So far, five NFL coaches have been fired and one has retired. Of the six vacancies, only two have been filled thus far. Additionally, three general manager slots have come open, one due to firing, one due to leave of absence, and one due to transitioning to a new role.

Fired Coaches:

John Fox, Chicago Bears
Jack Del Rio, Oakland Raiders
Jim Caldwell, Detroit Lions
Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts
Ben McAdoo, New York Giants

Retiring Coaches:

Bruce Arians, Arizona Cardinals

General Manager Vacancies:

Jerry Reese, NY Giants - Fired
Ted Thompson, Green Bay Packers - Transitioned to new role (Senior Advisor to Football Operations)
Rick Smith, Houston Texans - Leave of absence due to wife's breast cancer diagnosis

Hired Coaches:

Matt Nagy, former Kansas City Chiefs OC - Chicago Bears
Jon Gruden, former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and ESPN MNF analyst - Oakland Raiders

Hired General Managers:

Brian Gaine, Houston Texans
Dave Gettleman, NY Giants
Brian Gutekunst, GB Packers

Safe Coaches:

Mike Mularkey, Tennessee Titans
Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati Bengals
Vance Joseph, Denver Broncos
Hue Jackson, Cleveland Browns
Dirk Koetter, TB Buccaneers
Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins

Analysis:

I disagree vehemently with the Raiders' choice to fire Jack Del Rio, even if it is for a solid candidate like Jon Gruden. Del Rio was a great coach for the Raiders. In 2016, his second season on the job, he got the Raiders their first winning season (12-4) in 14 years, since they finished 11-5 in 2002 and went to the Super Bowl. The only reason the Raiders didn't get farther than the Wild Card round last season was because Derek Carr went out with a season-ending injury and their backup wasn't competent.

Which brings me to my next criticism: The Bucs should have fired Koetter and hired Jon Gruden. Gruden was a great coach and got TB their first (and, to date, only) Super Bowl win. He's also a great QB mentor, which is what TB needs right now for Jameis Winston to get him to the next level. Koetter just isn't that guy. The Bucs have basically decided to potentially pass on another season rather than tossing Koetter out where he belongs. They also missed out on a great candidate in Gruden.

Other than Koetter, all the other safe coaches are solid choices. Marvin Lewis is the only reason the Bengals are even remotely watchable in recent years, as he transformed them from the "Bungles" into an almost yearly contender. His record speaks for itself, with more winning seasons than losing seasons and seven playoff appearances in fifteen seasons, including five straight. Hue Jackson is a good coach who has helped the Browns perform better in games than they have any logical reason to, given their reputation. All he needs is a good GM who can help him pick good players, particularly at QB. John Dorsey is the GM he's needed, now they just need to get a real franchise QB and I believe Jackson will finally be able to pull the Browns out of the cellar. Any coach rebuilding a dumpster fire of a program like the Browns needs at least five seasons to really tell if their program will be successful. As for Vance Joseph, he hasn't had much to work with for a QB and that will kill any team's offense. Get him a good QB and upgrade that QB's offensive line, and then we can talk about evaluating Joseph's progress. Jay Gruden constantly keeps the Redskins in the mix, this season was more because of an apocalyptic amount of injuries to the roster - and in spite of that he still kept the 'Skins in the mix for the playoffs until the last three or four weeks. Lastly, Mike Mularkey's only problem is he hasn't figured out how to use Marcus Mariota yet, otherwise he's given our franchise its first playoff appearance since 2008 and first playoff win since 2003 against a quality opponent.

The only other coach firing I disagree with is Jim Caldwell. He provided stability to the Detroit Lions and finally made them relevant again.

I saved the best for last - Bruce Arians was the best coach in the league. It's unfortunate to see him retire, he made the Cardinals watchable and did a damn fine job.

I'll keep this updated as more coaching decisions are made.