Jon Gruden’s resignation as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach means that the Raiders will definitely be one of the NFL teams searching for a new coach for 2022.
The Raiders’ GM Mike Mayock is a Pennsylvania native and went to high school outside of Philadelphia.
In his broadcasting years, Mayock was known for his NFL draft preparation so rest assured he will be developing his list of coaching prospects using similar processes.
The other wildcard in this coaching decision is that the team is in Las Vegas now.
They made head scratching decisions while located in Oakland and Los Angeles, but those decisions now correlate with the Vegas vibe that anything goes.
With the Raiders people and history in mind, here are three potential coaching candidates.
1. Kellen Moore – Offensive Coordinator, Dallas Cowboys
Idk how long the Cowboys will be able to hold on to him, but Kellen Moore is a star. Teams looking for an innovative offensive mind as their next head coach in 2022, the list should start with him.
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) October 17, 2021
This is the conservative and safe bet on this list.
Moore, a former Cowboys quarterback and now the offensive coordinator, has been successful in Dallas especially thus far in 2021.
His star is ascending (no pun intended) in the NFL so he will be on many teams’ short lists at the end of the season.
Moore would work well with Derrick Carr and is young and dynamic so that would be great for the Las Vegas organization.
2. Jim Schwartz – Tennessee Titans Defensive Assistant
Moore and Gruden have more offensive experience.
If the Raiders wanted a stronger defensive presence in their head coach, they could opt for Jim Schwartz.
He is best known for his successful run as the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator and part of the Eagles Super Bowl Championship team from the 2017 season.
I just wanted to apologize to Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz. It's really true when they said you don't appreciate things until it's gone.
— Wayne Exotic (@WayneExotic) October 15, 2021
Schwartz got his start as a personnel scout in Cleveland under Bill Belichick.
As mentioned before, Mayock has Philadelphia ties, and Schwartz is beloved in Philadelphia so though it seems like an out of left field choice, it may be less so than originally thought.
3. Jay Gruden – Former NFL Coach
This would be gutsy and controversial while keeping things all in the Gruden family.
Jay is Jon’s brother, but he also has NFL coaching experience.
Most recently, he was the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014-2019 and the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020.
He is also a Super Bowl champion; he worked as an assistant coach under brother Jon in Tampa Bay’s 2002 championship season.
Jay Gruden has Arena Bowl coaching and playing credentials.
He is a four-time champion as a player and a two-time champion as a coach.
All this means he did not ride his brother’s coattails and had a reputable coaching career of his own though admittedly his Arena career is a lot more successful than his NFL career.
From @GMFB: The #Redskins have fired coach Jay Gruden after an 0-5 start. His guy Colt McCoy got one start, he never saw LT Trent Williams, TE Jordan Reed was injured, on and on. Yet Washington moves on. pic.twitter.com/STCzrFuMB0
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 7, 2019
Conclusion
A head coaching search is going to be very difficult.
The franchise has to figure out who the best candidate is for their culture and players.
Being successful with one team does not mean that success will carry over.
Mike Mayock has a big challenge finding out who that is for the Las Vegas Raiders.
NEXT: How The Raiders Perform Against Broncos Will Be Telling