire the current guy and inquire about the other guy.

Mike Shanahan.  In what was perhaps the most surprising termination, Shanahan got the boot after his Broncos imploded last year, losing 3 straight games to lose the division and lose out on the chance at the playoffs.  That implosion was laid at Shanahan's feet - he couldn't coach his guys to a win (or motivate them) and his GM duties were being questioned more and more each and every year.  Denver had a great offense under Shanny, but that defense was woeful, and seemed to get worse each year. 

There's no doubt that Shanahan could immediately provide a boost to a struggling franchise.  He's seen as an offensive wizard, and his body of work certainly supports that.  Yet, an owner looking at Shanahan will have to deal with that ego, and his desire to run the entire ship.  Some owners won't like that, and so the list of owners that would give Shanny a hard look are probably slimmer.  That doesn't mean he won't soon be an NFL coach.  Shanahan will likely be one of the first guys called by an owner looking to stabilize the franchise.  Working out the details won't take too long; Shanahan himself is on record saying he wants to return to the NFL one day.

Mike Holmgren.  Holmgren has said that he needs a break, needs a chance to step away from the game for a while.  But most people expect him to one day come back; once he rests, relaxes and rebuilds the energy necessary to coach, he'll likely get a long, hard look.  Holmgren has a lengthy body of work that is virtually all positive.  He's won a Super Bowl, appeared in another one, and has done wonders with teams like Seattle.  For the Seahawks to become nationally relevant is perhaps the most impressive feat of his career. 

Holmgren, like Shanny, will probably want more control over the football operations.  Again, that's a tough nut to crack, but in Holmgren's case, I think that if he was working with the right sort of GM, the partnership would work well.  Holmgren, like Shanahan, is an offensive minded coach, and will want a certain type of player on his team to get the most out of his offense.

Jon Gruden.  Gruden's firing came at a surprising time, but I don't think that it was much of a surprise overall.  He's been wearing thin in Tampa, and perhaps the chance was necessary.  Gruden brings an intense, fiery personality to the sidelines, and while he may be difficult to relate to (among other coaches and his players) that doesn't mean he's a good coach.  He knows how to get the most of his players, and puts them into a position to win.  Had Oakland (re: Al Davis) been a little wiser, perhaps that franchise might not have fallen upon their current hard times.  Gruden was the kind of coach that could stand up to Davis (perhaps the reason for his firing, then) and gotten production.  His pass-heavy offense is a tough one to defense.

Gruden may or may not return.  He may find TV work easier, more fun, and better for him than returning to the sidelines.  But I think that his personality won't let him stay away from the sidelines too long.  Listen to him carefully on MNF this year - the criticisms he levels may indicate whether the burn to coach is still there.  I would think the first time he says 'well, this is what I would have done' you have a signal that Gruden is thinking ahead.

Tony Dungy.  Of the ex-coaches, Dungy is the only one in which the chances of him returning are virtually zero.  Still, one never knows - it might take a quiet conversation or the perfect situation.  My guess with Dungy is that if he returns to football, it will be either in an advisory position or as a GM.  I think he'd make a terrific GM, by the way.  But, as I said, the chances of him returning are less than 1%.  But he's out there, and I'm sure that inquiries will delicately come his way from time to time.

Bill Cowher.  Now, Cowher is the only really defensive minded coach that's out there, and he too has stated that he wants to return to the game.  But in Cowher's case, I think that he's going to be very careful about it.  It will take possibly more money than any of the previously mentioned coaches; rumor has it Cowher wants no less than $8 million a year to coach, and one thinks he'll demand $10 a year.  He's a difficult, stubborn man to deal with because in all things its his way or no way.  But, he's easily the best motivator of the group, and relates extremely well to his players.  Cowher most likely won't end up in the AFC North - no matter how many rumors swirl about Cleveland - because he'll see it as a betrayal to the Rooneys.  Even though he was upset with them regarding his contract, it's obvious that he's not all that interested in crossing swords with them.

Personally, I think that Cowher will likely be lured to a southern team, and perhaps next year.  If I were John Fox or Jack Del Rio, I'd be worried a little about my job.  The Carolina job would be almost tailor-made for Cowher; he's moved to Carolina, obviously put down roots there, would not face the Steelers except once every three years (or potentially in the Super Bowl) and the Panthers are already built along the lines of Cowher's liking. 

Speculation is wonderful, and of course no one knows exactly what's going to happen.  All four of these coaches will be sought out - and Dungy will get some questions, too - by various owners who want to get back to winning ways.  I wouldn't surprise me one bit to see one or more of these guys back in the league in 2010 or 2011.  It really wouldn't.  The thing is that all of these guys have solid track records, have won Super Bowls, have dealt with Super Bowl pressure and expectations, and have generally all been highly successful head coaches.  Those facts alone virtually guarantee that they will get a job at some point.  One things for sure - the 'hot seat' for coaches is made all that hotter because these guys aren't currently working.  The constant discussion regarding troubled coaches will quickly rise to the level of a roar because of these talents waiting in the wings.

Pro Football Talk (.com) is reporting that during a recent OTA, coach Mike Singletary almost made first round draft choice Michael Crabtree cry.  The report centered on Crabtree's broken foot, and how he was out jogging.  Singletary reportedly had a "discussion" with Crabtree about this, and according to the report, Crabtree grew "teary-eyed" because he wanted to practice.  Hmmm.

Singletary is rapidly becoming known as a coach who's more in your face than any other in the NFL.  It matches his playing style - that constant intensity.  The constant NFL Films picture of Singletary's face when he's readying himself for a play, and the blazing look in his eyes, ought to be a good predictor for what Singletary is like patrolling the sidelines.  Can that hyper-intensity bring out the best in the Niners, or will it backfire?  For a while, it'll work I think.  But that's not really here nor there.

The biggest problem with first round draft picks is that changing roles from BMOC to "just another rookie" can be confusing.  It's made worse when the player is in a prima donna position (WRs being the biggest prima donnas on most teams).  Now take a guy like Singletary, who accepts nothing except for total intensity all of the time, and you have a recipe for Crabtree to be hurt.  Of course, growing teary-eyed just because he got yelled at for jogging doesn't exactly fit the profile of a football player, but let's not judge him too harshly yet.  Learning to fit in as a rookie on a football team has got to be one of the hardest things to do.  You have to learn a brand new, extremely complex playbook.  You have coaches that are more demanding than ever.  Your film study is through the roof, meetings all of the time, and pressure unlike anything you've felt before.  In Texas Tech, Crabtree was isolated - in college terms and I'm sure on his own team.  He was a star, a super star, and heard it all of the time.  Now, the most applicable words he'll hear is "what have you done for me lately?"  I would say that takes one hell of an adjustment, wouldn't you?

Crabtree will probably turn into a pretty solid receiver in the NFL.  Most receivers that are drafted that high turn out - there are always exceptions so don't list them - but in the main, it's a position in which making a high draft pick often works out to some degree.  Not everyone is Randy Moss, so drafting Crabtree does not automatically mean he'll be an instant success.  Some guys simply take longer, and require more work and study.  For a guy like Crabtree, he has his work cut out for him.

As I understand it, playing receiver in the NFL is a very challenging business because of the read and recognition element to the position.  When defenses disguise coverages, they are not only targeting the quarterback.  Sometimes they are targeting the receiving corps, too.  So Crabtree will be faced with having to see and adapt to something that isn't on paper.  Nor was it something he would have much done in TT - there, he just ran the longest and fastest.  It wasn't so much of a read & react offense as it was intricate routes designed to take advantage of lesser athletic defenses.  Learning that the position of a corner will dictate a route, or the quarterback's first look, is something that takes time and reptition. 

Crabtree has better get some thicker skin.  The combination of a blistering head coach and the demands of the position will combine to create far more pressure than he's ever felt before.  He needs to get tougher mentally if he hopes to succeed.  Maybe that was Singletary's idea.  We don't know.  We can't know.  But we can sure speculate.

Let's take a look at the Steelers 2009 schedule.

First off, the AFC North is slated to play the AFC West and NFC North this year.  They get a reasonably easy draw because the AFC West is definitely a down division.  The NFC North is respectable, Detroit notwithstanding.  Since the Steelers won their division in 2008, they also play the 2008 divison winners in the AFC East and South, meaning they get the Dolphins and Titans respectively.

As usual, the NFL likes to kick off its schedule with a prime-time special game.  In what will be a highly anticipated game, the Steelers play host to the Tennessee Titans in their season opener.  This ought to be an interesting game for both teams, as obviously both are going to want to start hot and stay that way, and so this represents a major game for both teams.  No one really likes to start with an "A Grade" game but it is what it is.

Overall, the schedule is pretty fair to Pittsburgh.  They have no West Coast trips this year - they host both San Diego and Oakland this year, and travel to Denver and KC.  Their bye week is mid-season - a double-edged sword (too late in case of injury but coming at a perfect time perhaps for early-season injuries??).  What's perhaps the most interesting element of their schedule is how the two Baltimore games are slated to be late-season games.  The NFL certainly has set its sights on playing up those two collasal games in their late-season schedule - theoretically forging even more interest in them assuming both teams have seasons as they hope.

If there's something to complain about, it's that the Steelers play 5 out of their final 9 games away from home.  Those trips include a MNF game at Denver, back-to-back road games at Kansas City then Baltimore, a Thursday night game in Cleveland and finally, a season-finale in Miami.  The Thursday nighter comes after a home game against Oakland - so in looking at the schedule one cannot really complain that the NFL hurt Pittsburgh by making the game before the TNF one a nasty battle.  Oakland games are usually entertaining, but unless the Raiders pull off a highly surprising season, this precursor to a TNF battle won't get a lot of attention.

I tend to grade games A through C - an A game meaning that it will get league-wide attention either because it pits two very, very good teams, or because there's some other element to it.  Pittsburgh has 4 "A" games this year - the season/home opener against Tennessee, the SNF game hosting the Chargers, and the two November/December Baltimore games.  By the way, Pit/Bal is always an "A" game in my opinion because of the bad blood/rivalry aspect to those games.  In my opinion, the Steelers have 5 "B" games.  Trips to Chicago, Denver and Miami, and home games against Minnesota and Green Bay make this list.  They are games that should be pretty competitive because the opposition is better.  That leaves our "C" games which are interesting only to the local teams playing the games - unless something unexpected happens.  I've ranked the four games against Cincy and Cleveland as "C" games because it doesn't seem at face value that either Cincy or Cleveland will be all that great this year.  The Cincy games, however, have the possibility of being upgraded assuming that the Bengals are the Bengals and not the Bungles.  One can only watch the season, however, before making that determination.  The other "C" games include the trip to Detroit, the trip to Kansas City and the home game against Oakland.

This is a far cry from last year's schedule, which was loaded with "A" games because of the nature of playing the NFC East and the AFC South.

Anyway, in my opinion the Steelers have a fair schedule.  It's not entirely their fault that the divisions they play this year are not considered very "sexy" by NFL people.  Sure, the NFC North will be competitive, and have good storylines, but is the NFC North the center of the football universe this year?  Not by a long-shot - and the AFC West will get some consideration for the NFL's worst division because of Oakland, rebuilding KC, and Denver's internal implosions.