Drew Bledsoe is a coachable veteran who has the Bills on the brink of success. Rick Stewart/Getty Images

By Peter King

One of the candidates on a few NFL coaching lists asked me the other day: "What do you think is the best job out there?"

"Buffalo," I said.

Not Atlanta with the great Vick, not the Giants or Chicago with the storied histories, not the clean slate in Arizona -- and certainly not the heap of trouble in Oakland. Buffalo, and I'm not even sure it's close.

The Bills, until the doldrums of the season's last two weeks, had a premier defense. As it was, they finished second in team defense.

What would you say if I told you the Bills were 65 yards a game stingier than the Eagles? And the only valuable piece of that defense who has turned 30 is tackle Sam Adams. This is a defense -- led by Takeo Spikes and two good corners and Lawyer Milloy -- that is set to be good for two or three years.

The offense slipped from 11th in 2002 to 30th this fall because of three things: ignoring the run too long, poor offensive line play and a precipitous drop in play by Drew Bledsoe.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride was slow to realize this was a running team, a change head coach Gregg Williams envisioned making through the offseason. I'm surprised it never got done the right way. There's a basis of hope in Travis Henry and Willis McGahee, obviously.

The big question here is whether Bledsoe has anything left in his tank.

I believe he does, but I believe he has to take a dose of Dan Marino: Throw the ball away more. A good offensive coach would get that across to him.

Jim Fassel or Tom Coughlin could revitalize Bledsoe, assuming Bledsoe would listen the way John Elway did a decade ago in Denver and the way Kerry Collins did in turning his career around with the Giants. I hear Bledsoe would be open to coaching, which is a big plus for a veteran who's accomplished as much as he has.

This is also the best job out there because of the combination of ownership and player-personnel acumen.

Owner Ralph Wilson has never said no when GM Tom Donahoe has wanted something; he didn't care when Donahoe had to fork over an unexpected big signing bonus to Milloy four days before this season began. And Donahoe, though I disagreed with his McGahee pick, is one of a handful of the best guys running a team in the NFL. Ably assisted by Tom Modrak, there's no job out there that would support a coach with a stronger front office than Buffalo.

This team is close. Very close. Which is why this is the best job out there.

It doesn't hurt to coach the game's most electrifying player, Michael Vick. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

By Don Banks

Call me crazy, but here are the top three components I'd be looking for in an NFL head coaching job if I were Mr. Hot Commodity, checking out the real story behind all those help-wanted signs:

• A team owner who is both committed to winning and willing to pay the price of success. He can be hands-on, as long as one of those hands knows how to reach for his wallet when need be.

• A general manager who knows the ropes, has a strong track record with personnel, and isn't all about setting himself up to get the glory when success does come.

• And a young, still-on-the-rise franchise quarterback in place who has the potential to develop into the game's defining star of this decade.

That's all.

In other words, I'd want the package the Atlanta Falcons are offering in Arthur Blank, Rich McKay and Michael Vick. Hello, McFly? What's not to like?

Give me a generous owner, a savvy GM and a star quarterback and I'll take my chances in the shark-infested coaching waters of the NFL. Every time. Atlanta may not be a well-oiled winning machine from day one. But with Blank paying, McKay planning and Vick playing, I'm banking on being ahead of the game more times than not in the coming years.

And let's not forget that the Big Three aren't the only chips that Atlanta can slide across the table at you. Heck no.

There's a No. 1 receiver already on hand in Peerless Price, and he and Vick can't wait to develop that go-to relationship that never got off the ground in 2003 thanks to the quarterback's preseason leg injury.

Another piece of the puzzle emerged this year when young and powerful running back T.J. Duckett stepped things up in Warrick Dunn's absence. (OK, we've got to work on when and when not to celebrate in the end zone, but that's coachable.) Duckett rumbled for 779 yards and 11 touchdowns, with 322 of those yards and three of those scores coming in December, when the Falcons went 3-1 with Vick back on the field.

True, there are problems to be addressed on defense, which finished dead last in the NFL this season. But if I'm, say, Lovie Smith, I've gotta believe I can help in that department. And this is a unit that has some building blocks in linebacker Keith Brooking and defensive end Patrick Kerney, so a total rebuilding job is not required.

Resources, good management in the front office and talented players -- that's what an NFL coach needs to win. Atlanta has all three, and in good supply, making the Falcons' job the one to get.