Bengals To Hire Brian Callahan As OC
The Bengals are set to hire Raiders quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan as their new offensive coordinator, according to Raiders head coach Jon Gruden (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). New Bengals HC Zac Taylor played for Brian’s dad Bill Callahan at Nebraska, giving the two men a unique connection. 
The younger Callahan was a hot name in NFL coaching circles last year, as he interviewed for the Titans’ offensive coordinator vacancy and the Jets’ quarterbacks coach position. He was also linked to a job with the Giants, but never officially met with the club. Despite that level of interest, the Lions allowed Callahan to seek employment elsewhere in 2018, leading him to the Raiders’ QB job. Now, he’s taking a big step up as he joins Taylor in Cincinnati.
Taylor is expected to call the Bengals’ plays, but Callahan should still have an active role in the offense. And, as evidenced by Taylor and others in the Sean McVay coaching tree, that type of OC job can still be a launching pad to something bigger and better.
Raiders QB Coach Brian Callahan Is Top OC Target For Bengals
- The Bengals have been very hands-off with their presumptive new head coach, Zac Taylor, but Rapoport (video link) says that is only because the team is closely adhering to league rules regarding coaching hires (Taylor, of course, is the Rams’ quarterbacks coach, and the Rams’ season isn’t over yet). Rapoport says Cincinnati still fully intends to hire Taylor, and he names Jack Del Rio as a potential defensive coordinator on Taylor’s new staff. La Canfora agrees that Del Rio is a DC target, and he adds John Fox as another possibility. Both JLC and RapSheet say that Raiders QB coach Brian Callahan is a top choice for offensive coordinator.
RB Marshawn Lynch To Continue Playing?
Could Marshawn Lynch return for a 12th NFL season in 2019? Well…maybe. Appearing on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Lynch said he’d continue playing if the right opportunity presented itself.
“If it works out that way then I will,” Lynch said (via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com).
The 32-year-old initially retired back in 2016, but he ended up joining his home-town Raiders on a two-year deal in 2017. His first season in Oakland saw him rush for 891 yards and seven touchdowns, and he had similar production in 2018, rushing for 376 yards and three touchdowns in six games. Unfortunately, the veteran suffered what proved to be a season-ending groin injury in October, and that left some to wonder whether Lynch had played in his final NFL game.
The impending free agent may have a tough time finding a gig that’d work out for both sides. Lynch has appeared in more than 150 regular season and postseason games, and teams seeking running back depth would surely be enticed by younger options. Furthermore, the Raiders may not be playing in Oakland next season, meaning Lynch won’t be able to stick around his hometown.
Of course, regardless of where they end up playing, the Raiders would seem to be a natural fit for the veteran. Fellow veteran running back Doug Martin will be hitting free agency, while Jalen Richard will be a restricted free agent. The organization will head into the offseason with two running backs under contract: DeAndre Washington and Chris Warren.
Raiders To Discuss Playing 2019 In Oakland
After the city of Oakland’s lawsuit against the Raiders and NFL, the chances of the team finishing its lame-duck stay in Oakland decreased significantly. But there remains a chance the Raiders stay in their home market for one more year.
The Raiders will meet with the Coliseum Authority one more time to discuss the team playing at its longtime home stadium in 2019.
“Yes, there still is a possibility that an agreement can be reached. Not sure what the odds are, but still possible,” Coliseum Authority executive director Scott McKibben said, via the Bay Area News Group’s Jon Becker. “Once the Raiders have completed all their research on other places we will sit down and talk one last time.”
While the Raiders have been searching for other sites, having been most connected to the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park, the prospect of remaining in Oakland was not completely scrubbed, either. Mark Davis has not been a proponent of sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers. Though, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports the Raiders’ most likely 2019 home is AT&T Park or Levi’s Stadium.
A tentative lease for one more Coliseum season existed, per Becker, but the lawsuit nixed that. Said lease was going to more than double the Raiders’ rent for 2019. The Raiders paid $3.5MM in rent this season, Becker reports. Under the tentative agreement, that would have spiked to $7.5MM, with an option to play the 2020 season in Oakland in the event the Las Vegas site was not ready for play yet. The NFL wants the Raiders to make this decision by Super Bowl LIII or shortly after.
The Raiders have not yet discussed a deal with San Diego, but they continue to monitor Qualcomm Stadium as an option, per La Canfora. However, the league office is not sold on that option. Reno, Nev., remains a possibility as well, JLC adds. The London option is now seen as untenable, he notes, adding that Reno would also cause more issues than a season in Santa Clara, Calif., would.
The 49ers still have territorial rights to San Francisco, which could pose a problem for a Raiders season at AT&T Park — located within the San Francisco city limits. But the Raiders are not 100 percent set to move on from their home stadium yet. They remain slated to relocate to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.
Raiders To Hire Brentson Buckner As DL Coach
- Former Buccaneers defensive line coach Brentson Buckner will join the Raiders in the same capacity, per Greg Auman of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Raiders Lose Assistant
- While the Raiders’ coaching staff isn’t undergoing any major changes for Jon Gruden’s second season, at least one assistant won’t be back in 2019. Assistant defensive line coach Marco Coleman is leaving the team to take a job at Georgia Tech, his alma mater, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). Gruden’s first season was a disappointment, but there was no big shakeup in response.
- Speaking of workouts, the Colts brought in tight end Gabe Holmes for a tryout, Balzer tweets. Holmes was signed as an UDFA by the Raiders back in 2015, and has bounced around some bottom of the rosters and practice squads ever since. The Purdue product has spent time with the Raiders, Seahawks, Ravens, and Cardinals. Holmes appeared in eight games with Arizona this year, but was used mostly as a blocker and never caught a pass.
Raiders Have Yet To Talk With San Diego
At this moment, no one knows where the Raiders will be playing in 2019. San Diego has been widely suggested as a temporary landing spot until everything is set in Las Vegas, but as of Tuesday, the Raiders have yet to engage in talks with city authorities.
“Our office has not been in communication with the Raiders,” Craig Gustafson, spokesman for the San Diego mayor told Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal (on Twitter).
Last month, we heard that there is still a possibility of the Raiders playing in Oakland this year. Of course, with lawsuits and ugliness involved, nothing can be said for certain.
Mark Davis previously expressed little interest in sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers, but the league could push that pairing if it winds up being the most logical solution. Given Santa Clara, California’s relative proximity to the Raiders’ fan base and the quality of the stadium, it’s not hard to imagine Roger Goodell advocating for that scenario.
Raiders To Hire Ryan Grigson
Earlier this week, we heard that the Raiders are considering former Colts GM Ryan Grigson for a front office position. Apparently, it’s already a “done deal,” according to a source who spoke with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. 
Grigson spent five years as the Colts’ GM and he ultimately failed to give Andrew Luck a proper supporting cast or build up the team’s defense. He could be a very helpful sidekick to new Raiders GM Mike Mayock, however, as he leaves the broadcast booth to run a team with Jon Gruden.
It was previously reported that the 49ers were also interested in Grigson, but that’s simply not true, according to Florio’s source. It’s not clear if the 49ers engaged Grigson in conversations or if Grigson’s camp was simply looking to build leverage by leaking word of San Francisco’s supposed interest.
Grigson is best known for his time with the Colts, but he’s spent time with the Browns and Seahawks since his dismissal. His exact role in Oakland is unclear, but he figures to be heavily involved in draft scouting and player evaluation.
Raiders Interested In Ryan Grigson
The 49ers aren’t the only club with interest in former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, as the Raiders also want to speak to the ex-Indy exec about a front office role, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Oakland is rebuilding its front office after firing general manager Reggie McKenzie and top lieutenant Joey Clinkscales. Grigson would join a front office that now includes first-time GM — and former NFL Network analyst — Mike Mayock, who was hired earlier this week. The 46-year-old Grigson was fired by the Colts in 2016 after a tumultuous five-year term as GM, and has since worked with the Browns and Seahawks’ front offices.
Raiders Fire Joey Clinkscales
- General manager Reggie McKenzie isn’t the only Raiders executive without a job at season’s end, as Oakland has also fired director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales, tweets Jim Trotter of NFL.com. Clinkscales, a high school and college teammate of McKenzie’s, was the ex-Raiders GM’s top assistant, so it’s perhaps unsurprising Oakland made the decision to ax him, as well. A former scout with the Steelers and executive with the Jets, Clinkscales was named on the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s list of recommended minority GM candidates last month.