The Las Vegas Raiders are going full-bore ahead with their search for a full-time head coach to replace Josh McDaniels.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce is seen as the favorite to get the full-time job and just recently conducted his formal interview with the Raiders’ brass. Vegas interviewed former Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier for the job on Tuesday, too.
We now have another interesting name to add to the list of candidates for the vacancy. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders sat down with veteran NFL assistant coach Kris Richard on Tuesday.
Richard, 45, had gotten some play as a potential NFL head coach years ago when he was the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator from 2015-17. But we have not heard his name mentioned over the past several cycles.
Richard was not in the NFL this past season. He last acted as the New Orleans Saints co-defensive coordinator in 2022. That unit finished 11th in total yards and 13th in scoring. The two parted ways after just that one season.
This seems to have been a legitimate interview, not one to fulfill the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Interviewing the aforementioned Frazier already did that.
A product of USC, Richard played four seasons in the NFL. He started one game in stops with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
Prior to becoming the Seahawks’ defensive coordinator in 2015, he served as their assistant defensive backs coach and defensive backs coach. Richard’s resume also includes a stint as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive backs coach back in 2018 and 2019.