There have been a lot of signs in recent days that the Raiders are zeroing in on two primary head coaching candidates.
From the outside, it appears Klint Kubiak and Davis Webb are the front runners to get the job, and the latest from league insider Jordan Schultz is that those two candidates are the popular picks for the Raiders in league circles, with Minter getting more of an honorable mention.
“The Raiders are believed to be focusing on an offensive-minded to pair with the likely no. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza alongside weapons like Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty,” Schultz reported on Wednesday.
“I’ve heard a lot of Klint Kubiak and Davis Webb mentioned here. Jesse Minter, a defensive-minded coach, has come up as well. But within league circles, the belief is that this will ultimately be an offensive hire. The question is simply who that will be… It’s probably worth mentioning that Tom Brady has been calling a number of Seahawks games of late and has another one Sunday in the NFC Championship game.”
“Why is that important? Because Brady has had a first-hand look at Klint Kubiak’s offense and he’s been putting on a masterclass on how to run an offense predicated on explosiveness, balance and brilliance.”
There is still a lot to be determined around the league in terms of coaching hires, and it will be interesting to see if the Baltimore Ravens or Buffalo Bills get in the way the of the head coach the Raiders end up targeting.
The Raiders have been praised for casting a wide net in their coaching search, but the expectation was always that they were going steer away from some of the veteran candidates that might bring a Pete Carroll vibe back to the team.
According to reports, Carroll essentially wiggled his way into being the no. 2 decision-maker in the Raiders’ building ahead of GM John Spytek and below Tom Brady.
Whether Carroll officially had the authority or not, his resume and clout within the league may have been enough to guide Spytek’s decisions. With a coach like Kubiak or Davis, there should not be any questions concerning the power structure in the building and that dynamic will (hopefully) play out better than the one before it.
For those wondering if it’s going to be Kubiak or Davis, it feels like Kubiak might have a slight edge (Schultz seemed to talk in that direction, as well), but with other jobs potentially in play for both candidates, it’s possible that Brady and company will have to settle for their no. 2 candidate the way they did a year ago.
Kubiak might be considered to be the “safer” pick, but Davis is considered by many to be the best young head coach in the league.
Prior to the season, league insider Ari Meirov listed Webb as his top head coaching candidate in the NFL under 40 years of age and made a huge impression on Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton in his initial interview.
“He’s on a rocket ship,” Meirov said about Davis in September.
“I’ll say it right now, when he becomes a head coach, I hope you guys heard it from me first, but his rise is remarkable. He transitioned from that backup role and the way he ended up in Denver is the story I love the most. When Sean got hired in Denver… he was running to fill out his staff and he was looking for a quarterbacks coach and he was just going through the process and he was like, ‘You know what, I’ll interview a bunch of guys, but I’ll probably hire one of these guys that I know from New Orleans.’”
“He interviews Davis Webb as part of the process and Davis Webb blows him away,” Meirov continued. “It was the most impressive interview that he did throughout the entire process, regardless of what position it was, and he hired Davis Webb on the spot. Ever since then, Davis Webb has had a vital role in Denver. Of course, we saw what Bo Nix did last year. He’s a very, very big part of that, of course, being the quarterbacks coach.”
“There were a number of teams who were trying to hire Davis Webb this offseason. He got a promotion to also becoming the passing game coordinator in his title, but this is somebody who in the preseason, the first preseason game versus Arizona, Sean Payton gave him play calling responsibilities. He was awesome at it.”
x: @raidersbeat
I’m all in on Webb or Kubiak but he’ll no on Minter. I want to see Webb be the head coach.
Me too but Minter would be a good choice.
Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast w/Brock Huard.
He brags up how Schneider thought the opposite of the McVay/Shannahan tree. He wanted to get a DC that would be a disrupter. Huard also bragged up Kubiak too
I think it is great the Raiders are interviewing many people for the coaching job etc:, however it seems to be the style since Mark Davis took over and it is always a slow process and inevitably the Raiders make the wrong decision on the hire. the proof is in the pudding!, they have already lost out on 2 of the top people in coaching and by the time they make a decision they will more than likely miss out on at least one their picks. I would like to see them stop the Procrastination and make a decision and move on to the OC and DC and build an offensive line to protect and open some running lanes!
My coaching was always Sean Payton. Look at where Denver is.