It was reported earlier this week that New England Patrots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was the leader in the clubhouse to become the next Las Vegas Raiders head coach.
Despite not formerly interviewing with Raiders owner Mark Davis, McDaniels was already calling around the league to form a coaching staff.
His link to Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler, who has already interviewed for the Raiders’ general manager job, led to speculation that McDaniels was headed to Vegas.
Not so fast.
“McDaniels apparently had been calling coaches around the league about putting together a staff, but it appears something happened in the last 24 hours,” Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported Wednesday. “League sources don’t know if the issue was about compensation or the power structure in Las Vegas or both, but it seems Ziegler and McDaniels are not the leaders in the clubhouse anymore.”
This is a dramatic shift when it comes to the Raiders’ search for a head coach. It also potentially paints Josh McDaniels in a bad light.
Remember, he had been announced as the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts back in February of 2018.
At that point, McDaniels had already hired a coaching staff. Later that same day, McDaniels announced that he was not headed to the Colts and opted to remain in New England. Those around the NFL were thrown for a loop, leading to some major questions being thrown in McDaniels’ direction. Ultimately, the Colts hired Frank Reich to be their new head coach. He kept a vast majority of the assistants McDaniels had hired.
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With Josh McDaniels likely out, what’s in the cards for the Raiders?
Jim Harbaugh has been bandied about the most as a potential head coach candidate for the Raiders. However, the current Michigan head man has not yet interviewed for the job and is in negotiations for a contract extension with the Wolverines.
Other candidates for the position include Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and up-and-coming San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans. Obviously, interim head coach Rich Bisaccia is also being considered for the full-time job following the in-season resignation of Jon Gruden.
A lot of this will be tied to who the Raiders bring in to replace recently-fired general manager Mike Mayock. In addition to Ziegler, the likes of Tennessee Titans national scout Ruston Webster and Pittsburgh Steelers scouting director Brandon Hunt, among others, are current candidates for the job.