With Bill Belichick departing the New England Patriots, the NFL currently has eight head coaching jobs. The Las Vegas Raiders were the first team to have an opening, but they now face stiff competition.
Mike Vrabel, the Tennessee Titans head coach, was not expected to be fired this offseason, but the team opted to make a change. Tom Brady’s ownership share in the Raiders has not yet been approved, but he remains close to the team and owner Mark Davis.
Brady and Vrabel are close because of their time together with the Patriots. This might be a factor in the Raiders’ head coaching search. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was asked who he expected the team’s head coach and general manager would be next season, and he anticipated Vrabel would go to Las Vegas, with former Titans vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden joining as general manager.
“Maino, a little hunch here: Vrabel and Cowden,” Breer wrote in his January 10 mailbag. “I believe the Raiders take a run at [Jim] Harbaugh. And if they can’t land a big fish like Vrabel, Harbaugh, or [Bill] Belichick, they’ll most likely stick with Antonio Pierce.”
Cowden is currently an executive advisor to the general manager of the New York Giants and could be considered for a general manager position of his own. According to Breer, Vrabel and Cowden were close while they were both in Tennessee.
Why Mike Vrabel?
Aside from Tom Brady, it’s unclear why Mike Vrabel would be the Raiders’ option. He was a very successful head coach with the Titans and was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year for 2021. He compiled a 54-45 record as a head coach over six seasons, including two postseason victories.
Vrabel is a proven winner, yet his background is comparable to Antonio Pierce’s. Vrabel was a former NFL linebacker and Super Bowl champion. He decided to begin his coaching career at the college level before becoming a linebackers coach in the NFL. That is nearly identical to Pierce’s trajectory.
The main difference is that Vrabel spent a season as a defensive coordinator before being named head coach. Vrabel and Pierce are enticing due to their ability to interact with players. Vrabel has a longer and more successful track record as a head coach, but it’s difficult to look at Pierce and not view him as a cheaper version of Vrabel, who is currently in the Raiders building.
The Las Vegas Raiders are huge fans of Ed Dodds.
The longer the Raiders go without interviewing head coaching candidates, it looks like owner Mark Davis will appoint a general manager and let him make the decision. The Raiders had already requested an interview with Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds, and Albert Breer reported that the team was close to employing him in 2022.
“No, Ryan, they loved Ed Dodds two years ago when they interviewed him for their GM job, and so he’s in a strong position going into his interview there, regardless of what happens with the coach,” Breer said in an email. “But that he has the connection to [Jim] Harbaugh doesn’t hurt.”
If Dodds becomes general manager, the franchise is likely to seek Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.
