After the shocking resignation of head coach Jon Gruden, the Las Vegas Raiders are now in the coaching market. Even after a strong 3-0 start to 2021, this season has quickly turned into another Raiders disaster. Although this has been a horrid week for the Raiders, there are some silver linings to the downfall of Jon Gruden. The roster is not horrible, and they have a brand new state-of-the-art facility. This should be enticing to some top head coach candidates, assuming the Raiders decide to move on from interim coach Rick Bisaccia this off-season. The one major question looming is whether Mike Mayock will be around to facilitate these decisions. There are a lot of questions surrounding the Raiders right now, none bigger than who is qualified to take over for Gruden as the Raiders next head coach.
Potential Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Candidates Now That Jon Gruden Has Resigned
Brian Daboll
Bringing in one of the best up-and-coming minds in football makes sense. Daboll will likely have his choice of jobs, after what he has done for quarterback Josh Allen’s career. Whether it’s Derek Carr or another quarterback of Daboll’s choice, the Raiders would hope to render the same results Daboll has had with the Buffalo Bills. Daboll has led a prolific Bills offense since 2018 and has helped propel the Bills into Super Bowl contention.
The Raiders have some enticing pieces as well, including Darren Waller, Henry Ruggs III, and Josh Jacobs. The offensive weapons the Raiders have could get fully unlocked with the addition of a fresh offensive mind. Getting Daboll won’t be easy as he is a hot name, but the Raiders signed Jon Gruden to a $10 million per year deal and they should open up the checkbook to land the top candidate if the time comes.
Rich Bisaccia
Rich Bisaccia is the interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. When creating coaching lists, the interim always deserves a shot. But for Bisaccia to earn this position, the Raiders will need to finish the season strong. While that doesn’t generally happen for interim coaches, because they usually take over in a bad situation, in Bisaccia’s case, the Raiders are 3-2 with a talented roster so he has a shot to win some football games.
Bisaccia has been coaching in the NFL since 2002 and has long sought a head coaching position. He has earned a few interviews over his time as a coach but he hasn’t ever landed a head coaching gig. The players seem to buy into what Bisaccia is selling and he has the experience to go with it. Time will tell whether he can do enough to take over as the Raiders next head coach. But Mark Davis and Mike Mayock would love to have an easy coaching search.
Joe Brady
Joe Brady is perhaps the hottest name on the market behind Brian Daboll. Currently, Brady is the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, where he has Sam Darnold looking like a professional quarterback. Brady received interviews after just one season as an offensive coordinator, which led people to believe this year he will take the next step. Brady was a part of the LSU National Championship team before he made the jump to the NFL to play-call under Matt Rhule.
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Brady is still pretty green, with very little NFL experience under his belt. However, he has spent time under New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton, which has generally proved to be very fruitful for NFL teams hiring coaches. After failing on his last two coaching hires, Davis may be looking to go with one of the younger talents in the coaching pool. Channeling his inner Al Davis and making a risky, high-reward hire in Joe Brady, could propel this offense in the right direction.
The Raiders could also consider Duce Staley, Matt Campbell, or Todd Bowles in their head coaching search.
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