NFL Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders’ Head Coaching Search Took a Turn For the Ridiculous With Mike Shanahan Interview

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By @Kevin_Saito

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

As we all watch the Oakland Raiders‘ head coaching search unfold, one can’t help but be reminded of an old time, slapstick Keystone Kops routine. Having swung hard and missed harder at their top two candidates – Jon Gruden re-upped with ESPN and Jim Harbaugh left the NFL entirely for the University of Michigan – GM Reggie McKenzie and Raiders owner Mark Davis have been doing their best to wing it on the fly. And the results have been far from spectacular.

Oakland has already interviewed San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach Eric Mangini, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell – sort of – Philadelphia Eagles OC Pat Shurmur, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, Indianapolis Colts OC Pep Hamilton and are expected to interview Arizona Cardinals DC Todd Bowles at some point this week. And oh yeah, they also gave interim head coach Tony Sparano time to make his case for having the interim tag dropped from his title on Wednesday.

The Raiders are obviously casting a wide net in their search for a permanent head coach to replace the long since departed Dennis Allen. But in that wide net, McKenzie and Davis inexplicably pulled in an old, tired piece of debris – and a name that most Oakland fans would much rather forget – Mike Shanahan.

Yes, that’s right, Mike Shanahan and Mark Davis are apparently mending the fences that had been burned down by the late Al Davis during Shanahan’s first disastrous tenure with the team.

Not only did McKenzie and Davis give Shanahan an interview, they even rolled out Hall of Famer John Madden to sit in on the festivities. Bevell didn’t even get that sort of pomp and circumstance. Heck, according to reports, Bevell didn’t even get to meet with Davis during his interview, let alone the legendary Madden.

Obviously, McKenzie and Davis have both stated they are looking for a coach with experience and a track record of success. Undoubtedly, they looked at the pile of wins under his belt and the two Super Bowl rings on Shanahan’s hand and began drooling like Pavlov’s dog.

But it would be foolish – and quite possibly disastrous to the team – if they didn’t look at Shanahan’s numbers a little more closely and a little more critically.

Yes, Shanahan has a career coaching record of 170-138 and is the owner of two Super Bowl rings. But a careful dissection of those numbers reveals that despite his success with the Denver Broncos, once John Elway retired following the 1998 season, Shanahan was a very average head coach. With Elway under center, Shanahan went 47-17 and looked like the genius he is purported to be. Without Elway as his quarterback, however, Shanahan is a very pedestrian 123-121 and doesn’t look quite like the same genius.

Shanahan was a disaster in Washington, just as he was a disaster with the Raiders the first time around. He’s an average coach who can thank Elway for his reputation and quite possibly for his career. Shanahan isn’t a terrible coach, but he’s not a great coach either. About the best that can be said for him is that he’s an average football coach who enjoys an overinflated reputation. And both McKenzie and Davis must want more than an average coach if they want to be more than an average football team.

Shanahan’s first tenure with the Raiders did not end well, not just because he’s average, but because he doesn’t understand the Raider Way. He does not understand the organization, does not believe and embrace the history of the club and does not tolerate those who do. Raiders fans saw that firsthand during his one season plus four games with the club. He never fit in, and worse, he never tried to. It’s ludicrous to believe that since his departure in 1989, Shanahan has developed an appreciation for all things Raider.

Interviewing Shanahan – and rolling out Madden to do it – took McKenzie and Davis’ coaching search from not very confidence-inspiring to downright farcical. Their list of candidate interviews to this point is laughable, and their best option may be to stick with the guy in house already. Unless of course, their goal is to be average. If that’s the case, by all means, bring back Shanahan.

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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