The Las Vegas Raiders are conducting an extensive search for their next head coach, as the list of candidates that they have interviewed, or plan to, continues to grow. It has been a mixed bag of candidates that features everything, including offensive, defensive, young, and veteran coaches, as general manager John Spytek continues to do his due diligence.
The consensus is that he will land on a young, offensive guru to lead a unit that many believe will be headlined by the young trio of Fernando Mendoza, Brock Bowers, and Ashton Jeanty. There are certainly avenues where the Raiders would be wise to bring in a defensive-minded coach, particularly if they can bring on an elite offensive coordinator.
As they continue to go through the process of interviewing coaches, there is one name that Las Vegas has not requested to speak with. While his team is still alive, the Raiders would be wise to reach out to Matt Burke, who has been calling plays for, arguably, the best defense in the entire league.
The Raiders should add Matt Burke to their growing list of interview requests
Burke has been one of the most under-the-radar coaches in all of football this season despite leading a Houston Texans defense that has been among the league's best in every major category. It is unclear what has led to the lack of interest, as the Arizona Cardinals, who put in a request to interview him on Tuesday, are the only team that has even attempted to speak with him.
It could be because many believe that DeMeco Ryans, who is a defensive-minded head coach, is the sole reason for Houston's success on that side of the ball. That has hardly been the case, however, as Burke took over play calling duties in Week 4 following the Texans' 0-3 start.
Including their 30-6 Wild Card Round victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston has responded by going 13-2, with their two losses coming against the AFC and NFC's No. 1 seeds.
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After averaging 17.0 points allowed per game with Ryans calling the plays, that number has dipped to 16.7. If not for a meaningless Week 18 game where their starters hardly played, the Texans would be allowing 15.7 points per game under Burke.
The Texans only generated two takeaways in their first three games this season, but once Burke started calling the shots, they forced 29 turnovers. They have also recorded 42 sacks in that span, while their yards allowed per game dipped from 315.7 to 262.7 and an even lower 256.2 yards per game if that Week 18 matchup was removed.
While Houston's defense has gotten better under Burke, he has been unheralded and flown under-the-radar during the hiring cycle. The Raiders would be wise to interview him in an attempt to leave no stone unturned.
Las Vegas' defense has been terrible for much of the past 23 years, with only one finish in the top half of the league in scoring defense. If they can land a top offensive coordinator to lead their young offense, bringing in a head coach to turn the defense around could lead to the franchise quickly fixing plenty of its issues.