Q: Dan, if Mike Holmgren does coach next year, which are the 2 or 3 teams he is most likely to join? Which teams would be the worst fit for him?
— Don, Brentwood, Calif.

A: I would think Holmgren would want to go to a team that will give him a lot of power, perhaps a coach/general manager title. I think he would be a good fit in Dallas, where he could assume the kind of kingpin position that Bill Parcells had not long ago.

I could envision him in Washington, where Dan Snyder usually is willing to pay whatever it takes to get what he wants. Of course you would have to consider the 49ers a possibility because of Holmgren’s roots, but it wouldn’t seem likely that the team would launch Mike Singletary after just one year. I find it difficult to envision a scenario in which Lovie Smith would be fired, but I could see Holmgren as a Bear as well.

As far as which teams would be the worst fit — I would just say this — he probably would be more attracted to a big market team in a city known for its culture.

Q: Will the Bills hold onto Marshawn Lynch? Signing Fred Jackson makes me wonder if they’re gonna get rid of him.
— John, Spencerport, N.Y.

A: I think the Bills are smart enough to know they need two good running backs. They also are smart enough to know Lynch already has been suspended once for off the field conduct. If he screws up again, they might feel they have no choice but to replace him.

But I would think that Lynch controls his own future with regards to the Bills.

Q: Dan, I am absolutely perplexed by the fascination teams have with players from USC so high in the draft, at least on the offensive side of the ball. You look at the last few big names to come out of there, and they're big busts, at least as far as they're paycheck is concerned. Carson Palmer had one good season, Reggie Bush has failed to live up to expectations, and Matt Leinhart is getting splinters in his posterior. Matt Cassel is the only offensive player in recent history to do something, but he was a backup chosen in the sixth round. I see him faltering in Kansas City. Seems to me that they are more successful in college due to the system they are in, combined with a lack of competition. Don't get me wrong, I'm not wishing for Mark Sanchez to fail, I just have a hunch. Could you please enlighten me as to the thought process behind drafting these guys so high? Thanks.
Steve Samasuck, Auburn, N.Y.

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A: It’s always tempting to look at a bunch of players from one school under one umbrella, but it doesn’t often lead to a logical conclusion, Steve. There is nothing to make scouts believe that the USC offense is enabling players to produce beyond their abilities.

In fact, they run a pro style offense very similar to the ones many of them are asked to play in when they get to the NFL. So from that standpoint, playing at Southern Cal gives offensive players an advantage that players at many other schools don’t have in terms of NFL preparedness. Most of the players we are talking about — even the receivers like Mike Williams, Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith — did not lack talent.

In most cases they were highly recruited players coming out of high school who could have gone almost anywhere in the country to play college ball. So I think NFL teams would need to look at the Trojan players on a case by case basis to determine why some of them failed to live up to expectations.

Q: What is the current status of putting a team into the Los Angeles market??
— Michael Billington, Paradise, Calif.

A: Nothing really has changed regarding the NFL and L.A. The NFL wants a team there but needs L.A. to want to have one as badly. That means coughing up for a new stadium. If and when the local government ever gets committed to a stadium, it is likely an NFL team that is struggling in its current home will jump to L.A.