Top 10 Candidates to Be Next Raiders Coach Part Two
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00:00 Hi everybody, this is Honda.
00:04 I'm sorry my glass.
00:05 I got new glasses and I can see my light reflecting.
00:09 I apologize.
00:10 Hi everybody.
00:11 This is Hondo Carpenter from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
00:17 Here today to do part two of our top 10 candidates to replace Josh McDaniels.
00:22 Let's quickly reflect on yesterday.
00:24 Number one was Antonio Pierce.
00:27 He's the guy I'm rooting for.
00:28 I hope he gets it.
00:30 This is a guy that has a nine game really live interview to show everybody what he has.
00:37 I think he's already demonstrated a lot.
00:39 Not enough to get the job yet, but I think he's demonstrated a lot.
00:44 He's a guy that I'm hoping to get it.
00:46 If you remember, one of the best movies of all time is a movie called Taps.
00:52 It started George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Tom Cruise was in it.
00:58 Boy, Tom Cruise was phenomenal in that movie.
01:00 Probably one of his first really big breakout roles.
01:05 In the movie, there's a scene where Timothy Hutton explains, "We have one advantage that
01:12 the other people don't have."
01:13 They said, "What's that?"
01:14 He says, "We're here and they're not."
01:17 That's the advantage.
01:18 If you haven't seen that movie, go see it by the way, Taps.
01:22 But that is one thing that Antonio Pires said nobody else has.
01:26 He was number one at the list.
01:27 He's the guy I'm rooting for because I root for good people.
01:30 I hope he gets it.
01:31 Second was John Gruden.
01:34 We got into that a lot.
01:35 I retweeted an article from 2022 that we wrote.
01:40 We know the NFL is very, very concerned and worried about this lawsuit, this John Gruden
01:46 lawsuit.
01:49 We know that Mark didn't want John to go.
01:51 We know how much he likes him.
01:53 Now, remember, this isn't Hondo giving you a list, although I fully and readily admit
01:58 I hope Antonio Pires earns it.
02:03 Would I bring John back?
02:04 Probably not, and not because of the email issue even.
02:07 I just probably wouldn't bring him back because I thought there was a lot of draft errors
02:12 and mistakes and a lot of things that when he was here coaching the last time that I
02:19 thought hurt the Raiders.
02:20 I like him.
02:21 Trust me, as a media guy, I'd love for him to be back.
02:24 I'm just sharing with you my thoughts.
02:27 For this list, I reached out to six NFL executives and I asked them, "If you were making a hire,
02:35 who's on your list or who do you think fits the Raiders?"
02:38 I talked and got information out of the Raiders building.
02:43 That's how I accumulated this list.
02:44 It's not a Hondo list.
02:45 It's what other people think.
02:47 Number three was Rich Bisagia, which I think would be a great hire.
02:51 I think it would be a great one.
02:54 Number four was Ben Johnson, four or five, who is the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator.
03:02 Number five or four was Frank Smith, who used to be John Gruden's tight ends coach here.
03:07 He's familiar with this organization and this franchise.
03:10 He's now the offensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins.
03:15 Those were the top five.
03:16 Now, let me get into the next group.
03:19 I'm going to start at number 10.
03:22 This is a guy that's a proven winner, Jim Harbaugh.
03:27 Now, listen to me.
03:28 This isn't my list.
03:30 Now, I'm a Spartan, so you may say, "Well, Hondo's got Jim low because he's a Spartan."
03:36 No, because I take a lot of grief from Spartans because I like Jim Harbaugh.
03:40 He's a winner.
03:41 But Jim Harbaugh has been wanting back in the NFL for years.
03:46 He would flirt with anybody willing to flirt with him.
03:49 He wanted the Raiders job.
03:51 In fact, I was told by someone in the organization, he was so desperate for the job the last time
03:56 around that it just turned people off even.
04:00 But Jim comes with a reputation.
04:02 He's very hard to work with.
04:05 He rubs people the wrong way.
04:08 I know players that played for him that said he's a great coach.
04:14 They just hate him, don't like him, don't like playing for him.
04:18 It's just miserable.
04:20 I know people inside the San Francisco 49ers organization.
04:24 This guy's winning.
04:25 They just couldn't stand him.
04:27 I know people now at Michigan, same way, can't stand him.
04:32 That's really hurt him because one thing owners value is winning and stability.
04:40 They don't want people leaving all the time.
04:41 They don't want the revolving door.
04:45 When you're with Jim Harbaugh, that's the case.
04:48 That's the case.
04:51 Here's the other thing.
04:53 Talking with NFL people, you have to understand the college football game is the free farm
05:02 system for the NFL.
05:05 The NFL has no reason to tip over that apple cart.
05:09 College football doesn't cost them any money.
05:11 It's a great farm system.
05:14 You may remember when Jim Trestle got in trouble at Ohio State, he wanted to go to the Colts.
05:19 The NFL put up a suspension and a block to keep them from doing what they wanted.
05:25 Same thing I'm told is going to happen if Jim Harbaugh tries to make the jump.
05:32 There's a lot of people that say Jim's had a chance for any team to take him and nobody's
05:38 wanted him.
05:39 There's no reason to think that he would.
05:41 I remember last time there were people reporting, "Oh, if Jim wants it, it's a done deal."
05:46 I know for a fact because I was told on the inside, "No, we're not interested in Jim."
05:55 He's on that list because he's a great coach, but he comes with voluminous amounts of baggage
06:01 and the Raiders had their shot at him before and didn't want him.
06:07 There are going to be some repercussions with the NFL.
06:09 I just think it would be difficult.
06:11 Certainly not impossible, but a long shot.
06:15 There are two guys on this list that all six of my NFL people referenced as an up and coming
06:26 or a very viable potential NFL guy right now.
06:33 When I heard this name, I was surprised and I admit it to you.
06:37 I know who he is.
06:38 I know of him.
06:39 I've met him several times, but I would not have thought of him holding the respect that
06:46 all of these NFL people had for him.
06:49 But remember, this is not me creating the news.
06:51 This is me reporting it and I'm going to tell you why they said it.
06:54 It's Matt Campbell, the head coach at Iowa State.
06:57 Now Campbell runs the program like an NFL franchise.
07:02 They have not very good facilities at Iowa State.
07:09 He doesn't have the NFL pockets, I mean the NIL pockets for recruiting.
07:14 So he's got to go get guys and develop guys.
07:18 He hasn't won as much as a Lincoln, Riley, but Rinkins also had better jobs or maybe
07:24 some other guys, but NFL people love him.
07:28 Their scouts are in there all the time looking at his players, watching how he runs his program.
07:35 This is a guy that all six NFL teams, so I thought it was germane and viable to pass
07:41 this on to you.
07:43 They felt he is a legitimate guy and one that if they were putting a list together
07:49 because they needed to hire, they would be looking at Matt Campbell.
07:53 I know that he is on some sort of a list for the Raiders as well.
07:59 We know how much Mark valued the opinion of other NFL people.
08:04 He went and got Josh McDaniels, which didn't work out, but we know he values it.
08:09 So Matt Campbell's the name.
08:10 Do I think he's a leading candidate?
08:12 No, I'm hoping that's Antonio Pierce, but he's a guy that's on this list because the
08:17 NFL put him on the list.
08:19 Next is a guy that you may not know who he is, but he's the second guy every NFL person
08:25 and the Raiders voice to me.
08:28 It's a Egerio Evero.
08:31 He's a defensive coordinator to Carolina Panthers born in England, raised in California.
08:38 I had one NFL general manager say to me flat out, if he gets a one-on-one with Mark Davis,
08:46 he will be your next coach.
08:48 This guy called him one of the most brilliant football minds he's ever talked football with
08:52 and told me if he had an opening today, EJ would be the top of his list.
08:57 Now I have him at eight because I think Mark is really going to look for somebody who can
09:05 breathe life into the offense.
09:07 He was raised by a dad that valued offense.
09:10 I think he was very frustrated with the Raiders offense under Josh McDaniels.
09:16 I think he wants to get an offensive mind.
09:19 I think that hurts EJ.
09:22 When I mentioned that to the executives I spoke to, they all said, "EJ will walk into
09:27 that room with binders of information, including this is going to be my offensive coordinator
09:32 and here's what we're going to do."
09:34 That's why they said getting the interview with Mark is going to be the key.
09:37 If he gets the interview, one in particular said, "I have no doubt he'll get the job."
09:43 When I told the others what that particular GM said, they all said, "Yeah, that makes
09:48 a lot of sense to us."
09:50 The next one is Eric Biennemi.
09:51 Now Eric was the offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs but didn't get a lot
09:57 of respect because people said it was Andy Reid, which it was.
10:02 If Josh McDaniels would have been a great success, Mick Lombardi would not have gotten
10:06 the accolades because everybody knew Josh did it.
10:09 So it was fair.
10:11 But he leaves to go on to the Washington Commanders.
10:14 Now Ron Rivera, the head coach of the Commanders, basically threw him under the bus this offseason.
10:20 If you're not aware of it, go look it up.
10:23 But Biennemi came in and one of the things Andy Reid does at Kansas City really well
10:28 is he's a players coach who's a strong disciplinarian.
10:33 And he sets a very high standard.
10:35 Those players love him, but he sets a very high standard.
10:40 And Eric comes into Washington, which has been a chronically underperforming franchise.
10:46 Look at Irvin, Magic Johnson is now an owner and he's blasting him on Twitter.
10:52 But when the players revolted, Rivera goes out and basically placates the players.
11:02 Now you had to walk it back because he took so much criticism.
11:06 But I will tell you an interesting story.
11:08 I had multiple NFL executives tell me after what they saw Ron Rivera do to Eric, that
11:16 they wouldn't hire him.
11:17 And they said they'd be shocked if he ever got another head coaching job.
11:20 I thought that was because and if he did, who would want to go work for a coach that
11:26 is going to take a player side?
11:27 You know what Ron Rivera should have said to the players is shut up buttercup.
11:32 You don't want me to bring in a disciplinarian and quit sucking.
11:36 Stupidity, but Eric Biennemi is a viable name.
11:42 And now let's also be very honest.
11:45 He's not had the success he had in Washington.
11:48 I mean, in Washington that he had in Kansas City because he doesn't have the players to
11:51 quarterback driven league and they don't have a quarterback.
11:55 But he still is a viable name out there and a guy a lot of people in the NFL respect.
11:59 And the last one and I'm going to tell you, I was very surprised at this.
12:05 Not that he was on the list.
12:07 I was stunned at what I heard about him as Lincoln Riley at USC.
12:12 A lot of NFL people think he has been a very bad mentor to Caleb Williams.
12:19 And Caleb Williams is a very well respected quarterback in the next draft.
12:24 A lot of teams have him quarterback one or two.
12:27 I can tell you I've talked to a lot of teams.
12:31 Most have him as two.
12:34 But that's nothing to be ashamed of because he's a very good quarterback.
12:38 But like they've underperformed this year, which is something Lincoln Riley's teams have
12:42 a tendency to do.
12:44 He was at Oklahoma where he had everything.
12:45 He's at USC where he has everything.
12:48 And this team has imploded this year.
12:53 Now some have tried to blame Caleb.
12:57 He's out there doing commercials, talking about going early to the NFL.
13:01 I have no issues with the commercials and neither did any of the GMs.
13:05 But they all had issues about him talking about the NFL, showing up at a press conference
13:10 not wearing shoes.
13:12 Excuse me.
13:14 I've been doing so many interviews.
13:15 I ask you to please forgive me.
13:21 And they feel like Lincoln has failed him by saying, listen, you want an NFL team to
13:30 give you the keys to be the face of their $10 billion franchise.
13:35 You got to act the part.
13:37 Don't be talking about going to the NFL because it's creating some issues on our team with
13:42 people like you're not here.
13:44 Show up with your shoes.
13:45 Let's go.
13:46 Don't be sulking on the sideline.
13:48 And none of that's going to hurt Caleb Williams getting drafted because all of them think
13:53 it reflects on Lincoln Riley.
13:57 Now I'm never going to say never because you get fired at Texas Tech and get a head coaching
14:01 job with Arizona, which happened last coach.
14:05 Anything can happen.
14:06 Riley's an offensive mind, but there's a lot of question.
14:11 Is he trying to be the guy's buddies?
14:13 Can he lead a group of 53 grown men?
14:17 There are a lot of questions on Rinkin Riley, but his offensive prowess has him on the list.
14:25 And all of them said they all believe Mark's going to want some offense.
14:28 Now obviously AP Antonio Pierce is not an offensive guy.
14:32 He's a defensive guy.
14:35 Remember what I said about the movie from taps?
14:37 He's here.
14:38 Nobody else is.
14:39 The moving a bull hard degree was a big move on his part.
14:44 It shows Mark.
14:45 He's thinking offense.
14:46 That was a really brilliant move.
14:48 And so that's the next six candidates.
14:51 Remember, it's not my list.
14:52 It's what I'm hearing.
14:53 I expect this list to contract and expand, but you need to know Mark's also having to
15:00 make a decision.
15:03 Do I go get a coach who picks his own GM like I did with Gruden and McDaniels?
15:08 Or do I go the old school route and pick a GM in which case, okay, what about champ?
15:15 I said champ should have got the job before Dave Ziegler got.
15:19 So I hope champ wins it, but it's going to be fascinating.
15:25 There's no higher imminent.
15:27 AP is going to get every chance to earn this job.
15:30 Let's hope he does.
15:32 So there you go.
15:33 That's the conclusion of our top 10 list.
15:35 Antonio Pierce, Rich Bissaccia, John Gruden, Frank Smith, Ben Johnson, Lincoln Riley, Eric
15:42 Biennemi, Egerio Ivaro, EJ, Matt Campbell, and Jim Harbaugh.
15:48 Again, I expect the list to contract.
15:50 I expect the list to expand, but we're going to keep you right here knowing all that's
15:55 going on with your Sports Illustrated Fan Nation, Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
16:01 part of the Fans First Sports Network.
16:02 Thanks for joining us, everybody.
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