The Las Vegas Raiders may not have been very good on the field this year, but they’re among the league leaders when it comes to circulating names on the rumor mill.
Adding a new coach, new coordinators and a new quarterback will have that effect, and the latest name to be getting some play is defensive coordinator Robert Saleh of the San Francisco 49ers, who was selected by Dan Graziano of ESPN as his selection to fill one of the eight current NFL openings.
It’s not a bad selection, actually. Saleh was fired from his first head coaching job of the New York Jets, but that’s happened to a lot of good coaches over the years, so it’s not unreasonable to think Saleh will get a second chance.
Whether it will be with the Raiders is a different question entirely. The Raiders interview process is supposedly being run by minority owner Tom Brady and GM John Spytek, who have little or no relationship with Saleh. Also, Las Vegas will be looking for a coach who can develop a young quarterback, assuming Las Vegas drafts either Fernando Mendoza of the Indiana Hoosiers or Dante Moore of the Oregon Ducks.
Graziano’s working off of several significant assumptions with this hypothetical hire. One is that Saleh would be able to hire the right coordinator given that he’s part of the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree, but that’s a heck of an assumption to risk the next 3+ years of the franchise on—not that the Raiders haven’t done goofier things.
Sales would definitely solidify the Raiders defense, however. The unit had an up-and-down year, limiting tough opponents in several games while waving the white flag and getting routed in other. His hire would also please star defensive end Maxx Crosby, assuming the Raiders decide not to trade Crosby for more draft capital.
As Graziano points out, though, the offense is the big issue in Las Vegas. The Raiders were last in the NFL with just 14.1 offensive points and 245.2 yards per game this season, and there were several contests where they were simply embarrassed with offensive totals of less that 100 yards.
Regardless of the speculation, the coaching carousel will continue to spin for at least the next few weeks, and eventually the Raiders will make a hire. The Las Vegas opening is considered one of the least desirable in the league, though, so whoever gets the job will be facing a formidable challenge trying to build the Raiders back to respectability.