Who is the Best Available Coach for the Oakland Raiders?

January 18, 2012 AFC, AFC West, NFL, Oakland Raiders

With Coach Hue Jackson out and new GM Reggie McKenzie taking over the reigns from owner Mark Davis, there almost seems to be more questions rather than answer in the black hole. The biggest question for this franchise that needs to be answered is “who is going to coach this team?”

Following the lockout, teams began to sign coordinators to assure some continuity, once the CBA was resolved, so it only makes sense that the potential head coaching pool isn’t very deep a year later. Aside from Jeff Fisher, who signed with the St. Louis Rams last week, there isn’t as many “big-name” candidates on the market. That doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t a qualified coach to lead this team. GM Reggie McKenzie said in his press conference that he is going to hire the best fit for this team, and the Raiders have not waited long to assemble a list of potential head coaches.

The name that tops that list is Green Bay Packers Linebackers coach Winston Moss, mainly because of the Green Bay ties that both Moss and McKenzie share. Moss appears to be a candidate capable of achieving success as the head coach, given his accomplishments with a Super Bowl caliber team. Along with Moss, another Green Bay staff member has been added to the list of candidates, that being Defensive Coordinator Dom Capers. Capers has coached a defensive unit that has been in the Top 5 in the league in takeaways and forced turnovers, and since Oakland ranked poorly against the pass, Capers seems like the coach that turn this team around.

Although both candidates seem to be reasonable fit for the Oakland Raiders, one can appreciate the time the Raiders are spending on interviewing multiple coaches from all over the league. Reports almost seem to emerge daily on new names added to the interview list. The most recent names being Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. Also New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr’s name has been thrown into the mix. Of all the coaches who have been contacted, Carmichael seems to be the highest qualified candidate to take over this team. Carmichael did a fantastic job turning around Drew Brees’ career after many wrote him off as past his prime, and it would be safe to assume that Carmichael could get the same production out of Carson Palmer and prepare Terrell Pryor for the future quarterback as he did with Brees.

The most important component into the hiring process will be to find the most qualified coach as well as the most compatible coach that can work well with the GM. The Raiders are looking to achieve success by going a completely different direction than what this team has been used to for the last 30 years. With a new owner, new GM, and new head coach, this franchise is in store for a lot of changes and once the head coach is in place, the teams roster will be the next important issue that will need to be addressed. Only time will tell if firing Jackson was the right move, but one question that is answered is that this is Mark Davis’ team and he is going to put people in place that can bring the Oakland Raiders to the postseason for the first time in 10 years.

Gabriel Rideout is an NFL team writer for The Penalty Flag. He can be contacted at GRideout@thepenaltyflagblog.com.