In the hours of Post Marvin Lewis aftermath, I’ve feared that Mike Brown will do Mike Brown does; and hire some jabroni already in the organization.

All better options than Hue. #DontHireHue https://t.co/kF07rxym7s

— Cincinnati ? (@CincyProblems) December 31, 2018

Several hours after they announced the candidates that are in-house (puke), they slowly started to give us hope for a potential outside hire.

Here are all the potential candidates that have shown interest, or interviewed for the job:

Todd Monken

Probability of being next Bengals HC: 20% Chance

Monken was the offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers and is an underrated head coach candidate. Despite a bad roster and worst record, the Buccaneers actually had a top 5 offense with him calling the plays. Unfortunately, Dirk Koetter (Buccaneers Head Coach who was fired) decided he was going to start calling plays in an attempt to save his job and the offense fell off when Koetter took over the play-calling.

I like Monken. The Bengals could use an offensive-minded guy like him. He made Jameis Winston actually look not terrible sometimes. Ryan Fitzpatrick said he has the “it” factor as a head coach. I think he his decently high on the Bengals list, but he may be more attracted to a team with a younger quarterback and a owner who isn’t full of shit. It’d also worth noting that the Bengals decided to interview him just an hour after Josh McDaniels decided to bail.

Eric Bieniemy

Probability of being next Bengals HC: 50% Chance

Woooahhhh, hold on. Bengals want to talk to a guy who’s a great coordinator somewhere else? Hell yeah!

Bieniemy is the top choice for me, and seemingly also a top candidate for other teams. According to inside sources, the Bengals are actually very interested in him. The challenge with Bieniemy is trying to attract him to us, as we’re not the most appealing team out there. However, him playing running back for us (1995-98) could absolutely help our case. Need to stroke that Bengals pride.

If Mike Brown is willing to give him full team control, he’s a real possibility. People often forget that Marvin Lewis was a very hit name when the Bengals hired him as well approx. 79 years ago.

Hue Jackson

Probability of being next Bengals HC: Please No

I don’t need to say anything about Hue Jackson. You know him. You know his failures and you know his successes and you know he is likely the cheapest option.

Which makes him the most appealing option for Mike Brown.

Vance Joseph

Probability of being next Bengals HC: 20% Chance

If Hue Jackson is Marvin Lewis Lite then Vance Joseph is Marvin Lewis 2.0.

Mike Brown likes Vance, and he’ll be cheap. This could also fall under the Rooney Rule. Joseph was previously the Broncos Head Coach, and it didn’t go well. Bengals have strongly implied that they want an offensive guy, and Joseph is a defensive-minded coach. I think he’s more likely to end up as defensive coordinator.

Zac Taylor

Probability of being next Bengals HC: 30% Chance

Teams are saying they are looking for the next Sean McVay. Well, Zac Taylor isn’t far off.

He’s only 35, current quarterback coach for the Rams, and under him – Jared Goff has really developed into a nice quarterback. Funny enough, he was actually the intern offensive coordinator for the Dolphins after they fired Bill Lazor. He was also the University of Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator in 2016, so he’s familiar with Queen City.

He is a hot name right now, as the Cardinals and Broncos have also requested an interview with him. He’s a bit risky, considering he doesn’t have that much experience, but not a bad choice. McVay has spoken very highly of him and he could be the young offensive-minded coach that the Bengals need.

Shane Waldron

Probability of being next Bengals HC: 40% Chance

Shane Waldron is another member of the Rams organization; currently serving as their tight end coach AND passing coordinator. The passing coordinator basically installs and schemes passing plays into the playbook. And looking at the stats on the year, the Rams passing attack has been great.

He really doesn’t have much experience, as he’s only 39, but he’s a young-minded coach that has installed a brilliant passing scheme. He’d be an intriguing option for us.

Josh McDaniels

Probability of being next Bengals HC: 10% Chance

McDaniels is one of the hottest names out there. A lot of people him remember him from last year’s deboggle when he ditched the Colts after they agreed to hire him. While that’s a very questionable move, there’s just no way in hell he’d do that twice.

A lot of people forget that McDaniels has actually been a Head Coach before. He was HC for the Broncos, and had an 11-17 record; but was fired a little over halfway through his second season. A lot of coaches struggle their first time as head coach, and that was also way back in 2010, so he has likely progressed since then.

Rob Kraft and the Patriots high-ups claim to have a great amount of respect for the Brown family, so there’s that. While I’d be down to give him a chance, I doubt he ends up here. We’re just not an appealing team, and he’s a top target. I’d imagine he ends up with the Packers or stays with the Patriots.