The Raiders have narrowed down their search for a new head coach, but as of Friday evening, there still doesn’t appear to be a clear front runner for the job.
Some believe Klint Kubiak has the best odds to end up in Las Vegas, but Davis Webb has been getting more attention in recent days from beat writers and insiders covering the team.
The latest from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday was that the Raiders would like to hire an offensive coach, and whether it was intentional or not, he only mentioned one candidate by name.
“I think in a perfect world, you’d like a young bright offensive mind to shepherd along Fernando Mendoza and to grow with him as your quarterback. Davis Webb would fit in Vegas, but Davis Webb might be the play in Buffalo,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show.
It has been reported that Webb made a big impression in his Vegas interview, and his chances of becoming the next head coach in Vegas are probably as high as they have ever been.
Mixed messages coming from national insiders?
League insider Jordan Schultz reported earlier in the week that Tom Brady and company were targeting young, offensive coaches – which has been the popular narrative in recent weeks.
Schultz also talked at the time like Kubiak was the front runner for the job.
“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 said 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,” Schultz continued.
“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.”
But on Friday, Schultz pivoted and essentially said the Raiders were targeting Minter and lost him to the Baltimore Ravens.
Initially on Friday, Schultz said the Raiders had “heavy interest” in Minter and were “in on him until the end.”
Later in the day, Schultz followed up with an even stronger statement…
“Just to double down on this: it does sound like the Raiders made a very strong push to get Jesse Minter over the last 24 hours, and the Ravens recognized that,” Schultz posted on X. “That’s how the timeline sped up today, sources say.”
Just a guess, but there’s a good chance Schultz was correct on his earlier reporting, and his newest Minter information probably has a little agent bias built in.
A few friendly one-liners for the road…
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen tweeted on Thursday he thinks Mike McDaniel would take the offensive coordinator job in Las Vegas if it were offered to him.
It has been rumored that McDaniel will take the Chargers’ OC job if he isn’t offered a head coaching job, so that’s a pretty big statement from Nguyen.
If McDaniel (potentially) being in the mix comes as a surprise, take a look at this one…
For anyone who missed it this week, there are some who believe “AFL Godfather” on X is someone inside the Raiders’ building.
“It goes back to the AFL Godfather’s tweet that he put out that you’re going to have to wait another week for some news on the Raiders head coaching search. I don’t shake a stick at that. I don’t close the blind eyes of that and say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s somebody that’s in the building. I know he knows me,’” Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers said on the Locked on Raiders podcast on Tuesday.
“I probably know him without knowing that that’s him. We exchanged DMs before. I know he’s got respect for me and my work. I got respect for him and his work, even though I don’t really know who he is by name. But apparently, he’s a guy around the Raiders organization. So I know that he knows what’s going on inside the building.”
On Friday, the Godfather endorsed two candidates for the job in Las Vegas.
x: @raidersbeat
Well, they need to secure the Coaching position first. Next, get the quarterback. Next, work on the offensive line and receivers.Last, get people on defense to help out Max.
The Donkey staff I hear you already have on the team have done what to help the Raiders?! NOTHING!! D Webb is no better!!
If Buffalo has interest in Webb, then you can’t let them get him. Put a deal together as soon as yhe Broncos get eliminated and get this coaching staff in place.
Raiders go with the cheapest – That has been their mode of operandum
Cheapest? Do even watch football? The last 10 years Mark Davis has not taken the cheap route at all except for maybe Pierce! Gruden, mcadaniels, and Carrol were not cheap bud! Do some research!
Blah blah blah blah blah! Cut all this speculation crap and wake me up when a decision is made. I’m beyond anticipating who the next coach will be. This organization hires a coach more frequently than our country elects a president which really takes the luster off the whole process. Honestly, are we going to go through this again in one year? History says that there’s a good chance.
Turmoil and the Masque-Raiders? Who would have guessed?
I feel the team have played this coaching carousel better than in the past. From the beginning a couple of young offensive minds were bantered about, and they seem to be still available. We didn’t feel like Harbaugh was a good match, and that played out as expected. It was expected that the teams with established QB’s slotted above us, so Ravens latched Minter, an odd choice, since he’s a protege of the guy they just fired. I think Minter was high on the list for Vegas, if they could have paired him with some of the remaining young offensive minds as an OC, Sort of like building a straight flush, hard to to do with so many players. There’s 4 players left, after Pittsburg pulled the wildcard, the Bills have a good face card showing, after that I feel Vegas has their play, with a lot good cards in the deck. Browns and Cardinals should dealt behind us. There could be a deal in place already, again we cannot make a hire until the coach’s season ends.
Draft Fernando and draft offensive linemen . If not through the draft then through free agency. But they need to pass block and run block. Only offensive lineman that they should keep is Powers.