Al Davis was a maverick.
The Raiders' larger-than-life former coach, general manager, and most famously, owner, had no issues being bold and bucking the trends of the AFL or NFL. It got him in hot water with the league at times. It pissed people off.
But Davis' Raiders were feared. And they won Super Bowls.
Losing his touch a bit at the end of his life, and therefore, his executive career, has made people forget a bit just how innovative and unique this legendary figure was. Davis was brave enough to be himself and embrace his wild and eccentric thoughts. More than that, he put them into action.
Davis promoted a linebackers coach to be the head coach of his team. John Madden became a Super Bowl-winning coach, an iconic announcer and had an entire video game franchise named in his honor. Davis also hired Mike Shanahan when the latter was in his mid-thirties. It was revolutionary.
He hired Jon Gruden, a promising up-and-comer who was also in his mid-thirties at the time. Davis hired Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable and Hue Jackson, none of whom anyone believed were capable of being NFL head coaches upon their hiring.
Did Davis bat 1.000? Certainly not.
But he was willing to take the risk. To think outside the box and try to gain a competitive advantage over his opponents. To zig while others were zagging. To not fear failure and to trust his gut. To not let history and conventional wisdom confine him.
Plenty of ideas have circulated about who the Raiders should hire to replace Pete Carroll this offseason. But here is a list of candidates who would make the great Al Davis proud, simply because the Silver and Black had the audacity to take the swing on a guy that nobody else is considering.
3 Raiders head coach hires whose audacity would make Al Davis proud
1. Davis Webb, QB coach & passing game coordinator, Denver Broncos
Webb, just 30 years old, actually interviewed with the Raiders on Wednesday, so perhaps the tracks are already being laid here. But as a non-coordinator who has only called offensive plays a single time, which came in a preseason game, Webb would be a textbook long shot. Al would love him.
Not only did he play quarterback under Kliff Kingsbury and alongside Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield at Texas Tech, but he was a third-round draft pick and spent six years in the NFL. He played for quarterback gurus like Brian Daboll and has learned to develop the position under Sean Payton.
The stories about Webb are also incredible. Kingsbury said he would want his son to play for Webb. Payton had the car turned around, so he could hire him on the spot. Webb was practically a player-coach during the Giants' successful 2022 campaign, and they reportedly fell apart without him.
Broncos practice squad quarterback Sam Ehlinger also chose to stay in Denver to continue developing under Webb instead of taking an active roster spot elsewhere in the NFL. Sometimes, you just get a gut feeling about someone, and I have that feeling about Webb.
2. Grant Udinski, OC, Jacksonville Jaguars
Udinski, working under Liam Coen in Jacksonville, is a relative unknown to fans. But not in NFL circles. A former college defensive end who was an Academic All-American and finished with a 4.0 GPA in his Master's program while playing 12 games and recording 4.5 sacks as a senior, is a unique individual.
Coaching matters so much to him that Udinski slept in his car during his first week on Matt Rhule's staff at Baylor, until a fellow assistant gave him a place to live. He impressed Rhule so much that the coach took him along for the ride when he landed the Carolina Panthers' head coaching job.
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Word traveled fast about Udinski's prowess, as Kevin O'Connell quickly scooped him up to coach with the Minnesota Vikings. There, he focused on quarterbacks and worked alongside Sam Darnold while studying under O'Connell and other bright young minds like Josh McCown and Wes Phillips.
Coen then poached Udinski from O'Connell's staff and brought him to Jacksonville, where the 29-year-old is in his first year as an offensive coordinator. Udinski is clearly coveted and a blisteringly fast riser, and if the Raiders don't get in quickly, it could be too late for this young commodity.
3. Declan Doyle, OC, Chicago Bears
Doyle is somewhat of a combination of Webb and Udinski. Like the former, he went to the Sean Payton school of coaching and briskly worked his way up. Like the latter, he is still a stunning 29 years old and already an offensive coordinator for a promising and successful young coach.
Tom Brady loved Ben Johnson last offseason, and Ben Johnson loves Declan Doyle. Johnson poached Doyle, who was a tight ends coach for the Broncos from 2023-24, to be a major component of his inaugural Chicago Bears staff. To Brady, Doyle may quench his Ben Johnson thirst.
With a background in coaching tight ends, Doyle has helped rookie Colston Loveland become the Bears' leading receiver, while also helping Cole Kmet to still be effective despite the emergence of the first-year star. Sounds like the perfect guy to coach Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer.
Like the other two coaches on this list, he has no real play-calling experience. While he has learned under two great offensive minds, he's a spring chicken in the NFL coaching world. There is something about that unknown that is equal parts terrifying and exciting.
But Al Davis wouldn't have been scared if he had a sixth sense about someone.