Who could replace Mike Zimmer as Vikings head coach?

The Vikings need to hire a new general manager and head coach to replace Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer, who were fired Monday.

• First the team will hire a GM, who will then pick a coach. They're competing with five other teams who have fired their coaches so far.

Here are some of the hot candidates:

• Byron Leftwich, Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator.
• Doug Pederson, the former Philadelphia Eagles head coach.
• Brian Flores, the just-fired Miami Dolphins head coach.
• Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator the New England Patriots.
• Eric Bieniemy, Kansas City's offensive coordinator and former Vikings running backs coach.

Thought bubble: I would make my first two calls to Leftwich and Flores.

• If they say no, I would call Pederson, who smoked the Vikings in the 2017 NFC Championship en route to a Super Bowl title.