There's no easy way out of this
As others have said, the big issue is we must improve our scouting and drafting. Going back to Payton’s final years we’ve just whiffed on too many picks. To make matters worse, they use picks (future picks) to draft a bust or under performing talent.
I did listen to Underhill on Twitter this morning and he pointed out it’s the middle of the roster, the depth, that has sunk this season. That’s due to repeated bad drafts.
We can continue to get the cap under control and field a competitive team at the same time if we improve the draft. Looks like we’ll get a high pick…maybe top 10 or 5. We’ll probably make some trades to accumulate more. They must hit on these. One great draft can revitalize a team just like it did in 06 and in 17.
As for DA I do think it’s time to move on. My preference would be to just start fresh and move away from the Payton tree. Get new ideas. Build a strong culture again. No coaching retreads.