NFL Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders’ Early List of Head Coaching Candidates Leaves Much To Be Desired

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By @Kevin_Saito

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Raiders are just a couple of days removed from a dismal 2014 season, and a couple of days into their latest search for a head coach.

Having had their top two choices to man the helm of the Raiders’ ship, Jon Gruden and Jim Harbaugh, fall out of the running – the former re-upping with ESPN and the latter spurning the NFL entirely to return to his alma mater, the University of Michigan – owner Mark Davis and GM Reggie McKenzie have been forced to alter their way of thinking about the way forward for the franchise and the next man to lead them. And at least in the early stages of their coaching search, the Raiders aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence, to say the least.

In two years as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Pat Shurmur compiled a record of 9-23. Following his departure from the Browns, Shurmur joined the Philadelphia Eagles, serving as head coach Chip Kelly‘s offensive coordinator. While he’s widely regarded as a solid offensive mind and comes from a strong football background, he didn’t do well in the top spot. Granted, his roster wasn’t exactly overflowing with talent – Colt McCoy was his starting quarterback after all – but the general thought seemed to be that as a head coach, Shurmur didn’t maximize the assets he did have.

Former New York Jets and Browns head coach, and current San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach Eric Mangini has also popped up on Oakland’s radar. Having spent several seasons on Bill Belichick‘s staff, Mangini was eventually hired to coach the Jets. Expectations were great after Mangini led the Jets to a 10-6 record and a spot in the playoffs in his first season at the helm in 2006, but that would be the high point of his head coaching career. His next two seasons saw him post a combined record of 13-20 before being fired. He landed on his feet though, getting the Browns job prior to the 2009 season. However, two years in, Cleveland saw him post consecutive 5-11 records before being replaced by the aforementioned Shurmur.

Next up on Oakland’s list of head coaching candidates is Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. While it’s true that Del Rio has helped shape Denver’s defense into one of the NFL’s most formidable units this season, the fact that John Elway spent a lot of money to bring in top notch pieces like Aqib Talib and DeMarcus Ware certainly helped. In his nine seasons as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Del Rio posted just three winning seasons and won just one playoff game, compiling a career record of 68-71.

If this is who Davis and McKenzie are looking at to guide the Raiders into a new era, an era in which they have a solid foundation of young players like Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson, Latavius Murray, T.J. Carrie, Khalil Mack, Sio Moore and others to build upon, they’re steering the ship right back onto the rocks where the organization will continue to flounder.

Davis and McKenzie would do far better to drop the interim title and retain Tony Sparano as their head coach rather than take a chance on retreads like those. After all, there is a reason none of the three are head coaches anymore and why they aren’t at the top of anyone else’s list. At least Sparano has the hearts and loyalty of the players.

Yes, he posted a 3-9 record as the interim coach. But he also inherited a team and a staff that was not of his making. And despite difficult circumstances, he forged a special bond with this team and they played their hearts out for him week in and week out. This team never quit on Sparano despite the fact that they had nothing to play for over most of the 2014 season.

If Oakland is going to hire somebody with a less-than-stellar record as a head coach, they would be far better off taking the one who already commands the respect of the locker room, the coach the players want and have proven they will play their hearts out for.

Kevin Saito is a fiction writer, sports junkie, history nerd, and NFL contributor to www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google.

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