Haley, the Steelers' offensive coordinator, interviewed with the Cardinals. Haley was the Cardinals' offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008, leaving after the team’s run to the Super Bowl to become the Kansas City Chiefs head coach. There were reports that Haley was interested in returning to Arizona last season to become the offensive coordinator again, but Haley eventually accepted the same position with Pittsburgh, where he spent a tumultuous, non-playoff season with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, with the two at odds over philosophy, style and play calling.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh's success in Baltimore has opened the door for teams to consider special-teams heads in recent head-coaching searches. A well-respected coordinator like the Falcons' Armstrong could benefit, as he has interviewed with several teams already.
 

Could the Packers lose their offensive coordinator for the second year in a row? The Bears reportedly have asked for permission to interview Clements for their vacant head-coaching position, and this isn't the Bears' first attempt at landing him. In 2010, when Clements was still Green Bay's QBs coach, Chicago wanted him as its offensive coordinator. However, the Packers blocked that attempt. But there is nothing the Packers can do to stop Clements from interviewing for a head-coaching job if the 59-year-old — who's never been a head coach — has the desire to interview with the Bears. Clements was promoted to offensive coordinator in Green Bay after Joe Philbin agreed to become the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins in January 2012.

Arians had quite an amazing 2012. A season after being let go in Pittsburgh, he stepped in for head coach Chuck Pagano and led the Colts to the playoffs. It’s worth noting that he never moved his belongings into Pagano’s office and he never dressed where the head coach is designated to dress. He built an offense for QB Andrew Luck that helped the rookie adjust to the pros, and he won the respect of his young team. Pagano says "We do NOT want to lose Bruce Arians." However, Arians missed the Colts' wild-card loss at Baltimore after being checked into the hospital with an undisclosed illness.

McDaniels, the former Broncos head coach and current Pats offensive coordinator, has been a hot head-coaching candidate. He has matured and eaten quite a slice of humble pie since his disastrous final season in Denver and is once again on the top of several teams’ lists after the Pats led the league in scoring. McDaniels has said he's not interested in leaving New England at this point, but stay tuned.

The Cardinals already have interviewed their defensive coordinator, and if they want to keep the continuity on the defensive side of the ball, promoting him before another smart team hires him away is a good idea. Horton’s players love playing for him, he’s a hot coaching candidate and he’ll have no problem letting an offensive coordinator install his own scheme. The Cardinals' defense is too good to start over from scratch for the second time in four years. It was among the league leaders in several categories, with the team's 5-11 overall record due mostly to the worst offense in the NFL.

Carmichael, the Saints' offensive coordinator, is a protégé of both Marty Schottenheimer and Sean Payton. He has been coaching in the NFL since 2000 and has been approached by teams in the past. Carmichael could install the offense the Saints run in New Orleans and upgrade a team's attack.

Things may not stay as quiet on the other Gruden front, with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden reportedly being considered by several teams. Gruden, in his second year on the job, directed the Bengals offense in a tough  wild-card loss to the Houston Texans.

Gruden, who has worked as an analyst since quitting the coaching ranks in 2008, reportedly has been contacted by several teams but has stayed silent on the subject. Gruden was a head coach in the NFL for 11 seasons, first with the Raiders and then with the Bucs. He led Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl victory in 2002.

Smith was fired as coach by the Bears after nine seasons despite a 10-win season. Well-liked by his players, Smith led Chicago to a Super Bowl but also oversaw late collapses the past two seasons. The dismissal with one year left on his contract comes after Chicago missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons. However, Bears great Mike Ditka publicly pointed out that Smith just narrowly missed another playoff appearance this year.

Zimmer, the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator, has been coaching up defenses in the NFL for decades but has never been given a shot at head coach. Zimmer’s one of the most respected and well-liked coaches in football. He makes sense for any team that needs a pick-me-up on defense. Look at what he did this year with the Cincinnati defensive backfield. Terence Newman, Adam Jones, and Reggie Nelson all have had career revivals under Zimmer.

Whisenhunt, fired by the Cardinals after six seasons that included the long-suffering franchise's only Super Bowl appearance, set the record for victories by a Cardinals coach, going 45-51 plus 4-2 in the playoffs.