The National Football League’s regular season just ended. As always happens this time of year, many teams fired their head coaches based on a perceived failure to meet expectations. Eight coaches have lost their jobs, and the search for replacements is in full swing.

To some degree, the scramble for new head coaches calls to mind the scrum among federal judges to find the best law clerks. Multiple owners interview the same top-ranked coaching candidates and rush to give them offers. Presumably some owners, like some judges, have long been watching the progress of certain candidates, doing their homework in advance so that they are ready to make an offer promptly.