It's been a long time since the Las Vegas Raiders have been legitimate contenders.
The last two decades have been plagued by poor or underwhelming quarterback play, bad draft choices, and constant turnover at the head coach and general manager positions. The Raiders have failed to find a formula that works on a consistent basis.
While Al Davis chose to be a trailblazer in his founding and subsequent leading of the Raiders organization, when you've had as little success as the team has had recently, sometimes it is best to try and recreate what the best teams have done.
Every NFL coach has a background that is primarily based on one side of the ball, whether it be offensive or defensive. Josh McDaniels was an offensive coordinator before being head coach, and Antonio Pierce was a linebackers coach.
But what these two failed to do is hire a coordinator from the opposite background who previously served as an NFL head coach, which is what the successful teams in the league have been doing for some time now.
The obvious examples are Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo, Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh, Nick Sirianni and Vic Fangio, as well as Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury. The very best teams in the league are doing it, so why should the Raiders not?
Even teams like the Broncos are employing this strategy with Sean Payton and Vance Joseph, and the Bears are too with Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen.
If your coach comes from an offensive background (Reid), the trend says to hire a defensive coordinator who served as a head coach (Spagnuolo), or vice versa.
Because Pete Carroll rose through the ranks as a defensive coordinator, the Raiders would need to hire an offensive coordinator who comes from an offensive background and previously served as a head coach.
Luckily for Carroll, there are a plethora of options that fit this description if he chooses to go this route.
Who should the Raiders hire as offensive coordinator?
There are a handful of exciting names available in this coaching cycle for offensive coordinators that fit this description.
The list starts with Super Bowl-winning head coaches Mike McCarthy and Doug Pederson, both of whom worked their way through the ranks as quarterbacks coaches and offensive coordinators. Both made it to the top of the mountain as a head coach, but have since been relieved of their duties.
Neither is in contention for the last available head coaching job, the New Orleans Saints, so it stands to reason that either could jump on with a team as a playcaller.
Both McCarthy and Pederson have extensive experience working with rookie quarterbacks, as McCarthy groomed Aaron Rodgers and Pederson worked with Carson Wentz and Trevor Lawrence. Las Vegas is likely to select a quarterback in this year's draft, so having one of these coaches on staff would be a tremendous benefit to that player.
While there is no known connection between Carroll and McCarthy, other than their years of battles in the NFC, Carroll did speak with Pederson years ago about serving as the Seahawks offensive coordinator. Pederson ended up sitting out a season and taking a head coaching job with the Jaguars the following year, but Carroll obviously trusts Pederson's ability.
Either of these coaches would be tremendous additions to Carroll's staff. After all, he did say he wanted to work with people that he never has before.
Who else is available?
While there are a handful of young and innovative offensive coordinator candidates available in this cycle, there are a number of other former head coaches whom the Raiders could target as well, albeit less exciting.
Chip Kelly, Frank Reich, and Norv Turner all fit this description as well, but none of these men have had as successful head coaching careers as McCarthy and Pederson have.
Lane Kiffin is an intriguing name because of his connections to the organization and his relationship with a certain young quarterback prospect. But, in the meantime, Kiffin seems happy at Ole Miss and any reunion with Carroll would be more likely to happen down the road, if at all.