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Ask any Cardinals fan and no one would have thought that Todd Bowles would be a one-and-done coach by the end of the 2013 season. However, once the season started, the Cardinals rolled out perhaps the best defense in team history, and now the calls are coming in.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, already the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns have Bowles on their interview list, and not just as the "Rooney Rule" candidate. The interesting thing to note is that there is already speculation that Bowles and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase have elected to turn down an interview with the Browns, but that is only speculation right now.
No matter what, though, Bowles will be a hot candidate this year, and a team like the Browns have the personnel in place defensively to make Bowles' defensive success continue. Of course, the first question from many of the teams that interview Bowles may be, "what exactly happened in Philadelphia?", but that dumpster fire of a situation is pretty self-explanatory in most people's eyes. Nonetheless, that could be the one saving grace for the Cardinals. Bowles may need to prove himself one more season.
The threat of Bowles leaving for a head coaching job is real though, and his candidacy is warranted and should not be put off as just filler.