The Las Vegas Raiders remain without a head coach more than two weeks after firing Pete Carroll. That is okay, however, as John Spytek and Tom Brady have been conducting an extensive search to land their sixth leader in as many seasons, and they absolutely have to get this one right.
Las Vegas' front office has not tipped its hand as to what direction it is leaning, as it has met with an incredibly diverse slate of candidates. While the market had been moving slowly, that has changed over the past week, as four teams have now filled their coaching vacancy.
Five other teams remain without a head coach, including the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. That puts the Raiders in a good spot, as there are at least seven candidates who represent intriguing options to lead the franchise.
Raiders have no choice but to land a top head coach candidate
The Raiders are in a prime position to walk away with one of this hiring cycle's top candidates. While two of the 14 candidates that they have met with, Jeff Hafley and Kevin Stefanski, have already come off the board, there are plenty of strong options remaining for Las Vegas.
It remains unclear who the front office's top candidate is; however, there are no fewer than seven candidates who could be strong fits: Klint Kubiak, Mike McDaniel, Davis Webb, Jesse Minter, Mike LaFleur, Chris Shula, and Nathan Scheelhaase.
Each of these prospective head coaches would be an intriguing hire for different reasons, while Klay Kubiak and Joe Brady would also be solid fallback options. That means there are nine viable head coach candidates and only six openings remaining. Las Vegas has to land a good coach.
Of the seven coaches that should be primary targets, all but McDaniel and Minter are still coaching in the postseason and are unable to meet with teams in person this week. McDaniel is in line to take the Chargers' offensive coordinator position, but not if the Raiders swoop in with a head coach offer.
Meanwhile, Minter and Shula are the only two defensive options on this list, while each of the other candidates would likely be beneficial for the development of projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza. A rookie quarterback needs a great offensive mind to work closely with.
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Most of those options are still unproven as a head coach, and some have not even had the opportunity to serve as a play caller. But each of them is between the ages of 30 and 42, and would, presumably, have the chance to grow on the job and stick around for the foreseeable future.
That type of stability is something the Raiders have lacked for over three decades, as they have not had a coach spend even five years in the position since Art Shell's first tenure, which lasted from 1989 through 1994.
John Madden, who spent exactly 10 years leading the team from 1969 through 1978, is the only coach in franchise history to spend a decade in the role. The Silver and Black badly need someone who can have success and stick around.
The opportunity to land a rookie quarterback with Mendoza's pedigree and combine him with a young coach who could be around for his entire career is one that the Raiders cannot mess up. This is a franchise-altering offseason.
While it is unclear what route Las Vegas plans to take, it has become clear that the front office should be able to reel in a strong candidate this offseason. The numbers alone are in their favor, but the Raiders are a desirable head coaching job as well.