NFL.com news: Expect Fisher on sidelines; Cowher, Gruden likely staying put. The Rams and Buccaneers have fired their head coaches today, and some other teams (Jaguars, Dolphins, Chiefs) fired their coaches over the past few weeks. The Colts could be next. There could be a couple more coaches leaving in the near future, but some endangered coaches might return. There are more coaching vacancies than big name coaches to fill them.
With the Packers prolific offense leading them to a 15-1 record, it's no surprise that two of their assistant coaches are mentioned in rumors. I have no idea whether either of them would make a good head coach, but here's the latest on them both.
Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements. He'll soon be doing a second interview with Penn State. The fact that he got a second interview at all shows that he's a strong candidate. Even before he came to Green Bay, his resume was pretty good for his work with the Steelers 10 years ago.
Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. He's been working anonymously behind the scenes for almost 30 years as a position coach, and for the past few years as the Packers offensive coordinator. His promotion to coordinator in 2007 is a good sign that he can delegate and administrate too.
They keep contract details for assistant coaches pretty quiet, but I would expect that both coaches are under contract for 2012. Any team would need permission to interview them. They did lose Jimmy Robinson last February to a lateral move with the Cowboys, but it came with the added title of assistant head coach and probably a big raise. I'm not sure if any enticement would persuade either of them to interview for the possible offensive coordinator opening with the Bears.
As much as I'd like them to keep the coaching staff intact, the offense is basically in the hands of Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers. Between the two of them, they call all the plays. If one of them did leave, it would open up a great opportunity for another coach to gain experience in this offensive system, and build their resume alongside that of Rodgers and McCarthy. The team should be fine either way.