QB Changes on the Way?

When I look at the coaching carousel that we are seeing right now in the NFL, it makes me think about the quarterback carousel we are going to see in the off-season as well.

Many teams underperformed due to a lack of leadership at the QB position. That is easy to see.

What is less easy to see is the future of the organizations and what direction they will go in next year at quarterback.

Look at the teams that certainly would benefit from a change, here is the short list of those possible openings.

First, I looked at Arizona. Other than Kevin Kolb, can you tell me who was a starter on the Arizona Cardinals this year? They have fired their head coach and unless the new regime thinks they can make Kevin Kolb their franchise QB, they may be looking elsewhere in 2013.

How about the Jacksonville Jaguars... Its clear to me the Blaine Gabbert is not the future in Jacksonville and I think their fans are on the same page with me. Its not that he doesn't show signs of improvement, its just that he makes too many mistakes and has no one to help him progress.

That may be a trend amongst teams making changes, but without a QB that can make plays, you might as well look to the future and elsewhere. In the case of the Jags, that may mean bringing in Tim Tebow who will sell tickets in his hometown and we all know when given the right environment, he can at least make plays.

That leads me to my next team, the New York Jets. As Rex Ryan sits in the Bahamas and tries to drink away a terrible 2012 campaign, when he returns to NYC, the mess at the QB position is still going to be there.

I don't think they can repair the relationship with the organization and Mark Sanchez, so that leaves them with a couple of options. Either trade him, release him and then find a new QB through the draft, free agency or stick with their third string quarterback in Greg McElroy. I say option D, quit playing football...

Moving on, outside of Denver in the AFC West, all three teams may be starting a new QB in 2013. Phillip Rivers may be on another roster, Carson Palmer is not working out in Oakland and there is certainly not a good quality starter on the Kansas City team. So all may move in new directions, just not sure there are enough arms on the open market or in the draft to help any of them.

Finally, there are teams that have deficiencies at the QB spot that didn't have bad seasons as a team, but could use an improvement.

What does Minnesota do with Ponder? Do they move on to Mike Vick, Alex Smith or Phillip Rivers if made available or do they stick with Ponder and hope he develops more.

What about San Fransisco and the 49ers? I think at this point, unless its a horrible opening round playoff game, Colin Kaepernick will be the starter for years to come in San Fran, but I'm not sold on a young guy in the playoffs and I am certainly in favor of Alex Smith with the 49ers.

And what about Philadelphia? They made the switch once Mike Vick went down with a injury to put Nick Foles as the starter. But personally, I don't think he is better than a .500 QB for the next 10 years. Do they pick up another young arm in the draft or somehow, someway keep Vick around to have as a Plan B...

As the coaching moves continue to get made, it will determine a lot where players end up. But looking ahead, its clear to me that the QB carousel will be as wild and crazy as we've seen the coaching carousel to be.