Howe earned himself some rope with what he was able to do last season, but you're right. No doubt Newcastle will look towards Poch if they begin to falter at all. Mourinho with that club would be disastrous IMO.
One can only hope. Their financial state is the most curious. Gotta imagine the new ownership group will spend money to keep the club strong. But, they're American. This isn't a vanity project like it was with Abramovic, they will want to turn a profit.
Newcastle should be strong contenders for top 6 next season. Arsenal will be there and so will West Ham. Hard to imagine Leicester having a worse year, and ManU had their worst year ever in the premiership...can't imagine that will happen again. Top 4 (and soon to be top 5 if the UCL rules go into effect) will be a dogfight again.