The consensus outside of the Raiders’ building seems to be that interim GM Champ Kelly and interim HC Antonio Pierce will be retained and hired to their respective positions… but for reasons unknown, it hasn’t happened yet.
Despite the fact that the Raiders have complied with the Rooney Rule and can announce a general manager and head coach at any time, something is holding up the process.
NBC Sports host Mike Florio talked about that dynamic on Wednesday, and he believes the door is being left open by Mark Davis to potentially make a surprise decision in the days ahead…
“I was saying throughout the final weeks of the regular season that Mark Davis needs to learn from the mistake he made two years ago when he didn’t keep [Rich] Bisaccia and Mike Mayock after they led the team through some pretty dysfunctional times…
The word on the NFL streets over the weekend, when you start connecting dots, was Vrabel to the Raiders. Tom Brady [is] intimately involved in the team even though his attempt to purchase 5 to 10 percent of the franchise is yet to be approved by the owners and it might never be. But he is involved, and he and Vrabel are tight.
So will Mark Davis hold firm with what we feel like Antonio Pierce has deserved or will he become tempted to make a bigger splash with a Jim Harbaugh or a Mike Vrabel. And that thing is, now that the Rooney Rule has been fully complied with and they can hire anyone at any time, Jim Harbaugh could show up today and [Davis] could hire Harbaugh today if he wanted to.”
Florio wasn’t making predictions, but as long as the Raiders haven’t hired a GM and a HC, anything can happen. He added that Pierce has become one of the more popular head-coaching candidates around the league and he could have real options elsewhere before the hiring cycle comes to a close.
The same can probably said of Kelly.
Just something to think about if the Raiders’ keep kicking the can down the road in the search for their next GM and head coach.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Is this a surprise to anyone ??? 🤔 if anyone thought that MD would fo the right thing, well think again. He will one again step on his Di#$ and hire some wacked hire and wonder why his team can never rebuild. Just grab the popcorn and watch the drama unfold.
So do you think Antonio Pierce is a better coach right now than say Mike Vrabel or Jim Harbaugh?
Stop this nonsense. These are appeasing interviews for Goodell to get his rocks off. Make the Raiders jump through hoops. AP is the coach. No nonsense LEADER.
Jim Harbaugh or Antonio Pierce , don’t want anybody else!
Florio is not an NFL analyst. He’s an aggregator of NFL news.
Announcement coming soon. AP/CK
Are you a NFL reporter? Probably not.. So you really don’t no.
I’ve been a Raider fanatic since I was an 11 year old kid at the super bowl in New Orleans in 1981 when the boys smashed Philadelphia 27-10! A lot has changed since then and a different Davis is running the show now but to be honest…I don’t think even Mark Davis can screw this one up! The Raiders have made some moves over the years that have left me scratching my head and wondering if Al and his son were hanging out on the streets of East Oakland smoking crack and getting advice from some shady characters but if Antonio Pierce is not given a real shot at this it just might prove my theory. If you bring in Harbaugh or Vrabel you start all over yet again. Why do that? Everyone knows that the times when the Raiders were truly feared were the 70’s and 80’s… OLD SCHOOL!! AP brings that old school mentality that I think we seriously need. Raider Nation, it’s a no brainer, don’t you agree?
Yes, I agree 100 percent. I am a lifetime Raider fan going back to the 1960’s, and I will die a RAIDERS fan!!! I don’t really care where they call home, Oakland, L.A., Vegas or Timbucktoo. They will always be my favorite team!!!!! Period.
I do like AP but I’d be lying if I said I’d hire AP over Harbaugh. I just think Harbaugh is the better coach at the moment. Not saying that AP won’t be a good Head Coach.. I feel like with Harbaughs coaching experience that he could get us to challenging for the division sooner than AP. If AP gets the job I just think he’s basically going to be learning the ins and outs of being a Head Coach on the job and it might take him a little bit of time to get us where we need to be. But TBH if Mark Davis doesn’t give the job to AP no matter who he hires I think the players are going to not buy in right away to the new coach and it’s going to hurt us. But anyways, yeah I’ve been a fan since I believe it was the 83 or 84 Superbowl against Washington Redskins when I became a fan and TBH we haven’t really been that good since. Maybe when Gruden was here the first time I think Gruden would’ve won us a Superbowl if not traded to Tampa Bay. No matter what happens I’m always cheering my boys on to victory. RN4L.
I’m not saying hiring Harbaugh or Vrabel is wrong,but if they do,it will mean a compete housecleaning including Crosby and Adams,might be worth it in the long run
Yeah I agree .. I think if AP doesn’t get the job that Crosby and Adams are traded. Hell I think Adams might get traded either way. But if I’m being honest I think if we did say .. hire Harbaugh and we did trade both those guys and let’s say we get two first round picks at the least for them… We could really build a decent team if we hit on those 3 first round picks counting the 13th pick we already have. Then go get a couple impact free agents and either draft or trade for a future QB we just might be in serious business to be contenders for the division for years to come. So I wouldn’t automatically get pissed off right away if things played out like that. No matter what happens though.. I just no something has to give and soon because the fans are fed up with not just the losing but it just seems like no matter what we decide it never I mean never works to our advantage. It is amazing really . I could handle a bad decision now n then but over 20yrs now. WOW kinda gets depressing if you ask me. I’m hanging by a thread to keep up with the Raiders and football.. I’ll always be a raiders fan but trust me I’m not an enthused one at the moment and my faith is fading every year. RN4L.
Yes, I agree 100 percent. I am a lifetime Raider fan going back to the 1960’s, and I will die a RAIDERS fan!!! I don’t really care where they call home, Oakland, L.A., Vegas or Timbucktoo. They will always be my favorite team!!!!! Period. AP deserves to be the head coach as he is exactly what and who this team needs, plus he personifies the Raider way to play the game..,. hardcore. I don’t know much about Mr.Kelly, but it seems to me that he works pretty well with AP so why not give them the opportunity to bring the SILVER AND BLACK back to tradition that has been missing for far to long! GO RAIDERS