Getty Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
The Rich Bisaccia era for the Las Vegas Raiders has gotten off to a strong start as the interim head coach is 2-0. After Jon Gruden resigned, it would’ve been very easy for the team to lose those two games so Bisaccia deserves a ton of credit for keeping the team afloat. There’s still a lot of season left and if the coach can lead the Raiders to the playoffs, he’ll get serious consideration for keeping the job going forward.
However, owner Mark Davis may want to scrub his hands of the whole Gruden era. Bisaccia was one of the first coaching hires that Gruden made when he came back to the Raiders. If Davis is looking for a fresh start, he’s going to have to swing big. Las Vegas has been supportive of the Raiders so far but could quickly lose interest if they don’t build a consistent winner.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been in the news due to former NFL quarterback Carson Palmer linking him to the head coach opening at USC. Tomlin has been with the Steelers for 15 years, won a Super Bowl with the team and has never put up a losing record in a season. He’s without a doubt one of the best coaches in the NFL but things could be growing stale in Pittsburgh. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a shell of his former self and the Steelers don’t have a clear succession plan. Perhaps that could lead to Tomlin jumping ship for a better situation.
He recently made it clear he has no interest in a college team but the Raiders provide an interesting situation. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated mentioned that Las Vegas could take a look at the coach in the offseason.
“Is this the time to see if Mike Tomlin is available? So USC, maybe the Raiders when we get to the offseason, maybe looks at it and say, ‘yeah, let’s make that call.’ That doesn’t mean he’s gonna go, doesn’t mean he should consider going, but if you’re one of those big-time college programs or an NFL team, you’d be doing yourself a disservice and not to think outside the box,” Breer said on The Herd.
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Why Tomlin Should Consider Raiders
Tomlin is an elite coach but he hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in over a decade. The Steelers are always good but have had trouble getting over the hump. A fresh start could be what Tomlin needs to get back to a Super Bowl. The Raiders could be the most interesting opening for the coach.
The team has a very good quarterback in Derek Carr who is only 30 and should be in his prime for several more years. Tomlin has a defensive background and the Raiders are showing this season that they have potential on defense. Coaching players like Maxx Crosby, Yannick Ngakoue, Johnathan Abram and more has to be appealing.
Davis is a pretty hands-off owner, which is exactly what a coach like Tomlin would want. The Raiders could want to take a big swing after the Gruden hiring turned out to be a major flop. Tomlin would be the biggest swing they could take. Davis has proven he’s willing to pay the big bucks to land a coach he wants.
Don’t Rule out Bisaccia
Through two games, it’s clear that Bisaccia will get a real chance to keep the head coaching job going forward. Players have a ton of respect for him and the fact that he’s leading them to win through all the adversity has to stand out to Davis. A playoff berth would have to make him a serious candidate to retain the job.
Even just giving him another year to see what he can do isn’t out of the question. Davis was a fan of what Gruden was doing before his resignation and keeping Bisaccia would likely mean that most of the coaching staff would look the same. Considering the strides the team has made early in the season, it might not be the worst idea to run things back next season and see what happens.
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