Mark Davis has a big decision coming on his next head coach, but according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Raiders already have two of the best young coaches in the league.
And actually, Pelissero threw in an “honor mention” to two others: interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree and passing game coordinator Scott Turner.
As for the top two names on the list, maybe you’ve heard of the them…
DC Patrick Graham
“A former Yale defensive lineman, Graham is now in his 22nd year in coaching, the past 15 in the NFL (winning Super Bowl XLIX with the 2014 Patriots). He’s passionate, has high expectations and holds players accountable. With Las Vegas fielding one of the NFL’s worst offenses in 2023, it was the Raiders’ defense that kept them in games amidst a 3-5 start that ultimately cost head coach Josh McDaniels his job.
Owner Mark Davis passed over Graham to name linebackers coach Antonio Pierce the Raiders’ interim coach — an increasingly common move within the league to avoid disrupting the coordinators — and Las Vegas has won both games since, with Graham’s defense yielding a grand total of 18 points. Graham had a second interview for the Vikings’ head coaching job after the 2021 season, and the Jets wanted to interview him the previous year, but the coach signed an extension with his employer at the time, the Giants.”
Interim HC Antonio Pierce
“A nine-year NFL veteran linebacker who won Super Bowl XLII with the Giants, Pierce was the surprise choice as Raiders interim head coach in just his second season as an NFL assistant. He previously spent four years in a variety of roles on Herm Edwards’ staff at Arizona State, before resigning in February 2022 amidst an NCAA investigation into the program’s potential recruiting violations.
Pierce has obvious presence and credibility as a former player. He worked in media and business before going into coaching, giving him some unique real-world experience. Owner Mark Davis has told media outlets that Pierce has an opportunity to earn the full-time job. Pierce just turned 45 last month, so we’re giving him a one-year exemption onto this list, as the latest fascinating test case of a former player with relatively little coaching experience getting the opportunity to run the show.”
For what it’s worth, the other candidate that was considered for the Raiders interim HC job was wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett, who was retained from Jon Gruden’s staff and has been with the team for six years.
At 54 years old, Bennett might not be one of the younger coaches in the league, but he’s definitely one of the most respected.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Did I read this right,graham being in the top two? Who the hell writes this bullshit? S.O.B has no clue on what he’s doing as a d.c. GTFOH with this ****.
Mark should not make the call on his own, again. He needs to put together a committee to help him with this decision. If the last 12+ years prove anything it’s that Mark is incapable of making the right decision on his own. Hopefully, he doesn’t bow to media pressure and just hand the job to Pierce. He owes it to the fan base to make an exhaustive search and if, after that, Pierce is the guy, so be it.