Oakland Raiders: Five Potential Future Head Coaches

Sep 7, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan reacts to the action against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the Saints 37-34 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

2. Rob Ryan

We all remember Rob Ryan, the long-haired, bearded, slovenly defensive wizard, son of Buddy, brother of Rex, who led the Raiders defense from 2004 to 2008 – surviving three head coaching changes in that time. While the Raider teams of 2004 – 2008 were awful, awful teams (the Raiders managed 20 wins in five seasons), the defenses weren’t always terrible: the defense even managed to finish 3rd in total defense in 2006. Since leaving Oakland, Ryan has been the defensive coordinator in Cleveland, in Dallas, and in New Orleans, where he took one of the league’s worst defensive units and turned it into one of the league’s best in 2013. Of course Ryan’s career has been nothing if not inconsistent: several years of his career he has presided over defenses that finished in the bottom 10 of the league in scoring and yards allowed, and it has kept him from getting an opportunity as a head coach.

Ryan would be another rookie defensive head coach, and very seldom to you see teams hire the same profile of coach twice, especially after the first one fails as spectacularly as Allen has. Ryan, a proponent of the 3-4 defense, would probably be able to maximize the potential of the Raiders defensive roster and bring in some quality free agent guys, but he has zero offensive credentials and the team has a young quarterback that the front office wants to develop into a franchise guy. That said, Rob Ryan isn’t the type of guy who attracts a lot of suitors, and if this season in New Orleans plays out the way its looking after four games, he may have even less after the year is over. He could very well be one of the few options the Raiders have among the ranks of experienced NFL coordinators. Ryan is in many ways a visual representation of the old Raider mystique with his dirty beard and long hair, but Reggie MacKenzie and Mark Davis seem to be moving away from the old mystique, and may not want to go the direction of having a wild, brash, unkempt head coach leading the team.