7 Teams with Key Coaching Changes That Will Attain Postseason Births

After the long NFL lockout, free agency frenzy and sloppy preseason, the NFL regular season is less than a week away. That means that the postseason is a little over 17 weeks away, so we probably need to be discussing which teams will make the playoffs.

While both the players and fans are extremely excited about the start of the season, no one is more so than the coaches. This is even more true for new coaches who have been scrambling to get everything in line with such a short amount of time.

Whether that new coach is the head coach, offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator, here are seven teams that will attain postseason births with new coaches somewhere on their team. 

Oakland Raiders

New Coaches: Hue Jackson (head coach), Al Saunders (offensive coordinator), Chuck Bresnahan (defensive coordinator)

I'll start with the boldest and craziest prediction of all. I expect the Oakland Raiders to make the playoffs in 2011 and here is why.

Even though they lost their best player in Nnamdi Asomugha, I still think this team will be improved from last year. Their offense, with Darren McFadden leading the way, will be better because of the development of Oakland's young wide receivers and the increased familiarity of Jason Campbell with the offense.

However, the biggest improvement is going to be on the defensive side of the ball. The Raiders have great, young players across the defense. With Lamarr Houston, Rolando McClain and Michael Huff all expected to improve this year, this could be a dangerous defense.

While the AFC West isn't the best division in the NFL, it isn't the worst either. Both the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs should fight for the division crown. The way I see it playing out is with Oakland beating Kansas City and San Diego in back-to-back weeks to sneak into the playoffs. 

St. Louis Rams

New Coaches: Josh McDaniels (offensive coordinator)

The move to bring in Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator was as close to genius as possible. He knows how to use a quarterback and last time I checked, the St. Louis Rams have a very good one.

The Rams' offense is going to take off this year under McDaniels and Sam Bradford will establish himself as the best young quarterback in the NFL. Even without an elite receiver, Bradford should still put up quality numbers. Just look at what McDaniels was able to do with Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd last year.

Defensively, St. Louis still has plenty of room to improve, but they shouldn't lose this team any games. They certainly improved by picking up Quintin Mikell in free agency and if Chris Long and James Laurrinaitis continue to play at a high level, this defense could become quite good.

The biggest advantage that the Rams have is that they play in the weakest division in football and an 8-8 record would probably put them in the playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys

New Coaches: Jason Garrett (head coach), Jimmy Robinson (assistant head coach), John Garrett (offensive coordinator), Rob Ryan (defensive coordinator)

Let me tell you something. Jason Garrett fell into a really sweet deal when he landed the head coaching job for the Dallas Cowboys. Technically, he was a head coach last year, but he was only an interim head coach and finally got the real job earlier this year.

Before absolutely collapsing last year, the Cowboys were a favorite pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. This team hasn't changed very much. In fact, they might have gotten better in the offseason.

With Tony Romo returning from injury, Dallas should have one of the better offenses in the league. They are loaded with playmakers in Miles Austin, Felix Jones, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten. However, the player I see making a huge impact on this offense is DeMarco Murray. He can make plays out of the backfield catching the ball and is a talented runner.

The Cowboys defense might drop a little without Wade Phillips, but Rob Ryan comes from a talented defensive lineage. Also, whenever you have DeMarcus Ware on your team, your defense should be fine.

I like the Cowboys grabbing the last Wild Card spot in the NFC and representing the NFC East along with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Houston Texans

New Coaches: Wade Phillips (defensive coordinator)

What the Houston Texans have been missing the past few seasons is any type of defense. Their offense is always one of the best in the league, but their defense has been simply horrid.

That should change this year with the hiring of Wade Phillips. Even though the transition to a 3-4 defense might be difficult to start the season, ultimately, it will turn out to be a welcomed change.

On offense, everything basically remains the same and the Texans should once again be very potent. In fact, if everyone can stay healthy, this might be the best offense in the league.

This will finally be the year that Houston lives up to expectations and makes the playoffs by winning the AFC South.

Final Three Teams Disclaimer

With these last three teams, it might seem like I'm cheating to put them on this list because they are almost a lock to make the playoffs, even without a key coaching change.

However, each of the following teams has some questions to be answered about their new coaches, which is what we will look at.

Philadelphia Eagles

New Coaches: Juan Castillo (defensive coordinator)

There was no team that was more aggressive during free agency than the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only did they sign the crowned jewel in Nnamdi Asomugha, they also brought in Vince Young, Steve Smith, Jason Babin and Cullen Jenkins. That is quite the class of free agents and that doesn't even include trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

The big question here is if new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo will be able to handle all these new players on defense. I'm not sure if it is possible to have too much talent at a position, but that seems to be the case for Philadelphia on their defensive line and in their secondary.

If Castillo can't mesh all this talent together, could the entire unit collapse? It is question worth asking and although it probably won't keep the Eagles from the playoffs, it could stop them from making a deep run.

Baltimore Ravens

New Coaches: Chuck Pagano (defensive coordinator)

You could say that Chuck Pagano walked into an ideal situation as defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens because of how talented this group is and you would be mostly correct in that statement.

However, a huge issue is the age of this defensive unit. Baltimore's two best players, Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, are both well 30 and are beginning to show signs of aging. In Reed's case, those signs are microscopic, but they are there.

For over a decade, the Ravens have had the best defense in the NFL. Those are some huge shoes to fill for Pagano and I don't know if he can live up to the expectations.

In a very difficult AFC North, Baltimore could struggle this year, but I do see them making the playoffs.

New England Patriots

New Coaches: Bill O'Brien (offensive coordinator)

The New England Patriots was the most obvious choice on this list and barring any catastrophic injuries, or the world exploding, they will absolutely make the playoffs. 

The only concern I have is how Bill O'Brien will handle Chad Ochocinco. This is only a small problem right now, but no one knows what to expect out of Ochocinco as the season develops. If he becomes a distraction, what will O'Brien do?

Even if Ochocinco rips this team apart because of his antics, this team is too talented to miss the playoffs.