Vegas Sports Today

Vegas Sports News Today

Raiders’ HC Search Moving Forward With Second Interviews

by

The Raiders are one of four teams remaining with a head coaching vacancy as the six other vacancies have filled with new head coaches in the last few weeks. Because many of the candidates they are interested in have had limited availability to interview as they have been participating on playoff staffs, the elimination of two more teams today is expected to help move the Raiders’ search on to the next stages.

For starters, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported today that Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is currently in Las Vegas for a second interview with the team. This is only the third candidate to receive a second interview with the Raiders. The team hosted Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter for second interviews this past week, but Minter quickly came off the board after accepting an offer to coach his former team in Baltimore. Vegas was also expecting to host former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski before he accepted the job in Atlanta.

Brady has been connected to three of the four remaining open jobs, including the one with his current team, which moved on from former head coach Sean McDermott. Brady saw a meteoric rise following a single year as the passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach at LSU the year the Tigers won a championship on the arm of Joe Burrow and the hands of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. That run led to an offensive coordinator opportunity in Carolina, but Brady was fired before his second season came to end. He rebounded quickly with a job in Buffalo as quarterbacks coach, taking over the offensive coordinator job upon Ken Dorsey‘s mid-2023 dismissal and holding the position ever since. This will be Brady’s first in-person interview of the coaching cycle. The Cardinals haven’t met with him virtually yet, but they’re also expected to meet with him in-person soon.

Las Vegas is also expected to meet with Broncos passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Davis Webb for a second interview this week, according to Schefter. Webb has been mentioned as a candidate for a couple teams, but the Raiders are the only team to actually interview him thus far. They won’t be for long, though, as Schefter adds that the Bills also have interest in meeting with Webb for their head coaching job.

If the Broncos had beaten the Patriots today to head to the Super Bowl, Vegas would’ve held an advantage over Buffalo. Their early interview with Webb would’ve made it permissible for the Raiders to meet with Webb between the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl, but because they didn’t do an early initial meeting, as well, the Bills would’ve been forced to wait until Denver’s season had come to a close in Santa Clara. Instead, they’ll be able to plan for an interview with Webb as soon as he’s finished his meeting with Las Vegas, and according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Buffalo is expected to do just that. Landing a head coaching job would be extremely impressive, as the 31-year-old hasn’t even served as an offensive coordinator.

In addition to Brady and Webb, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is considered “a prime candidate” following the impression he made in his first interview with the team. Similar to the advantage over Buffalo mentioned with Webb, the Raiders should be able to meet with Kubiak sometime before the Super Bowl, since they interviewed him early in the month. Since Buffalo was not able to conduct those early interviews, they should be forced to wait until Seattle’s season is over. Other head coaching candidates the team has interviewed that this would apply to is Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula.

Speaking of Shula, Vincent Bonsignore of the California Post claimed that the defensive coordinator in Los Angeles is firmly in the mix for the Raiders’ top position. Bonsignore also hinted that, should Shula be the hire, Rams quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone would be a name to look out for as an offensive coordinator reporting to Shula. Ragone has three years of coordinator experience in Atlanta, where despite not having the best weapons, he was able to put together one of the league’s better rushing offenses.

The Broncos’ loss today opens the door for more interview action in Las Vegas, and should the Rams fall tonight, even more movement could occur. Here’s the latest breakdown on the Raiders’ search for their next head coach: