3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bruce Arians may be trying to talk himself into Jameis Winston remaining the Buccaneers’ quarterback next year, but the former No. 1 overall pick is making it difficult coming off a four-interception outing against the New Orleans Saints in Week 11.
With a reset at the most important position on the field coming, Arians surely does not want to be part of any sort of rebuild in Tampa Bay. He lingers as a possible one-and-done head coach for the Buccaneers, but strictly on his own motivation if the situation seems to be changing that dramatically looking toward next year.
Arians of course has a solid history working with good quarterbacks, from young versions of Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning to a late-career Carson Palmer. The idea he could get more out of Winston this year was shaky to start with, and the lack of progress there is far more a black mark on Winston than on Arians.
Rivers and Arians could be a great match, as a veteran coach and veteran quarterback with short windows to win come together. The Buccaneers have to also be looking for a longer term answer under center, whether general manager Jason Licht is the one driving that process of not, but bringing Rivers in on a one or two-year deal could easily be on the radar too.