Returning Raider Nation’s questions for the week
There’s no such thing as a boring offseason with the Las Vegas Raiders. We’re not even a week in and have already seen some Raiders drama with the firings of Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco. This week’s mailbag will focus on head coach questions as Las Vegas will see its fifth head coach (including interim Rich Bisaccia) in as many years.
Q: Matt, do you think the Raiders led by Tom Brady would hire a Liam Coen, Todd Monken or a Joe Brady or would they prefer to go with an “experienced candidate”?
A: It’s hard to predict what the Brady-led Raiders will do since he has no experience as an executive. I prefer a young up-and-coming candidate like Coen, Brady or Ben Johnson as I’d like to get a young offensive mind who can develop a quarterback and be around for the long haul.
While I think someone like Pete Carroll is a great coach, Carroll turns 74 years old in September so how long can we realistically expect him to hold the job? Even if the team starts winning, he’d be a short-term solution. And I get nervous about hiring another retread like Steve Spagnuolo who has already failed as a head coach.
In my opinion, the optimal path for Las Vegas is to take a chance on one of the younger guys who can relate to the players, develop a quarterback and finally put an end to the constant turnover at head coach.
Q: In your opinion, do we need an offensive or defensive head coach?
A: My answer is pretty similar to the one above, I’d prefer an offensive mind since the Raiders will have a young quarterback next year or the year after. I’d like them to get someone who has experience working with and developing the position.
A: LOL! Raider Nation does have to put blind faith in Brady being a good executive, which isn’t an easy feeling. But look at it this way, Davis has hired five going on six full-time head coaches and has only made the playoffs twice since taking over as principal owner. So, what he’s been doing hasn’t worked, might as well consult the G.O.A.T.!
Q: Could Ben Johnson could turn Aidan O’Connell in Jared Goff part 2?
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
A: That would certainly be the hope since O’Connell and Goff have several similarities. Also, I’m more optimistic that Johnson might come to Las Vegas now that he’s accepted an interview and the timing of Telesco’s firing.
One of BJ’s requirements is he wants to have a say in who the GM is and the fact TT got fired two days after Pierce makes me speculate that maybe Davis and Brady know something we don’t. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but I definitely feel better about it than I did last week.
Circling back to O’Connell, it’s known that the Raiders are going to have a hard time adding a quality quarterback this offseason. So, if Davis and Brady are willing to give Johnson a long leash via a several-year contract with a lot of cash, then I could see Johnson working with O’Connell for a year and seeing how it goes.
That’s a decent scheme fit and if the coach has job security, he’d probably be willing to take a chance on AOC for a year. And if it doesn’t work, then the team could be in a position to draft a new quarterback in 2026. But the big factor in that is making sure Johnson has a long leash and Davis has fired head coaches in back-to-back seasons now, so the owner is going to have to put his money where his mouth is.
Q: Would Mike Vrabel mean Josh Mcdaniels 2.0, Matt?
A: I don’t mind Vrabel as a head coach and think he’s better in that role than McDaniels is/was. I mean, just look at their records. But part of the reason Vrabel was let go in Tennessee was because he wanted more control of the roster and the organization hired Ron Carthon (who it just fired) as general manager, and Carthon and Vrabel didn’t see eye-to-eye.
So, I understand the skepticism with Vrabel since he’s one of those coaches who wants a good amount of power, similar to McDaniels. However, I think Vrabel is a much better head coach than McDaniels. Obviously, I’d like to see Las Vegas go in a different direction, but I wouldn’t panic that he’s the second coming of JMD.
Q: Is the real deal full rebuild finally happening? And do you think Maxx Crosby will come out of this a Raider?
A: I’ll say this, the fact Davis and Brady have already cleaned house at the two most important positions when it comes to building the team—head coach and general manager—could be the first step/sign toward a total rebuild. I could see Brady wanting to make sure he starts his executive career by doing things “his way” to put his thumbprint all over the organization.
Does that mean a total roster teardown is happening? It could and, in a similar vein as what is mentioned above, a new head coach and general manager are going to want to have “their guys” in the building. Long story short, the full rebuild is possible.
Now, I’ve said this for a while and will continue to say it, as long as Crosby wants to be a Raider, I think he stays in Las Vegas. He’s a leader in the locker room and has a great attitude that I think any head coach and general manager would want to have around, on top of being a baller.
But the big question is how much more can he take?
Q: Any obvious Defensive coordinators for Ben Johnson, Liam Coen and Todd Monken?
A: For Johnson, I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes with a DC outside of his network since he’s only worked for two teams in the NFL, the Lions and the Dolphins. But three names to keep an eye on from his network are: Deshea Townsend (Lions’ defensive passing game coordinator and DB coach), Kelvin Sheppard (Lions LB coach) and Kris Kocurek (49ers DL coach). Out of that bunch, Kocurek would be my pick. He and Johnson only spent one year together in Miami, though, so it could be a loose connection.
For Coen, he worked with Brandon Staley for a year with the Rams. If Staley doesn’t get the 49ers’ DC job, that’d be a name to keep an eye on. Obviously, Staley didn’t work out as the Chargers’ head coach, but he does have a good reputation as a defensive coach.
For Monken, I could see him dipping into his network at Georgia and trying to lure Glenn Schumann to the NFL. Schumann was the co-DC for the National Championship teams and is currently the Bulldog’s defensive play-caller. He’s only 34 years old (turns 35 in March) and was linked to the North Carolina job before Bill Belichick took it, so Schumann is a young up-and-coming coach.
That’ll do it for this week’s mailbag. Thank you all for submitting questions and, as your weekly reminder, if you’d like to have your questions answered in a future column, tweet them at me, @MHolder95, email them to SBPQuestions1@gmail.com or look for our weekly call for questions on the site. The latter will continue to publish on Thursdays.