Unlike a year ago, the Raiders landed their no. 1 head coaching candidate in 2026, but who would they have hired if they didn’t get Klint Kubiak?
There were rumors in January that the Raiders offered the job to former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, Minter wouldn’t have been the team’s no. 2 pick if Kubiak turned down the job.
“They interviewed two defensive guys. They liked them both. There were reports that Jesse Minter got offered the job. [That was] absolutely, categorically, 100 percent not true and I know that from a Raider perspective from a Minter perspective. People close to both parties. Really close,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“There was a gentleman who I have talked [about] the last two cycles, a defensive coordinator, not even going to try to pronounce his name because I kill it every time, they really liked him. And if they were going in a defensive direction, he would have been the guy. Great candidate.”
Carpenter didn’t clarify who he was talking about, but it sounds like it might have been Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Evero was one of a handful of coaches who got a second interview with the Raiders. Carpenter mentioned talking about the candidate two years ago, and this was what he said about Evero in the hiring cycle that ended with the Raiders hiring Antonio Pierce.
“I had one NFL General Manager say to me flat out ‘If he gets a one-on-one with Mark Davis, he will be your next coach,” Carpenter said in November of 2023. “This guy called him one of the most brilliant football minds he has ever talked football with. He told me if he had an opening today, E.J. would be at the top of his list…”
“E.J. will walk into that room with binders of information, [and say] ‘this is going to be my offensive coordinator and here’s what we’re going to do.’ That’s why they said getting the interview with Mark [Davis] is going to be the key. If he gets the interview, one in particular said ‘I have no doubt he’ll get the job.’”
The consensus seems to be that it’s only a matter of time before Evero gets his first head coaching gig in the NFL, and if Kubiak would have turned down the Raiders’ job, it sounds like the 45-year-old defensive coordinator might have been no. 2 on the list in Las Vegas.
x: @raidersbeat
I don’t care about this. But I’d really like to know is why there is no urgency from the end of the draft in signing undrafted free agents?
It’s interesting that the NFL doesn’t seem to be enforcing the rules about negotiating with undrafted FAs until after the conclusion of the seventh round. Probably because they’re all hung up on that lame Mr. Irrelevant ceremony. There were reports of players declining the selection late in the draft because they already had deals in place that paid more than the rookie draft slot agreement with the players union.
I don’t know if Spytek is a “play by the rules” guy, or if the Raiders just announce later than most teams, but it has always seemed that way. I remember not being able to find the list for a day or more, but with all the podcast and 24 hour reporting that seems to have gone away.
The only thing that seems consistent is the fact that he isn’t able to or doesn’t care about finding quality talent from small schools. Worse yet is signs of indifference about some of his pics during the draft. Specifically that story about our assistant GM and his third round pick.
Carpenter is a joke, he can’t even talk about his own stupid “breaking News” because he can’t pronounce his name. Did anyone notice in the Draft press conferences that coaches seemed to struggle keeping a straight face during his questions? Also Hondo, this was well known at the time of Kubiak’s hiring. Only you were dragging the story out because everyone else knew Kubiak was a done deal. Is your next story going to be about the Raiders second option for the first pick in case Mendoza was injured during the pre draft festivities?
Hondo is an imbecile. Dude has no credibility
Yeah especially Spytek had a hard time keeping a straight face. He just Smiles at Hondo like he’s the in-house loveable imbecile…Hondo can’t even pronounce words correctly either besides names
Is Hondo the illegitimate son of Ben Cartwright.
Anything Hondo says is “fake news” that can never be verified because he never breaks any stories. He only breaks “what if” stories after the fact 😂
Like Glazer saying the cowboys were going to making a splash when they were on the clock in the draft.