Mark Davis spoke to Tim Kawakami about the Oakland Raiders coaching search before Christmas Eve, but he did not violate league tampering rules by speaking on the potential of hiring San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. While the University of Michigan is allowed to discuss with Harbaugh and try to bring him to Ann Arbor beforehand, the Raiders are not allowed to tamper with a head coach who is under contract during the regular season per league rules.
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So when talking to Kawakami, Davis, who mentioned the head coaching search will begin next week, had nothing to offer when it came to Jim Harbaugh in an attempt to avoid a league fine so close to the point where he will be able to gear up his bid for the most lucrative head coach on the market come January.
Asked directly about Jim Harbaugh and/or a possible trade with the 49ers, Mark Davis said he had no comment due to tampering rules.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) December 24, 2014
It is likely that Davis’ interest in Harbaugh is well known by the Niners head coach, so tampering wouldn’t accomplish much as the Raiders owner likely knows Michigan’s offer and can choose to match or increase the bid to bring him to Oakland and keep Harbaugh in the NFL. Whether Davis opens up the vault to best Michigan in the negotiations for Harbaugh come January is up in the air, but nobody will know until the Raiders owner is allowed to discuss figures with the current Niners head coach. Davis may be a young owner, but he isn’t new on the block enough to risk a tampering violation by discussing the Harbaugh situation in the media.