Sportsnaut
When the Las Vegas Raiders hired Pete Carroll in January, the move made sense. Sure, hiring a 74-year-old coach is risky, but the Antonio Pierce experiment failed miserably. So the franchise went in the opposite direction by hiring the most experienced coach on the market with a Hall of Fame resume.
Unfortunately, the Raiders enter Week 12 with a disastrous 2-8 record. Suggesting Carroll has made little difference despite his wealth of knowledge. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler claimed Carroll’s future was something to “monitor” and moving on from him is something “worth asking” inside the Raiders organization.
If Carroll is one and done in Las Vegas, let’s look at six potential replacement options, including one-time Super Bowl winner Mike McCarthy.
The Denver Broncos after the best defense in the league right now and are on the verge of posting the most combined sacks in NFL history. Their coordinator, Vance Joseph, deserves a ton of credit for their outstanding play, and it is why his name has emerged as a coaching candidate in recent weeks. While nothing to write home about, he has NFL head coaching experience, and taking him away from a top rival would be the cherry on top of a potential hiring.
The farthest Mike McCarthy got the Dallas Cowboys during his five seasons was the Divisional Round of the playoffs. That wasn’t good enough for owner Jerry Jones. However, Mark Davis has lower standards. A coach who posted three 12-win seasons in the Cowboys’ pressure cooker is worth respect, and he will likely be on Las Vegas’ candidate list if they move on from Carroll.
Robert Saleh had a miserable three and a half year run with the New York Jets. However, so have many coaches before, and now, after him. There is no denying how good he has been as a defensive coordinator, and there are many who feel he got a raw deal from a messy Jets organization. He has experience, energy, and is only 46 years old. He will get head coach consideration sooner or later, and that could be by the Raiders.
Kliff Kingsbury had a disappointing 28-37-1 run as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. However, his brilliant work in turning Jayden Daniels into an immediate star in 2024 changed the narrative on him. Furthermore, Kyler Murray was far better under Kingsbury than he was without him.
With Las Vegas likely to get a top pick in April and use it on a QB, Kingsbury would be a strong option to help develop a rookie signal caller and get the best out of young stars Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty.
Sooner or later, Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores is going to get another head coach opportunity. Beyond overseeing a very good Vikes defense in 2025, he had a run...
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