The circus-like atmosphere in the Las Vegas Raiders’ offices is in full motion.
Once again, the Raiders are looking for a head coach after Pete Carroll’s disastrous one-year tenure.
Carroll and the Raiders were never going to work. It’s hard to know who is to blame because it isn’t like Mark Davis has been a bushel full of competence, but the idea that the Raiders were a coach away from the playoffs with a complete and utter JV-like roster was delusional.
Carroll felt like the Raiders were ready to win now, which is on par with me thinking I’m ready to win the Mega Millions right now.
The first thing the Raiders need to do is be honest with themselves. The organization has been poorly run for multiple generations, with the ringleader of the tomfoolery at the highest level being the current owner.
Unlike others, I don’t see Tom Brady double-dipping as a problem as long as he’s more than just a TB12 representative when it’s time to do his job for the Raiders. Here is the perfect opportunity for Brady and John Spytek to show the Raiders’ fan base that they are finally in good hands with an acceptable level of competence.
It starts with accepting the truth. The Raiders aren’t a year away from being a playoff team. Forget the nonsense that a 5-12 team can be 12-5 the next season. That’s part of the reason why the Raiders are in this mess.
The next head coach of the Raiders should be Brian Flores, with Brian Daboll being the offensive coordinator and Raheem Morris taking over the defense.
For the Raiders to get this setup, they will have to move fast.
The Dallas Cowboys fired Matt Eberflus, and reports from several outlets say Jerry Jones will target Flores, but only as a Defensive Coordinator. This is setting up as the classic inflated salary that Jones has used before to “buy” a coach out of a higher position with another team. It’s hard to imagine that Flores would sue the NFL and then punt on a head coaching opportunity to make a lateral move to the Cowboys.
Daboll is another coach in demand. The Washington Commanders moved on from Klif Kingsbury today, and a Daboll-Jayden Daniels combination would look good in the nation’s capital. Plus, unlike the Raiders, the Commanders have a franchise quarterback while the Raiders don’t.
If Daboll wants another crack at being a head coach, showing he can develop a quarterback, especially a young one, would go a long way.
Most anticipate that the Raiders will draft Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Does Daboll feel like he can mold Mendoza into a franchise quarterback? If so, the Raiders could have a shot at getting him.
Raheem Morris is out in Atlanta and isn’t being mentioned for another head coaching job. If he gets an interview, it’s hard to believe that it will be anything other than satisfying the Rooney Rule. That means, if he wants to work in the NFL next season, it would be as a defensive coordinator.
Morris did an excellent job when he served as the defensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams. He oversaw the Rams’ top-ranked defense, which led the Rams to a Super Bowl win.
The Raiders’ hire doesn’t need to be a reflection of the mythical Patriots Way, a philosophy that is dead and gone, but with two former Patriots in charge, what they’ve learned from being part of a winning organization must be leveraged in Vegas. Brady and Spytek need to overcome Davis’ gross incompetence. That’s not easy, but if they want to prove they’re worth all the trust Davis has put in them, it needs to start this offseason.
