The NFL head coaching cycle continues to get more and more interesting with the Pittsburgh Steelers firing Mike Tomlin. The Las Vegas Raiders now face more competition to fill their vacancy.
Luckily, there are now a lot of strong candidates on the market. It’s not entirely clear if the Raiders favor a first-time head coach or somebody with experience. So far, they’ve interviewed both kinds of candidates.
David Carr, who is the brother of former Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, made a list of who he thinks the team could hire. He had former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanksi atop the list.
The Raiders have already interviewed Stefanski once this offseason, but it remains to be seen if he’ll get a second interview. Despite the fact that he was just fired by the Browns, he’s considered one of the stronger candidates this offseason.
He’s a two-time NFL Coach of the Year and led the Browns to the playoffs twice, which is no small feat. However, he went 8-26 combined his last two seasons in Cleveland. Many will point to the team’s issues at quarterback for the struggles, but Stefanski comes from an offensive background, so he bears some responsibility.
Stefanski Makes Some Sense for Raiders
Stefanski seemed to have the Browns heading in the right direction before the Deshaun Watson trade derailed the entire franchise. Perhaps his greatest achievement was leading the team to the playoffs with Joe Flacco starting at quarterback.
He’s a respected offensive mind who calls the plays. For a team like the Raiders that needs massive help on offense, he makes some sense. What has to concern Las Vegas is how Stefanski handled his rookie quarterbacks this season. The Raiders are likely to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick, so the head coach will have a huge impact on that player’s development.
The Browns had rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel start games this season, and neither looked very good. He also previously had Baker Mayfield, who has played better since leaving Stefanski. He might be a solid playcaller, but there isn’t a lot of evidence that he’s good at developing young quarterbacks.
What About Curt Cignetti or Klint Kubiak?
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti was also on Carr’s wish list. He’s starting to get some hype for NFL jobs, despite the fact that he’s never coached at the NFL level in any capacity. He’s clearly a superstar college football coach. He might be the best in the country right now. It’s rare for college coaches to jump to the NFL and find a lot of success, so he might not even want to try. That said, the allure of possibly being able to keep coaching quarterback Fernando Mendoza might be very strong.
Carr also mentioned Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. He hasn’t been a head coach before, but he’s clearly a strong offensive mind. Derek Carr played under Kubiak for a season and has spoken highly of him. If the Raiders decide they want a first-time head coach, Kubiak is one of their better options.
Derek Carr’s Brother Names Favorite for Raiders HC Job