LAS VEGAS — The Super Bowl matchup is set — New England vs. Seattle.
Six NFL teams have already hired new head coaches, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are going with Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy, the former Packers and Cowboys head coach.
The Raiders? They’re still shopping for Pete Carroll’s replacement.
It has been nearly three weeks since the head coach’s office at the Intermountain Health Performance Center in Henderson has been made vacant. And what it tells me is that the Raiders are actually trying to do things the right way.
They’ve talked to former head coaches. They’ve interviewed offensive coordinators, quarterback coaches and defensive coordinators. They’ve complied with the NFL’s ”Rooney Rule” which meant they talked to a minority candidate for the position.
According to their own website, they’ve formally interviewed 14 people and that list may grow if the reports about former Giants coach Brian Daboll and former Bills coach Sean McDermott interviewing are true. Some will be getting a second interview in the next few days as the team closes in on who it wants to hire.
Everyone has their own idea of who is best suited to take over coaching the Silver and Black. Me? If they could’ve gotten John Harbaugh or Kevin Stefanski, that would’ve been the right call as experience is important. And maybe McDermott winds up with the job. He had a good run in Buffalo with Josh Allen even though he couldn’t get to the Super Bowl, much less win one, due in large part to some guy named Mahomes.
But while experience certainly is a good thing, so is ability and talent along with a different perspective on how to win. And if you’re Davis Webb, the Broncos’ QB coach or Klint Kubiak the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator or his brother Klay, who is the 49ers’ OC, we’re talking younger guys who can perhaps relate well to today’s players.
And whoever is hired better be able to work with Fernando Mendoza, the likely selection when the Raiders pick first in April’s NFL Draft. The Indiana quarterback who led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season and has officially declared for the draft, is going to need someone to teach him about playing the position at the NFL level, to grow together with him, to be there with tough love when necessary and get his teammates assimilated with Mendoza so come Week 1, he doesn’t feel like he’s lost in the fog.
So it’s why I kinda lean toward one of the Kubiaks or Webb. I look at the job each has managed to do with his team’s quarterback and integrating it into that team’s offense. Look what Webb has done with Bo Nix in Denver, what Klint has done with Sam Darnold in Seattle and what Klay has done with Brock Purdy in San Francisco. Who wouldn’t want one of those guys calling signals for their team?
And let’s not forget the GOAT in the room.
Yes, Tom Brady is a big part in all of this. He has been an active participant in the search for the new Raiders coach and it stands to reason once that person is hired, Brady will make himself available to talk strategy, hopefully work with Mendoza and the rest of the QB room and help put his stamp on the next chapter of the organization’s attempt to finally regain its footing and be competitive and ultimately, successful.
Some believe Brady so far is no better an executive in football than Michael Jordan was in basketball. Certainly, he’s not in Jerry West’s league. Or even Steve Yzerman, who built a roster in Tampa that won the Lightning a couple of Stanley Cups. But Brady is still new at this ownership thing and perhaps he’s still trying to find his way as to where his say begins and ends. Because remember, he’s a minority owner. Mark Davis still has the final say over who gets hired to be the head coach.
Let’s remember the Raiders have tried it every which way during Mark Davis’ tenure as owner, which dates back to 2011 following Al Davis’ death. They’ve tried the NFL head coach experience route (Jon Gruden, Carroll). They’ve gone with coordinators (Josh McDaniels, Dennis Allen). They’ve tried defensive guys (Jack Del Rio, Antonio Pierce), special teams guys (Rich Bisaccia), offensive guys (Tony Sparano). So far, it’s resulted in two playoff appearances, both losses in the Wild Card round.
Two teams that tried it different ways a year ago seem happy. Chicago hired Ben Johnson, who was the Lions’ offensive coordinator and the Bears made a quantum leap forward. New England hired veteran NFL coach Mike Vrabel, a former patriots player who had a pretty good run in Tennessee before things went sideways. All he did was lead the Pats back to the Super Bowl this year. Which proves that there’s no one guaranteed path to success in the NFL.
So they better get this one right.
Will they?
Give the Raiders credit for at least being patient and meticulous in the process. They didn’t buy the first thing they saw. I’d like to think that’s because general manager John Spytek fully understands the gravity of the situation, that he knows his own future with the Raiders likely hinges on getting the right hire for the head coach, that when they draft Mendoza, they have a plan to develop him, build the offense around him, Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers and use the remainder of their draft capital wisely to shore up the offensive line, the linebacker corps and the secondary, assuming they retain Maxx Crosby and don’t need to find the next great edge rusher.
So fret not Raider Nation, your next head coach will be arriving shortly, perhaps some time this week. You may or may not like who they ultimately hire, but at least they were thorough in their pursuit. And that’s an improvement over past hires.