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Now one could argue that all franchises have question marks going into the off-season, and of course you would be right. This is really more fundamental...which teams really need to sit back and consider who at the top is leading them? Of course, this is very subjective, and would love to hear a different list if you have one, but for now, let's get started with mine.
5) Dallas Cowboys
I think criticizing Jerry Jones is being considered for a future Olympic event (you could probably pipe it over the curling commentary), but I don't think you can force an owner to sell, no matter the record. Even though I'm far from a Cowboys fan, I will say for the record that Jones, for the most part, is not bad at evaluating talent. He has avoided major flubs that lots of even successful teams have, and that is one reason the Cowboys won the NFC East last season. The Cowboys problems lie in two other areas....1) NO OWNER SHOULD EVER NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS....PERIOD and 2)If you hire coaches and insist on constantly second-guessing them in the media, you won't ever get good coaches. To the first point...the reason players hire agents is to keep contract negotiations from getting personal. Jerry Jones needs to be the guy that hugs players in the locker room, smiles, and says "you make a good point...go talk to the GM" when money comes up. Personally I think Dak Prescott is a good QB, not great, probably worth $30 million a year....not $40 million. RB's not named Adrian Peterson don't deserve $14 million dollar contracts...period. That extra $10 million Jerry gave Dak could probably be used to re-sign Michael Gallup, and all these great picks are going to point to the Prescott contract when they are no longer on rookie deals (just how much is Micah Parsons going to be worth). Jerry Jones needs to be in the draft room, just not re-signing players.
4) New York Giants
Now, I would have put them higher, but I actually think hiring Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll were excellent starts to hopefully change the culture, but what the Giants and, in particular Gettleman, did to that franchise is almost criminal. Another basic rule in building a team...DON'T DRAFT RB'S UNTIL THE TAIL END OF THE 1ST ROUND, OR PREFERABLY LATER. I don't care what the scouting report for the Giants said, drafting Saquon Barkley with the 2nd pick made absolutely no sense, especially with a 38 yo QB as your starter. That draft was rich in talent at the QB position, and I doubt you would have seen Eli try to imitate Aaron Rodgers with righteous indignation. And that pick snowballed...where Gettleman TRADED UP for Daniel Jones, instead of letting the draft board come to him. So, you have a 2nd overall pick who doesn't deserve a 5th year option, a "franchise" QB who, at best, is mediocre, and a whole new regime that will gut some talent to get what they want. The Giants at least have 2 first round picks...hopefully Schoen knows how to use them.
3) Miami Dolphins
OK...explain this to me like I'm a 2 yo...you interview, directly or indirectly, probably a dozen candidates for your head coaching position before settling on Brian Flores, who just held the LA Rams to 3 points in the Super Bowl. He finishes the year 8-1 despite a lack of depth at WR, no real running game to speak of, and a colander of an offensive line...and Brian Flores is the problem? Now, I am not a lawyer, and I have no way of deciphering whether Stephen Ross was paying guys to lose games are not (honestly, they probably should have just hired me...I could easily get a great draft pick for the Dolphins next year, and I would be permanently camped out on a Royal Caribbean ship after being fired with no lawsuit), but it appears that, not only is the NFL going to investigate that allegation, but there will be depositions galore down on South Beach. Oh, and the Dolphins have a rookie coach in Mike McDaniel, a QB who, thus far, hasn't shown the ability to stretch the field or stay healthy (at least coaching under Kyle Shanahan, McDaniel has experience with middling QB's with durability issues) and still, a leaky O-line and not running game, despite having a treasure trove of draft picks over the years. Sounds like the Dolphins might be dreaming of a 9-8 record come December.
2) Jacksonville Jaguars
Urban Meyer. Really all you need to say, since the debacle that was Urban Meyer still is having a lingering effect up in Duval County (probably down for the rest of you). I tend to be a numbers guy myself, and the success rate for college coaches in the pro ranks, without any real pro experience to speak of, is at best, spotty. You really could have marked his bringing Tim Tebow into camp to compete at TE as the beginning of the end; honestly, how insulting is it to have your head coach think some 30-something QB with accuracy issues could manage all the tasks an NFL TE has to do with barely a training camp to learn? Get past the groping of girls not even old enough to be his daughter, not taking the team plane home and kicking a kicker, the biggest debacle of last year was a lost year in the development of Trevor Lawrence. Now, I wasn't really on board with him being the "generational" talent scouts claimed he was (BTW...side note...they always claim he was the best prospect since Andrew Luck...can someone else explain to me exactly how a QB who retired after only playing 6 years and had a career QBR of 89.5 is "generational")? There is fortunately talent, but given the track record of Trent Balke, I suspect Doug Pederson with have tougher sledding than he did in Philly.
1) Houston Texans
Where do we begin? You trade away maybe the best WR in the league for 3 beans and a cow (OK, it was RB David Johnson and a 2nd, but at least a cow doesn't go on the IR). You follow that up by mortgaging your future by acquiring Laremy Tunsil for 2 1sts and a 2nd, and manage to convince your star QB to insist on a trade, while at the same time that same QB is ruining his trade value by scouring Instagram for his next therapeutic massage. But the reason the Texans are here at #1 is....they hired Lovie Smith as their new head coach. Now, besides apparently consulting David Letterman regarding men's grooming, just exactly what has Lovie Smith done recently? Well, after being jettisoned by the Bucs with an accumulated 8-24 record, he managed to roll into Illinois and drive the Fightin' Illini to a cumulative record of 17-39, taking them to a single bowl game (the RedBox bowl...take a second...look it up...I had to) where they lost 35-20 to the California Freakin Golden Bears (did I forget to mention...Lovie has a defensive background). But I'm probably forgetting where he was their defensive coordinator last season and led them to a #27th ranked defense. Look, I get there are pressures out there now to hire minorities, but as Chris Rock said about DC Mayor Marion Berry at the time...there are black men who don't smoke crack who can be mayor. I just don't see how 1) you can view this in any way as a long-term hire and 2) exactly how is Lovie Smith, who has never developed a QB in his life, going to help develop Davis Mills, who actually ended last season on a promising note. Texan fans, I sympathize with you...after the 25th presser, where Lovie mumbles something about needing to execute better, please put the knives away.
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