[GTripp0012]

Time to reason through this list and see who the next Redskins' head coach is.

Assumption #1: The Redskins already know who their Head Coach is.

Assumption #2: The Redskins' next HC already knows he has the job.

The reasoning for this, is that the coach has to have been a integral part of the naming of the staff. He had to be.

Why would the Redskins hand pick a coordinator, and then promote from within on the other coordinator? Why has Gregg Williams withdrawn his name? And finally, what are the Redskins waiting for?

First of all, I think we can eliminate Spagnuolo from the discussion. I mean, it's somewhat possible the Redskins could have a wink-nod deal in place for Spagnuolo, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Rather, the wait until post-super bowl is the perfect smokescreen for the Redskins to act like the coaching search is still going on. Don't buy it. Snyder already has his guy. It's not Spagnuolo, and it sure as hell ain't Cowher.

That leaves Fassel, Meeks, and Schwartz. Meeks is the candidate that received the least amount of hype out of the three, but that doesn't mean he isn't the guy. However, I would gamble that he would be the least likely out of the three.

Assuming I read this one correctly, the only logical candidates are Fassel and Schwartz. One of them has the job lined up already, and the other likely doesn't know he doesn't have it yet.

There was a reason that Williams announced that he was out of the running over a week before the job will be given, and I believe it's a PR reason. The incoming coach will have far less animosity to deal with from the fans if they have time to digest the fact that Williams is going elsewhere. Look for Williams to sign somewhere as a coordinator before the Super Bowl.

That's why the Redskins are waiting on the announcement (and it's probably going to leak at some point prior to the SB, it's hard to keep the wraps on this type of info for long). It's either Fassel or Schwartz. The only evidence we have for one over the other is the internal promotion of a defensive coordinator, and the external courting of the offensive guy. That tells me that the hire is probably a guy who's got his rep on the defensive side of the ball. The final piece of evidence is that Fassel didn't get the job when Danny had the chance to hand it to him. The businessman that he is, he likely saw his window of opportunity to name Fassel HC close.

Official Prediction: Jim Schwartz is hired as Head Coach of the Washington Redskins on February 5th, 2008, two days after the super bowl.