If you're reading this, chances are you saw the headline and the article intrigued you because your NFL team is currently bad. I feel for you, but not too much -- I grew up watching Tampa football, so there isn't much sympathy for you here.

Weighing the successes and failures of each, we can infer that a few of the names at the top of college football's head coaching ranks may soon find themselves with opportunities at the next level, if they so choose -- and many do.

Each year as both college and NFL football roll through their respective seasons, we begin to notice trends in each direction for certain head coaches. For some in the NFL, we can see that their hour glass is going to soon run out. On average, research tells us that anywhere from 6-8 head coaching jobs in the NFL become available after each season. So to already be reading the writing on the walls for some is well within reason. On the other side of the coin, there are college coaches who are either making a big name for themselves for the first time or solidifying faith others may have in them halfway through their season.

So, with that in mind, and with a handful of teams in the NFL already looking like they're one loss away from having a coaching search firm on speed dial, let's get a head start on who might be some of the hot names in college football to potentially make the jump to the NFL.

Matt Rhule, Baylor

Rhule's time in the spotlight started when he was the offensive coordinator for the Temple Owls in 2008. After six years there, he was then hired on to be an assistant O-Line coach for the New York Giants for a season. After that lone year in the pros, he returned to Temple, this time as their head coach. His first two seasons were poor, starting 2-10 the first year and then going 6-6 the next. But after that Rhule had the Owls flying high with back-to-back 10-win season. He then moved on to Baylor, where he went 1-7 in his first season, 7-6 the next and now has the Bears at 5-0 with a Top 20 offense in the nation.

Rhule's name in the NFL would not be new to this cycle. He interviewed for the Indianapolis Colts head coaching vacancy after Josh McDaniels screwed them over, but reportedly turned down the job to return to Baylor. He was also brought up as a candidate for the Jets head coaching vacancy last season, but wasn't down with the Jets structure at the top. With only one year in the league and yet still getting head coaching looks, that tells you the NFL is already high on Rhule. More success this season will only increase that.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State

Like Rhule, Iowa State's Matt Campbell has drawn interest from the NFL already, and more time may only increase that interest.

A former O-Line coach, Campbell was the head coach of Toledo from 2012-2015, where he led the Rockets to back-to-back 9-win seasons and tied for first in their conference. Following the 2015 season, he took the job as the head coach for the Iowa State Cyclones where he still coaches today. His first year in Ames wasn't a pretty one with a 3-9 finish, but since then he has not recorded less than eight wins in a season.

Last offseason it was reported that six NFL teams reached out to Campbell during the process of their head coaching searches -- one confirmed was the New York Jets -- but Campbell declined them all citing unfinished business at ISU as his reasoning.

That doesn't mean he's not interested in the NFL. It just means last year he didn't feel like the time -- or team -- was right. He'll get even more than six looks this offseason.

Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

I've already discussed this one in great detail in an article I wrote last week.

Riley to the NFL is a time bomb -- or an alarm clock, if you don't want to think of it in such an aggressive manner. It's just a matter of time before it goes off. Riley has already coached back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners and back-to-back No. 1 overall pick quarterbacks. He's been in the College Football Playoff twice already as a head coach, and is poised to return again for a third time this season.

Each time his name is brought up people keep asking, why would Riley leave? Because if he continues this path of success, some NFL team will double his current salary to lure his offensive genius to their franchise.

Mike Leach, Washington State

I don't care.

I don't care.

I don't care.

Yes, an NFL team should consider Mike Leach. I couldn’t care less that he's 58 years old and has only coached in college football. I am well aware that Leach was asked about preparing his players for the NFL and responded with, "that's not my job." But it could be, and with the NFL going more and more towards the direction of being friendly for a system of offense Leach not only runs but practically perfected makes the timing better than ever. Leach never played college football, and yet in the 10 years he spent at Texas Tech from 2000-09 he had 10 winning seasons, going, 84-43, including going 11-2.

Nine air raid quarterbacks started in the NFL in Week 3. Leach can win in this age of NFL. He would need help among the coach staff, hopefully with NFL experience at position coach spot and especially on the other aside of the ball. So in that sense a lot of Leach being a potential success hinges on who could be around him to navigate what the jump to the NFL would be like. But for a league where there are too many teams who just have no idea how to handle this new age of scoring, Leach gets it. He makes life easy on quarterbacks. He keeps offense simple. He scores a lot of points. Leach also said this summer that he would "definitely listen" if the NFL gave him a call. Kliff Kingsbury and Lincoln Riley are both under Leach's coaching tree, as they both played for Leach at Texas Tech, and quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Gardner Minshew are showing they can have NFL success as Leach-system players.

Leach is also a guy who is never afraid to speak his mind. He's not going to B.S. any player, and he's not going to take any crap, either. He coaches with fire, he teaches with passion and he hates to lose. I can't say that for as many NFL coaches as I wish I could.

In a boys club league that just keeps re-hiring the same guys in the same friend groups who have already proven they can't get it done, perhaps a team should take a chance on a guy like Leach.

Herm Edwards, Arizona State

Speaking of recycled head coaches!

Ok but this one might actually be worth looking into.

After a 10-year NFL career as a defensive back, Edwards was head coach of the New York Jets from 2001-2005 and the Kansas City Chiefs from 2006-2008. He lost more games than he won, but out of the eight seasons he was a head coach, he made the playoffs in four of them. After being hired by ESPN to be an NFL analyst in 2009, Edwards would spend the next nine years away from the sidelines. But in 2017 he took the position as head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils. Last season (his first season) he finished 7-6, second in the South division of the PAC-12 conference. This season he has his team at 4-1.

I'm not so sure what the future holds with Edwards, but if 7-6 was what he could do in his first season ever as a college coach, maybe all that time off has given him some new coaching wisdom. Perhaps he likes being in college. But the NFL experience, both as a player and coach, paired with some recent success could put his name in some team conversations.