And the first domino of the upcoming offseason just dropped. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with former head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. While they had worked previously to great avail in New England, the Raiders are going to Raider, no matter what. This franchise is directionless because of its owner, Mark Davis.
For the second time in his professional career, the former longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator did not make it through his second season as an NFL head coach. He was ousted a little over a decade ago in Denver for scandalous reasons. Now, he is out in Las Vegas for not being what Davis apparently signed up for. Clearly, the P.F. Chang's did not work, and they must make a change...
Last offseason cycle only saw five NFL franchises make a change at the helm of their organization. Unless you really want to fade Jonathan Gannon in the Valley of the Sun, all five first-year head coaches should be back next season. With that in mind, there could conceivably be upwards of eight jobs opening up by Black Monday. The Raiders may not be the best right now, but it is still one of 32...
Here are five head-coaching candidates the Raiders will need to do some serious homework on.
5. Shane Waldron is ready for his big opportunity this offseason cycle
You cannot overlook what the Seattle Seahawks have been able to do the last few seasons offensively, especially after pivoting off Russell Wilson in favor of his backup, now Pro Bowler, Geno Smith. It may be Pete Carroll's team for now, but you have to wonder how much the Seahawks value having offensive coordinator Shane Waldron in the building. He should be a head coach this February.
Waldron may have gotten some nibbles during his first foray onto the coaching carousel last offseason. However, nobody took the bait. While he could hold out and stay put in the Pacific Northwest, either to be Carroll's eventual successor, or wait for a better job, the Raiders seem like a halfway decent entry point for him. He knows offense and they should be drafting a quarterback high.
Whether the Silver and Black are in a position to draft Caleb Williams out of USC, Drake Maye out of North Carolina, or even someone like J.J. McCarthy out of Michigan, Bo Nix out of Oregon or Michael Penix Jr. out of Washington, I would trust Waldron to get the most out of this young quarterback talent. If he can make chicken salad out of last year's chicken mess with Smith, he can do anything.
This really comes down to what opportunities are available for him, as well as who the new GM will be.
4. Brian Callahan can be better than his dad was with the Silver and Black
Like father, like son ... potentially? Although his father Bill Callahan had an up-and-down career as a head coach, he is one of the best offensive line coaches in football history. As far as his son Brian Callahan is concerned, he has flourished as Zac Taylor's excellent offensive coordinator on the Cincinnati Bengals staff. The fact he and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo are back is so baffling!
Anarumo was a finalist for the Arizona Cardinals gig that went to Jonathan Gannon. While Callahan was supposedly up for the Indianapolis Colts job that went to Shane Steichen, this could be the year both of the Bengals' two coordinators get to lead teams of their own. Going to the Raiders may be a tad dicey for Callahan's upward trajectory, but his father did lead the 2002 Raiders to the Super Bowl.
Depending on how the Bengals' season shakes out, Callahan could either be a hot head-coaching candidate this cycle, or possibly be the biggest name on the market come 2025. Either way, it would serve the Raiders to at least interview Callahan, as the Bengals offense is one of the most explosive versatile and complete in the NFL. It is high risk/high reward, but you have to see what this is about.
Callahan to the Raiders would be very Raiders of them, but it is crazy enough where it may just work.
3. Someone will hire Dan Quinn this cycle, might as well be the Raiders
Like with Brian Callahan, this hiring may be crazy enough to where it just might work. Even though he returned to the Dallas Cowboys for a third straight season, I would be beyond shocked if their defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is not leading his own team in 2024. He has taken his name out of coaching conversations previously, but most of that had to do with the Denver Broncos shenanigans.
The former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks is a good man, but needs to carefully pick where he goes in his second, and potentially final, head-coaching opportunity. I do not know if the Raiders are the right franchise for him to align himself with, but he could be the one to galvanize a downtrodden franchise like seemingly nobody else really can.
It would be a great opportunity for him to assemble a strong, up-and-coming staff, as well as a chance to take a blue-chipper in the first round at the quarterback position. He won a lot of games with the Falcons with Matt Ryan as his star quarterback. Of course, his side of the ball is what let the Falcons down and led to his dismissal. I do not trust this Raiders defense, and neither should you...
Quinn to the Raiders could change their dynamic, but I think he would covet way better ownership.
2. Ben Johnson has been there every step of the way in Lions' turnaround
This is the big one in the NFL to keep an eye on. See what I did there? Regardless, I expect for Ben Johnson to be getting a ton of looks at serious head-coaching opportunities this upcoming offseason. The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator has played an integral part in this franchise going from a laughingstock, to one of the 10 best teams across the entire league. This team is ferocicous!
Because Dan Campbell is more of a CEO-type of head coach, man, Detroit may value Johnson more than most franchises would. This could indicate owner Sheila Ford Hamp to pay a few more million to keep Johnson in Detroit for a bit longer than the market would naturally dictate. However, the Raiders present a very interesting opportunity for him as a first-time head coach, kind of like with Campbell.
Campbell learned under Sean Payton in New Orleans, in addition to his time leading the Miami Dolphins about a decade ago in the interim. Detroit was pitiful under Campbell's predecessor in Matt Patricia. In a matter of years, he quickly instilled a culture of competitiveness and grit that has made the Lions a must-watch franchise. Johnson may be a strong first branch to stem off his coaching tree.
With the option to draft a franchise quarterback in the first-round, this entry point seems favorable.
1. Jim Harbaugh needs a new team, and he first worked for Al Davis...
As soon as Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler were let go, my mind immediately went to Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. He may be leading the two-time defending Big Ten champions, but his time in Ann Arbor could be coming to an end due to scandal. He is pushing 60, and this could be his last best shot at returning to the NFL. With the Raiders being a team he first worked for, this is it, baby!
After retiring from his playing career, Harbaugh was hired as a quarterbacks coach on the 2002-03 Oakland Raiders staff. Harbaugh then left the Bay Area, temporarily, to take over the FCS San Diego Toreros. He then returned a few years later to lead the downtrodden Stanford Cardinal and then the dumpster fire that was the early 2010s San Francisco 49ers. Then, his alma mater came calling...
You see a trend here, right? Harbaugh turns bad teams around almost immediately. The Raiders are a rudderless ship and Harbaugh seems to have outstayed his welcome in Ann Arbor. If Mark Davis wanted to look like a genius, he would figure out some way to help get Tom Brady to help finance bringing a fellow Michigan man to Sin City. Harbaugh should make the Raiders a winner overnight.
Factor in that he can draft either J.J. McCarthy, or someone better, he has to do this, if he is allowed...
