Definitely Riley but it's a matter of whether an NFL owner can lure him out of a sweet setup. Second would be Chris Peterson who is fantastic.
When it comes to the assistant type hires, though, one thing that has to be considered is the douchebag factor. Every year IMO the list of head coaching candidates contains some straight dbags. I'd want someone I know can get up in front of the room and lead grown men and vets. There has to be some swag, gravitas, whatever you want to call it. McVay for example has his style and it works. But some of the more brilliant minds are seriously lacking in that, like McDaniels for example who rides Belichick's credibility in his dealings with the players.
And I like McDaniels as a candidate btw. But he'd have to convince me he can lead a room to hire him.
If I had to go with an assistant my leading candidate would be Dan Campbell. He's done it briefly for the Dolphins with respectable results. He has good leadership ability. And he's played the game too for some great minds like Parcells. This is a guy who knows what it looks like when it's done right.
