Coaching Notes: Gruden, Lewis, Joseph
The Raiders‘ firing of Jack Del Rio less than a year after signing him to an extension would have come as a shock at this season’s outset, when the team was picked by most to win the AFC West. But now that Jon Gruden‘s name is in the mix, the franchise is operating like it has a real shot to lure him back to Oakland.
In firing Del Rio, the Raiders are confident they can bring Gruden back to Oakland, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Raiders doing this looks indeed to be for a Gruden landing, with Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News hearing (Twitter link) the Gruden buzz is legitimate. This comes shortly after Gruden’s name was connected with the Buccaneers. But the Bucs kept Dirk Koetter after a less successful tenure compared to Del Rio’s Oakland run. The Gruden noise appears louder regarding the Raiders. He was the most recent coach to receive a four-year opportunity coaching the Silver and Black, doing so from 1998-2001 prior to being traded to the Bucs in early 2002.
Here’s the latest from the coaching carousel.
- Marvin Lewis‘ Bengals played a spoiler in Week 17, knocking the Ravens out of the playoffs. The coach’s future in Cincinnati remains murky, however, as his contract expires. Lewis made an interesting comment postgame regarding his status. When asked if he would accept Mike Brown‘s offer to remain the Bengals’ HC in 2018, Lewis replied (via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com), “It’s a little more complicated than that.” A report emerged last week about Lewis stepping down from his 15-year post. He has yet to confirm that.
- Vance Joseph‘s Broncos tenure is also up in the air. However, the rookie head coach said he “absolutely” expects to be the team’s coach in 2018 and said (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, on Twitter) he has not been informed of a decision yet. Joseph said he will meet with John Elway tonight or Monday. The Broncos have never fired a coach after one season. However, this is only the second time in 27 seasons they’ve won five or fewer games. Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter) Elway will not make the decision tonight, planning to sleep on it. Klis adds that it shouldn’t be a surprise if Joseph is given a second season.
- Bruce Arians met with Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill on Sunday morning, Laura Okmin of Fox Sports reports, adding a decision on whether or not he will step down could come by New Year’s Day (Twitter link). Arians has said himself his decision could come as soon as Monday, or as late as February, although Adam Schefter of ESPN.com notes he’s likely to leave.
Jack Del Rio Out In Oakland
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio was informed after the team’s Week 17 loss to the Chargers that he would not be retained, the coach told reporters including the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Michael Gehlken (Twitter link). 
In his postgame press conference, the coach told reporters he was notified “two minutes ago” by Raiders owner Mark Davis of his decision. Del Rio said, “He told me he loved me and appreciated all that I did to get this program going to right direction, but that he felt he needed a change.” Del Rio expressed gratitude for the opportunity Davis gave him when he hired him in 2015.
Following a breakout 2016 campaign that saw the Raiders go 12-4, Oakland entered 2017 as potential Super Bowl contenders with a loaded offense and a solid defense. Things didn’t go according to plan and the Raiders scuffled to a 6-10 mark.
The firing comes on the heels of the Raiders’ reported pursuit of the team’s former head coach Jon Gruden. Reports claim the Raiders could offer the ESPN analyst an ownership stake in the team to take over as head coach.
In his three seasons as head coach, Del Rio amassed a 25-23 mark and advanced to the postseason in 2016 for the first time since the team lost the Super Bowl in 2002.
With young stars Derek Carr and Amari Cooper on offense and a game-changing talent on defense in Khalil Mack, the Raiders head-coaching job is arguably the top gig that will become available this offseason.
Raiders To Pursue Jon Gruden
Now that the Buccaneers are expected to retain Dirk Koetter as their head coach in 2018 (though Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks that Tampa Bay could easily reverse course in that regard), the Raiders are upping the ante in their pursuit of Jon Gruden. Gruden, of course, previously served as head coach of Tampa Bay and Oakland, though his name has been more heavily connected to the Buccaneers in recent weeks.
But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Raiders are preparing to pursue Gruden with an offer so strong that it could include an ownership stake in the team. Schefter adds that Gruden, currently an ESPN analyst, will be tempted to accept the offer, though he would prefer to wait until the regular season concludes and Oakland formally makes a decision on current head coach Jack Del Rio.
There are complications to a potential reunion. For instance, if Raiders owner Mark Davis does indeed offer Gruden an ownership stake, the contract would need to be approved by all 32 owners and the league finance committee, and such approval could be difficult to attain, as ownership would not want to set a precedent. Furthermore, Del Rio and Gruden are represented by the same agent, Bob LaMonte.
Nonetheless, one has to figure that if the Raiders want Gruden, and Gruden wants them, the two sides will find a way to make it happen. After all, Gruden never wanted to leave the Raiders to begin with, and though Oakland has struggled this season, there are a lot of factors that make its head coaching job an enviable one. Plus, although Gruden has been frequently discussed as a highly-coveted head coaching candidate in past years, this is the first year that he has made calls around the league in an effort to piece together a potential staff.
Interestingly, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) names current CBS analyst (and former Raiders QB) Rich Gannon as someone that Gruden has contacted as a potential quarterbacks coach.
Gruden declined to specifically comment on the Raiders’ position.
Breer’s Latest: Black Monday Preview
With the final week of the NFL’s regular season approaching, that only means two things; 12 teams will soon be focusing on reaching the Super Bowl, while the rest will start to look ahead to next season. One major part of looking forward is addressing who on the coaching staff will be returning in 2018. Many of these coaching questions are answered on the day following Week’s 17 conclusion, conveniently called “Black Monday”.
Veteran reporter Albert of Breer of Sports Illustrated, gave a preview of the coaches he expects to stay and the ones that will likely be shown the door in his most recent column. Breer ranked the potential firings as “Likely/Done”, “We’ll See”, and “It’s Complicated”. In total, there were 15 head coaches mentioned who could see their situations change starting next week.
Here’s a quick look at Breer’s takes on some of the league’s hottest coaching questions:
- There were five head coaches included in the “likely/done” category including: Bears‘ John Fox, Bengals‘ Marvin Lewis, Lions‘ Jim Caldwell, Colts‘ Chuck Pagano and and the Giants‘ interim coach Steve Spagnuolo. The four full-time head coaches on this list have all had their fair share of success in the league. In fact, three of them led their current teams to multiple playoff appearances during their tenure. However, Caldwell and Lewis have been unable to win a postseason game with Pagano and Fox having failed at continuing the past success they have shown during their careers in football. Breer notes that while the “expectation is that Fox will be gone”, the decision on the fate of general manager Ryan Pace is true question facing the franchise this offseason. There’s been rapid speculation about Lewis, Caldwell and Pagano throughout the year, so their inclusion on this list is no surprise. Finally, the Giants are currently interviewing general manager candidates who will almost certainly be looking to lead their own head coaching search once hired.
- Breer puts six current head coaches in the ‘we’ll see” part of the list. This portion mentions the Cardinals‘ Bruce Arians, Broncos‘ Vance Joseph, Raiders‘ Jack Del Rio, Buccaneers‘ Dirk Koetter, Titans‘ Mike Mularkey and the Redskins‘ Jay Gruden. There’s a variety of situations going on here with Breer noting that Arizona could see Arians retire, which could lead them to other current NFL head coaches: Todd Bowles and Bill O’Brien. Del Rio and Gruden have had their fair share of success because of quality quarterback play, but both have managed to decrease confidence because of an inconsistent 2017 season. However, Breer points out that both are signed long-term so their owners would have to eat the remaining years of their current deals. Mularkey and Koetter were rewarded for the relationships they formed with their QB’s, but there’s been disappointment with how this season has unfolded for their teams. Breer notes that should Mularkey lose this Sunday, he could be on the chopping block come Monday morning with the team looking to hire an offensive-minded coach like Josh McDaniels. Finally, Joseph has forced himself to the hot seat even in his first year of coaching the Broncos, though Breer says himself that this situation is “unpredictable” given that team president John Elway is just “not pleased with how the season’s gone”.
- Browns head coach Hue Jackson, and the two previously mentioned O’Brien and Bowles of the Texans and Jets, find themselves on the “it’s complicated” section of Breer’s roundup largely because of just the many factors are at play in regards to their situations. Jackson got a vote of confidence from owner Jimmy Haslam himself, but new general manager John Dorsey could have his sights on implementing his own guy after a winless season. O’Brien has made the playoffs before, but has struggled committing to a QB even after the team selected Deshaun Watson in the first round. Bowles has done a lot with a little in New York this season, but ownership could go in a different direction with a new starting signal caller likely walking into the building next year. Also, there is the potential that all three coaches could move onto new head coaching gigs with the number of openings that could be available this offseason. The final and definitely most surprising inclusion on this list was Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who Breer mentions could retire at age 66 with a roster about to see major turnover in the next few years. Although, I would venture that nothing he’s said this season would indicate that being the case.
50/50 Chance Of Raiders Firing Jack Del Rio
Could the Raiders move on from Jack Del Rio this offseason? There’s a 50/50 chance that he’ll return in 2018, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT.
[RELATED: Raiders Expected To Fire OC Todd Downing]
Del Rio and the Raiders inked a four-year extension back in January, but he might not get to serve out the deal. Typically, head coaching contracts are guaranteed for a fair amount, so the money committed to Del Rio could dissuade Oakland from making a change. But, at minimum, the 6-8 Raiders are giving it some serious thought.
Last year, Del Rio won 12 games for the second time in his career and brought the Raiders to playoffs for the first time in 14 years. Still, the Raiders are loaded with talent and Del Rio has yet to win a division title in his 10+ years as a head coach. There will be plenty of intriguing candidates available this winter and a few of those names could hold interest for the Raiders.
The Raiders face extremely long odds of making the playoffs, but they could still finish .500 with wins over the Eagles and Chargers in the next two weeks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
Chicago Bears
- Placed on IR: S Chris Prosinski
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: TE Pharaoh Brown
- Placed on IR: TE Clive Walford
Washington Redskins
- Signed: RB Kenny Hilliard
- Placed on IR: RB LeShun Daniels
Week 16 Injury Notes
- Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper has not been 100% since he suffered a concussion and an ankle injury vs. the Broncos a few weeks ago. The third-year wideout has been inconsistent while on the field this season, but said after practice on Friday that he “felt all right” and is “still working through” the injuries, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal (Twitter link). He remains questionable to play for Monday night’s game against the Eagles. Gehlken also passed along that four Raiders missed practice today, including: CB David Amerson (foot), C Rodney Hudson (ankle/illness), DL Treyvon Hester (ankle) and TE Clive Walford (concussion/neck) (Twitter link).
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/22/17
Here are today’s minor moves across the NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on IR: LB Nick Vigil
- Promoted from PS: OT Kent Perkins
Green Bay Packers
- Placed on IR: CB Demetri Goodson
- Promoted from PS: OLB Reggie Gilbert
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: OL Ian Silberman (off Browns‘ practice squad)
- Promoted from PS: LB Brady Sheldon
- Placed on IR: G Jon Feliciano
Washington Redskins
- Promoted: RB Dare Ogunbowale
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Edmond Robinson
- Placed on PS-IR: WR Carlton Agudosi
Raiders Have Cap Flexibility
- The Raiders, Bengals, Buccaneers, Titans, and Bears are the teams that will have the most cap flexibility this offseason, Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap writes. If the Raiders want to make a splash, they can create up to $91MM in cap room by slashing the roster while only taking on $12.6MM in dead money. The Packers missed the top five cut, but they’re roughly in the same category as the others – they can free up $73MM with $29MM in leftover obligations.
Mike Tice Could Be Fired This Offseason
- Given that the Raiders were one of this season’s greatest disappointments, the club will likely make coaching staff alterations over the next few months, and one such change could be the removal of offensive line coach Mike Tice, per Breer. Tice, a longtime OL instructor and former head coach of the Vikings, is a close friend of Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio, but he’s also considered a “polarizing presence,” says Breer.