A week after saying he felt Tony Sparano was “the man to beat” for the Raiders job,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter had this to say on 95.7 The Game this morning:
“I don’t know that’s he’s the front runner, and I don’t know if he was ever the front runner. I think he’s certainly square in the discussion of candidates that the Raiders are thinking of hiring full time. Now again, they’ve got options here…”
Just two days ago, ESPN’s John Clayton speculated that Sparano might get the job by Thursday:
“I think that they’re getting close to doing something in Oakland. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony Sparano gets the job tonight or tomorrow and being promoted from interim coach. That’s what I imagine is going to happen in Oakland.”
Mark Davis broke his brief silence on the coaching search, but offered little more than ‘wait and see.’
As of now, the top candidates appear to be Sparano, Jack Del Rio, Pat Shurmur, and Mike Shanahan, but Davis did add that interviews aren’t necessarily over.
Based upon all of the above and the fact that this year’s league-wide coaching search is running slower than usual, it seems likely nothing is happening in Oakland until after the weekend.