The Raiders have assembled a long list of candidates in their search for a head coach, but is there a front runner for the job at this early stage in the process?
It’s hard to know for sure because the information circle is so small within the organization right now, but according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vinny Bonsignore, there is a familiar name high on the team’s list of candidates.
“A lot of momentum is building for Pete Carroll,” Bonsignore reported on X on Friday. “In many ways, he is exactly what they need right now. Likely with a protégée/successor that comes on board with him.”
Previously, Bonsignore called Carroll “the” name to watch for the Raiders, and Carroll’s resume fits the description of what the team is reportedly looking for in their next head coach.
Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter talked about the Vegas coaching search on Wednesday and he believes that experience is going to be a big factor in who the team chooses.
“I believe what the Raiders are doing is I believe that their goal is… they want an experienced head coach who’s going to come in and grip this franchise and take it somewhere,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“I have no doubt that’s exactly what they want. I have zero doubt. That’s not speculative,” Hondo continued. “They know what they want. That’s why I think they’re going to end up with an experienced head coach.”
If experience is a necessity to get the Raiders job, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson might not be the top candidate on their list.
Carroll and Mike Vrabel seem to be two candidates the Raiders would be comfortable with, but it’s worth noting that Vrabel is expected to have a lot of options.
For what it’s worth, it has been reported that the decision on the next Raiders head coach is likely to be decided by a three-man committee. According to Carpenter, there are essentially three people that carry weight right now on the football side of operations.
“I believe in the building; I don’t think anybody has a clue of what’s happening next,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “I think it’s a three-person brain trust. I think some of the other owners obviously have an opinion, but I think it’s [Mark] Davis and Brady and [Richard] Seymour, and that’s it. I think maybe some of the other owners, but that’s it.”
x: @raidersbeat
Vrabel and Carroll both fit the bill of what the Raiders are looking for…. and they probably end up with one with fewer alternate options.
I don’t know that Carroll would be bad or that Vrabel will be great. I just know which one is in higher demand. And hiring Carroll would certainly be in line with that common defect ex- players have as coaches or executives; defaulting to what they know from their playing days. Carrol’s prime as a coach just happens to line up with Brady’s prime as a player.
I don’t know how I feel about it, to be honest. I thought Carroll was a really good coach with USC and Seattle. But he’s pretty old and it’s been a few years since his Seattle teams were perennial contenders. There’s definitely worse possibilities worth Mark Davis.
Carrol and Dodds make perfect sense
Whatever 🙄 The Raiders are losers except when we really want the to lose. They are cursed. They can sign a new coach every year and they’ll continue to lose. The team motto used to be commitment to excellence. Now it’s commitment to sh💩
Jay you must be a youngster…I have watched my Rai Dahs win 3 SBs…a lot more then some relevant teams can say…sure we have a LONG and awful road…but life is made up of many memories…Oakland East Bay, LA can’t say much about Vegas…except for PAPA…
Better things will be coming, you know why, the league wants something big in Vegas…I hope at my old age I can get to see them win again.
They’ll win again once the team owner isn’t named Davis. “ The league wants something big in Vegas”? Are they going to run the team for Davis? The league has ZERO input on the team’s hires or drafts, so how exactly is the league going to make them winners?
Jay is your proto typical Malineal bafoon. Probably never watched an NFL game before 2010, he was still in his diapers and probably still is living with mommy and daddy. He has no respect other than walking around hunched over like a cashew on his cell phone. Probably can’t have a conversation with anyone unless it’s in text format. Keep trashing little man the Raiders will rise.
Pure speculation. If they were dead set on hiring an experienced HC why would they schedule interviews with many candidates without HC experience?! They would be fools to pick a 70+ candidate while bypassing someone like Johnson.
I wouldn’t be upset with Sneaky Pete, I just think he would have to have a really good OC since he has defensive chops of his own.. At Seattle he wasn’t exactly known for throws to the TE.. Even Jimmy Graham wasn’t used enough.. Was that a Russ thing or a philosophy thing? Bowers is one of the top selling points the Raiders have. I’d hate to see him be a decoy.. Would another OC fired by the Bears, Waldron be his OC?