The job of a football administrator gets tougher each year. Sitting in meetings with the Houston Texans a week ago, a visitor constantly heard front office personnel bring up the salary cap as a subject to consider.

Players are evaluated first by how their cap numbers over the years fit into the team's cap budget. The cap constraint keeps a good team in championship-contending status for a period of three years at most. And free agency isn't much help these days, either. Teams do a better job of keeping their best young players, but they do so at the cost of having to release veteran starters.

That makes for great opportunities for teams close to the championship level because they can grab up a suddenly available experienced leader. But the core group of great teams have the young players just heading into their prime.

Here are the five toughest job faced by teams this offseason:

	Brian Billick's Ravens will need to solve a number of salary cap problems this offseason.

Ravens coach Brian Billick
A year ago, Billick endorsed a popular HBO series, Hard Knocks, to show the insights of a team coming off a Super Bowl victory. Now, the Hard Knocks have hit the Ravens' roster because of the salary cap. The Ravens were $26 million over the cap as the offseason began, so they had to let go of at least seven starters and reload for the future. Another problem is that they may be in the market for a starting quarterback if Elvis Grbac doesn't restructure his contract. And if that isn't enough, linebackers Peter Boulware and Ray Lewis each want signing bonuses of more than $10 million in contract extension talks.

Billick is a master motivator, but the Ravens are clearly in a transition stage. The organization decided to take all of the cap hits this season in order to build for the future. Billick's toughest mission is going to be trying to get the franchise through the tough emotion of not being a playoff contender for a year. Success spoiled the Ravens. They had a swagger. Their defense was one of the best of the ages. They lost their mentor on defense, Marvin Lewis, to the Washington Redskins and have to hope that Mike Nolan, who helped Billick as a receivers coach last season, can convert the team into a 3-4 defense that will feature completely rebuilt defensive line.

It was a great run, but times will be tough this year. Getting Jamal Lewis back following major knee surgery will help the offense. But the receiving corps will be young without tight end Shannon Sharpe voicing his leadership.

Jets coach Herman Edwards
It was a great story how Edwards came from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a positive approach and willed his team into the playoffs. Now comes the real test. Can he do the same with less talent? Cap problems forced the Jets to lose starting cornerbacks Aaron Glenn and Marcus Coleman to the expansion Texans. Outside linebacker James Farrior had his best season heading into free agency and could be gone. Linebacker Marvin Jones has a clause in his contract that increases his salary to one of the top five for linebackers, so he might be let go. And the offensive line, a strength because of its cohesiveness in keeping the starting five together all season, has already lost right tackle Ryan Young to the Texans and might lose guard Kerry Jenkins to free agency.

The Jets made it to the playoffs despite major problems at defensive tackle. Realistically, they have to come out of the draft and free agency with two new tackles. So that means they have to come up with as many as five or six new starters on defense if they lose Farrior and can't find a way to keep Jones. Of course, one of the selling points for hiring Edwards is that he has a defensive scheme that doesn't need high-paid linebackers. The system can also cover for the cornerbacks, but the team will have to find more than just backup Ray Mickens. It's likely that they will go after Bucs free-agent cornerback Brian Kelly, but Colts coach Tony Dungy will also pursue Kelly.

Chad Pennington apparently isn't ready to take over, so expect Vinny Testaverde back as the starting quarterback after he restructures his contract during the offseason.

Vikings coach Mike Tice
Until last season, the Vikings stayed a contender despite a subpar defense. Tice takes over for Dennis Green and, as usual, had to let defenders go because of the salary cap. Safety Orlando Thomas and linebacker Ed McDaniel were cut. Linebacker Kailee Wong and cornerback Dale Carter are free agents. Safety Robert Griffith, one of their best defenders, has a clause in his contract that makes him a free agent and the Vikings have to re-sign him.

To make matters worse, Randy Moss might be their only returning pass-catcher. Cris Carter voided his contract and Jake Reed and Pro Bowl tight end Byron Chamberlain are both free agents. Moss can't afford not to run all his routes next season. At the moment, he may have to run every route.

Still, Tice is a smart coach who does a good job motivating his players. And for the first time, the Vikings do have cap room, roughly $8 million. They won't go crazy in free agency, but if they make the right bargain selections, they can make things interesting in the NFC North.

	The Jaguars finished the 2001 season with a 6-10 record.

Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin
Coughlin turned an expansion team into a contender in two seasons. But the Jaguars stayed too long with high-priced free agents and are being gobbled up by the salary cap. The purge that started last year continues this offseason. They let left tackle Tony Boselli and defensive tackles Gary Walker and Seth Payne go to the Texans. Next to go will be defensive end Renaldo Wynn, linebacker Kevin Hardy and possibly cornerback Aaron Beasley on defense. On offense, they could cut wide receiver Keenan McCardell, tight end Kyle Brady and guard Zach Wiegert.

The biggest selling job Coughlin has is convincing quarterback Mark Brunell and wide receiver Jimmy Smith to keep the faith. Brunell lost Boselli, his best friend, and isn't happy about it. Plus, he's playing behind an offensive line that doesn't have a legitimate NFL tackle on its roster at the moment. Smith isn't happy about the possibility of losing McCardell. Plus, he feels he is underpaid for his string of Pro Bowl seasons.

This isn't a happy ship, and now it's not a talented ship. Coughlin has succeeded by running a disciplined ship, but this season will be his toughest challenge. It's not out of the question that Coughlin trades talented but often injured halfback Fred Taylor. The Jaguars had their championship run and lost it. It's time for rebuilding.

Raiders boss Al Davis
Davis played his negotiating cards correctly and got two first-round draft picks, two second-round picks and $8 million for the best young coach in football, Jon Gruden. But now the pressure is on to keep the Raiders at a championship level. The Patriots didn't do much with the draft choices they acquired when Bill Parcells left for the Jets, so Davis must draft well. The picks are great for the future, but the greatness of the Raiders will be determined in the present, next season.

Davis must make the right choice at head coach, and it appears that he is leaning toward maintaining continuity and promoting offensive coordinator Bill Callahan. Callahan or whoever the Raiders hire faces the tough task of keeping an aging team at a championship level. The Raiders had as many as 10 starters in their 30s on the field. Guard Steve Wisniewski and linebacker William Thomas have already retired. Cornerback Eric Allen is thinking about retirement.

The Raiders face major problems on defense if defensive tackle Grady Jackson leaves in free agency. They won't have defensive tackle Darrell Russell for the season because of a drug suspension. The window is closing on this group of players, so anything less than a championship appearance isn't satisfactory. The new coach will face impatience. Tim Brown wants to get a Super Bowl ring. So does Jerry Rice. So does Rich Gannon. They will be looking to their new coach for answers that will get the Raiders to the Super Bowl. Anything else won't work.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.