Now that the Pete Carroll Era has been safely disposed of, the Las Vegas Raiders will be looking for a new coach. This being Vegas, there has to be a betting favorite, and right now that’s Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
The odds on Flores becoming the Raiders’ next head coach sit at +175 right now. The timing couldn’t be better for the Raiders if they want to go this route, given that Flores three-year deal with Minnesota just expired.
It’s not hard to connect the dots here, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk did the honors. The rumor mill currently has a Patriot Way reunion happening in Las Vegas, with minority owner Tom Brady talking owner Mark Davis into hiring Flores to joining former Giants head coach Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator.
That’s a lot of moving parts and pieces, and it plays on paper, sort of. Whether it’s a good idea or not, though, is another matter entirely. Flores would certainly help the Raiders defense, which ranged from mediocre to outright bad this year depending on the statistical category, and it would toughen up the Raiders image, although the Raiders already tried that with former coach Antonio Pierce.
But Flores failed in Miami for reason: A lot of those Miami Dolphins offenses he coached were bad. That’s where Daboll enters the picture, according to the rumor mill, but it’s been a long time since Daboll displayed anything close to competence as a coach.
The real question, as always, is who’s running the show. Brady supposedly still has the owner’s ear, but he’s also given no indication that he’s going to give up his Fox analyst job to run the Raiders on a daily basis in Las Vegas.
The other issue is that it’s tough to get good coaches to come to Las Vegas. Brady recommended Ben Johnson last year, if you buy the recidivist history that’s being sold now, but Johnson chose to go to the Chicago Bears because of quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Raiders, meanwhile, have Geno Smith, and the less said about that the better. The draft rumor mill has Las Vegas drafting Fernando Mendoza, but there’s no consensus about Mendoza’s ability to become a franchise quarterback. We know he’s tough, and we know he can win at the college level with the right coach, but both Mendoza and Dante Moore of Oregon are the usual quarterback wild cards at the top of the draft.
Meanwhile, the odds board has Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak trailing Flores at +800, with former New York Jets head coach getting a second chance at +1000. The board gets crowded after that, with former Raiders coach Jon Gruden bringing up the rear as a 40-1 long shot.