The list of names of potential candidates being considered by the five National Football League teams vying for new head coaches has been a long and confusing one.
New names are added while others are dropped on a daily basis and nobody has a clue who could be the next head coach for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, or New England Patriots.
Take the Packers as a for instance. General manager Ron Wolf has been mum about who he considers as his top candidate.
Bill Parcells was the first mentioned because of his close relationship with Wolf, then came the names of Bill Cowher, Steve Mariucci, Butch Davis, Mike Martz, Marty Mornhinweg, Jim Haslett, Bill Bellichek, Tyrone Willingham, and Frank Beamer.
Parcells has seemingly taken himself out of the running, saying he has coached his last game. Cowher was retained by the Steelers and Davis is not talking about taking a different job, mainly because he is in the middle of the important college recruiting season and doesn't want to jeopardize any chances of landing top prospects for the program at the University of Miami.

So clouded is the issue that it would be impossible to sort the candidates out at this time.
With Cowher and Davis out of the picture, the candidate of the day for each of the coach-less teams has been changing as much as Michael Jackson's face.
For the Packers, there are many who believe Wolf is biding his time until the coaching situation in New York irons itself out. Belichik is being wooed by New England as a coach and a general manager, but there are still questions about his contractual ties to the Jets.
There are those who still believe Wolf is trying to convince Parcells to take the job in Green Bay. There are those who believe Mariucci would be the perfect match, given the fact he is from Iron Mountain, Michigan, just a couple hours from Titletown.
Still, there are those who think Wolf will head in the direction of a strong NFL coordinator such as Mornhinweg, Martz, Haslett, Belichik, or a top college coach like Beamer or Willingham.
Given Wolf's insistence on coaching qualities that would produce a tough, hard- nosed football team, some of those candidates will weed themselves out. Wolf will also be searching for a person who isn't looking for the dual job of general manager and coach. That weeds a couple more out.
Which brings us back to Parcells. Although he has said he is done and Wolf has gone on record saying the two of them couldn't coexist together, there is something compelling about the possibility of their union.
How many times has Wolf simply lied about his intentions. Most recently it was his endorsement of Ray Rhodes two weeks before firing him.
Was Wolf simply being sheepish about his intentions to go after Parcells? The possibility is real. There are many details to have worked out, but if there is a general manager in the game who could bring it all together, it would be Wolf.
Consider what Wolf said in his most recent book, The Packer Way. Having a backup plan is most important to the GM and having a single person on top of a list is crucial in hiring a new coach. He displayed that tactic last year when he hired Rhodes three days after former head coach Mike Holmgren chased the money and power to Seattle.
Wolf said he would take his time in hiring a coach this time around, but don't bet that he doesn't have a person at the top of his list. Who could that person be? Parcells? Mariucci? Belichik? Beamer?
My guess is that Wolf, despite all that has happened, is still in a circling pattern over Parcells. He is still clearly the best choice for the job.
So, stay tuned. The fun and speculation has just begun.