Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast discusses the decision facing Mark Davis, and all the multiple facets, and potential coaches.
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00:00 - Everybody, this is Hondo Carpenter
00:04 from Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation,
00:06 Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast.
00:08 It's great to be with you today
00:10 and I appreciate you being with us.
00:12 We got a ton of information to go over today.
00:14 Today is going to be a podcast
00:17 in which we are going to just give you
00:19 voluminous amounts of information.
00:22 I wanna thank you for tuning in.
00:24 I wanna thank you for subscribing and following.
00:28 You know, our decision as a company
00:32 is we wanna give you as much information
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00:36 And we do that.
00:37 And I'm very proud of my company for that decision.
00:39 I'm very proud to work for the people that I work for.
00:42 And the way we're able to do that
00:44 is when you subscribe and follow and stick
00:47 and get the information and share it.
00:50 And you should never pay somebody
00:52 for what you can get for free.
00:54 I'll never forget one time people said to me,
00:57 "Hey, let's go out to eat."
00:58 And I'm like, "Well, let's just go to my grandma's."
01:00 Why go out to eat when you can go to grandma's?
01:02 'Cause it ain't gonna be as good as grandma's.
01:04 And I encourage you, there's lots of great people
01:06 doing a lot of great work.
01:07 We certainly are not the only ones,
01:08 nor are we arrogant enough to think that.
01:11 But don't pay people for what we can give you for free.
01:15 We're gonna be talking today
01:18 'cause about the future of the franchise,
01:22 Mark Davis and all of the decisions
01:26 that have to be looked at,
01:30 brought in, digested, and then assimilated
01:36 into what the future looks like.
01:38 We're gonna get into a lot of different issues today.
01:40 We're gonna talk about potential head coaches.
01:44 We're gonna talk about Mark Davis primarily.
01:46 And we're gonna get into some NFL things
01:50 as far as the hiring of Champ Kelly and Antonio Pires.
01:56 Antonio Pires.
01:57 We're gonna get into all that today.
01:58 So thank you.
01:59 I know it's gonna be a long one,
02:01 but I have learned one thing about Raider Nation
02:03 is they are football junkies.
02:05 They know it better than anybody else.
02:07 I tell people this all the time.
02:09 And if you ever hear me on a national interview,
02:11 you'll hear me say this.
02:12 And by the way, I'm sorry about my throat.
02:14 I've been doing so many interviews, podcasts, whatever,
02:18 and change of weather's got my throat a little weird,
02:21 but I'm fine.
02:21 I apologize.
02:22 I'm sure it's 100% annoying,
02:24 but I hope you're willing to put up with the annoyance
02:28 or the voluminous amount of information.
02:30 Now, there's a lot that goes into
02:35 the decision-making process.
02:37 And this is what matters, number one,
02:39 is Mark Davis has had a propensity
02:45 over his time as a leader to rely on other people's input
02:51 more so than his own gut.
02:52 It's not a slam on Mark.
02:55 I think that Mark, I've said this many times,
02:59 I would say it if Mark was right here.
03:00 In fact, I know that Mark knows that I feel this way.
03:03 I think Mark is 20 times, 50 times,
03:09 100 times better businessman than his father.
03:11 This is not even close.
03:12 And Al Davis, especially before the end,
03:19 was that much of a better football guy than his son.
03:22 Now that doesn't mean make one bad and one good.
03:27 It's just differences.
03:30 I have a son that's, I have several sons,
03:32 but my children are very talented,
03:34 much more talented than me.
03:36 Every one of my kids, including Dexter,
03:38 who's 16 months old, more talented than me.
03:41 But none of them have wanted to go into journalism.
03:47 Doesn't mean that they're bad or I'm good
03:49 or I'm bad and they're good, just preference.
03:52 And so because Mark though, and this is where Mark is smart,
03:56 he knows his strengths and he knows his weaknesses.
04:01 So here he is, a guy who's listened to a lot of people.
04:06 There were a lot of people that told him,
04:09 you can't hire Rich Passaggi.
04:10 He listened.
04:14 And I believe, and he has never told me this,
04:18 but I believe in talking to people close to Davis
04:22 that he regretted it.
04:26 I wanna go back and share something with you.
04:28 Rich Passaggi, when he got let go by Mark,
04:32 handled it with such class
04:34 and was so respectful of the Raiders,
04:38 even long after he left
04:42 and was so warm to Mark Davis
04:45 that the Davis family has always been moved by loyalty.
04:50 And I'm gonna tell you something,
04:52 if you're gonna be moved by something,
04:53 loyalty is a big one to be moved by.
04:55 It's a big one.
04:57 I echo the sentiments of the Davis family.
05:03 Loyalty to me means everything.
05:05 And so I often say, if you're not with me at my worst,
05:11 you don't deserve me at my best.
05:13 It's loyalty.
05:13 And it doesn't mean people that are loyal to you
05:17 aren't going to confront you.
05:21 Doesn't mean they're not gonna say, hey, this isn't right.
05:23 It's the fact that they love you, they do it.
05:25 But the loyalty is that, and that's not really true.
05:29 The love is that after they do it, they stay with you.
05:32 That's loyalty.
05:34 And so that touched Mark.
05:40 And on top of it, he didn't listen to his players,
05:42 which bothered him.
05:44 And it bothered his players a lot.
05:49 But that meant a lot.
05:54 And I think he's regretted not hiring Rich.
05:56 In fact, again, I told you, I 100% believe that.
05:58 So now as this decision comes forward,
06:02 there are several things that have to go into account.
06:06 Number one, is Mark Davis gonna be making
06:09 future decisions for this franchise
06:12 based on people having input or based on his gut?
06:17 Now I'm gonna tell you,
06:18 he made the decision to fire Josh McDaniels in his gut.
06:24 I know that for a fact.
06:26 I know quietly there's been some people trying to say,
06:29 well, I was talking, I'm telling you right now,
06:32 I know this 100%.
06:35 That was Mark's decision.
06:37 He let a couple of people know that he was gonna do it
06:40 right after the Detroit game.
06:42 But it was Mark's call, period.
06:48 I know that.
06:49 And I thought it was a great step in his maturation
06:54 at his age.
06:55 And now that he's been around the game like he has,
06:59 I think Mark Davis,
07:01 and whether I think it or not is irrelevant,
07:03 but I think he's earned that right.
07:04 Go with your gut, trust your gut.
07:07 Let me tell you something about Mark Davis.
07:08 He takes a lot of criticism.
07:10 He's not stupid.
07:12 Mark Davis is very smart, very smart.
07:15 I'm just gonna tell you that.
07:16 You may see a Honda's kissing his butt,
07:17 not kissing his butt.
07:18 It wouldn't hurt or help my exes to say he's stupid
07:25 or he's smart.
07:25 I'm just telling you the facts, he's smart.
07:28 I think he should trust his gut more often.
07:30 That being said,
07:32 number one is, does he make the decision alone?
07:37 Number two, and this is the big one.
07:41 Does he make the decision
07:43 with input?
07:48 And then this one dichotomizes into multiple,
07:53 if not, who does he listen to?
07:55 Multiple people around the league have told me,
08:01 it's not a matter of if,
08:02 it's when that Tom Brady is going to be an owner.
08:06 Number one.
08:07 And number two, Mark has always had,
08:11 I don't, I think infatuation is an unfair term,
08:17 but a very high level of respect,
08:21 very for Tom Brady,
08:24 very high, very high.
08:27 And so I was told that there probably
08:32 is only one or two people
08:34 who will have the majority of Mark's ear.
08:39 And I'm gonna tell you the other one in a minute.
08:43 I think it's gonna shock you 'cause it did me.
08:46 In fact, I didn't believe it
08:47 until I heard it a couple of times
08:49 and then talked to people.
08:51 And yeah.
08:52 But Tom Brady,
08:55 now, can we blame him
08:59 for respecting Tom Brady?
09:03 The greatest of all time?
09:05 Can we blame him for wanting to have the input
09:12 of the NFL's greatest winner and greatest player?
09:18 Man, I'm sorry, it's hard to fault him with that.
09:21 But,
09:24 if that's the case,
09:30 I think you're gonna see the franchise go,
09:32 and others, this is not an opinion,
09:35 I'm giving to you what I'm being told.
09:37 You're gonna see some others.
09:39 If that happens, you're gonna probably see
09:42 the franchise go in a little bit of a different direction.
09:44 That's a legitimate fact.
09:48 But there's another name.
09:51 Another name that how much of a voice he's gonna have.
09:54 Mark Davis has incredible respect for Jim Gray.
09:59 Jim Gray, the tremendous journalist, sports journalist.
10:03 He's now the host of Tom Brady
10:06 and Larry Fitzgerald's podcast, "Let's Go."
10:10 And when I first heard it,
10:12 I was told this by a person,
10:15 a very high level in the Las Vegas Raiders.
10:19 They go, "Man, you're right about Tom,
10:21 "but you should be thinking about Jim Gray."
10:24 And I'm like, "What?"
10:28 Now I know who Jim Gray, the journalist was,
10:31 I had no idea that's who they were talking.
10:33 Tom Brady's co-host on "Let's Go,"
10:37 the multiple award-winning journalist, that Jim Gray?
10:42 Yeah.
10:43 They're like, "He carries Mark's ear."
10:46 Now, this is Mark's franchise.
10:52 Mark can do whatever he wants.
10:56 I certainly, he's not coming to me.
10:58 When I can tell you around the league and in the building,
11:02 people are very aware that Jim Gray has Mark Davis's ear.
11:07 Okay?
11:11 All right.
11:13 He's got his ear.
11:15 So, the question is,
11:20 Jim Gray has had a incredible career.
11:24 He's been a great journalist.
11:26 He's done some tremendous things.
11:29 I don't know if that makes him a good football guy.
11:33 It doesn't mean he can't be,
11:35 but it certainly makes you begin to think
11:41 about what direction does the franchise go?
11:45 Because Jim Gray and Tom Brady are very tight.
11:50 When I asked people, did that relationship come across,
11:54 come about because of Brady,
11:56 they all told me they're not sure,
12:00 that they were very sure he knew who Jim Gray was
12:03 before Tom became big,
12:07 but that they all believed that the relationship,
12:10 even if they did know each other before,
12:11 has certainly cemented because of Tom.
12:14 So, that's fascinating.
12:17 And again, that is other people's opinion.
12:22 That is what other people are saying.
12:24 Mark has not told me that,
12:26 but people in the building have,
12:28 and people around the National Football League.
12:30 So, here's the question.
12:31 Does Mark make it out, do the decision on his own?
12:36 If not, does he listen to Tom Brady?
12:39 If he listens to Tom Brady,
12:40 he's gonna be listening to Jim Gray.
12:41 If he doesn't, he's gonna be listening to Jim Gray.
12:44 If he listens to Tom Brady,
12:45 he's gonna be listening to Jim Gray.
12:47 Does he go with former players?
12:49 There's a lot of people.
12:54 Now, I'm gonna tell you something.
12:56 When you got a bunch of people making the decision,
13:00 I don't believe that's good in anything.
13:03 I think that there's wise counsel
13:06 that should be readily looked at.
13:10 And if I'm Mark Davis,
13:11 and I have a friendship with Tom Brady,
13:13 I'm going to ask Tom, what do you think?
13:15 I'm gonna ask him, 'cause I think he's earned that right.
13:18 But I know when I make decisions in my life,
13:22 I've got a very small window,
13:25 especially now that my father's passed away.
13:27 I talk to my wife,
13:29 maybe one other person, I won't name them.
13:34 And of course I pray about it,
13:36 and ask the Lord what he thinks.
13:37 But I mean, my point is, is that I keep,
13:39 I think that's the best way to make decisions,
13:42 'cause too many voices, I mean,
13:44 I once heard a funny story.
13:46 A camel is a zebra designed by a committee.
13:49 And I think that's concerning.
13:53 I think the more people in Mark's year,
13:55 the bigger concern there is for Raider Nation.
13:58 Next, they have to make a decision.
14:03 Do they want a coach-led team,
14:05 where the coach basically says,
14:07 this is who I want with my GM,
14:09 which is what they did with John Gruden,
14:11 and it's what they did with Josh McDaniels.
14:13 Do they say we want a GM-driven team,
14:18 where we hire the GM, then he goes and picks the coaches?
14:21 Or do they say, we're gonna pick the GM and the head coach,
14:26 they're both gonna work for the owner?
14:29 Now that last one to me is a nightmare, nightmare.
14:34 The second one to me is the right way to go, you get a GM.
14:40 But the first one has worked at times,
14:43 but very, very limited.
14:44 I mean, it's not working right now for Bill Belichick
14:47 when he doesn't have a Tom Brady.
14:49 And now, I mean, I was the first to report
14:54 anywhere in the country.
14:55 They didn't make the playoffs,
14:56 I expected him to be gone as the Patriots coach.
14:59 I got mocked nationally when I said it.
15:01 And then these reports came out that,
15:05 oh, he signed his big contract in off-season.
15:10 And people were going back to my old tweet,
15:12 ha ha, well, I'm just telling you what I hear.
15:15 And I was the first to report that.
15:17 So that's the next question.
15:22 Once you determine who am I gonna listen to,
15:25 is it a coach-driven team, a general manager, or an owner?
15:30 Now, when you are not a football guy,
15:35 or let me, that's not fair to say,
15:38 when you are not a football guy like your father,
15:41 I think a coach-driven, I mean,
15:44 a owner-driven team is a bad idea.
15:46 I mean, Jimmy Johnson played, I'm Jimmy Johnson,
15:50 Jerry Jones played college football, won a national title.
15:55 And he certainly has struggled to get success
16:01 for his franchise, even with all the talent,
16:05 even with all of his business acumen,
16:08 when he hasn't had football guys in total control.
16:11 So I think that's a concern.
16:16 I mean, you can look at the situation in Baltimore,
16:18 which has been a very successful franchise for a long time,
16:21 and the owner keeps the general manager accountable,
16:24 but the GM runs that team.
16:27 Again, there are teams where a coach runs it,
16:30 and it's successful, but it has failed a multiplicity
16:33 of times compared to the times it's worked.
16:37 If you go get a coach-driven team,
16:40 I mean, it has to be a proven head coach,
16:44 somebody who runs it more like a CEO,
16:49 and a lot of the names aren't that.
16:52 And then finally, do you go get a GM-driven team,
16:58 which I would like to see.
17:00 Now, before Dave Ziegler was hired,
17:06 I wrote at the time that I thought
17:08 Champ Kelly should get the job.
17:09 And when he got the job as the assistant,
17:13 I told everyone, "What a deal,"
17:14 'cause I wrote three candidates for the GM job
17:17 that I think would be good,
17:18 and two of them, they hired, Ziegler and Champ.
17:23 Now, I have reported several times
17:26 that I'm not an NFL league official,
17:29 and when I read all the rules of hiring,
17:33 there's a bunch of ambiguity.
17:35 So I went to an NFC general manager
17:38 a week or two weeks ago and asked them
17:41 if the Raiders wanted to hire Champ Kelly
17:46 or Antonio Pierce
17:50 without going through all of the multiple interviews
17:54 and all that kind of stuff, could they?
17:55 And the person said, "Yes, they could,"
17:57 because they're already in the building
18:01 and they're already functioning in that job.
18:06 Excuse me.
18:11 Then, give me a sec, please.
18:14 Then I was told that people were reporting
18:21 that I was wrong and that they had to do it.
18:29 Now, some of those people reporting are my friends,
18:31 and good people, really good people.
18:33 So Monday night, I'm covering Monday Night Football,
18:39 I'm up on Monday night, so Tuesday morning,
18:43 I call an AFC general manager,
18:46 and I said, "I just would like to get some direction."
18:49 This is what I was told,
18:50 that AP in the building, Champ Kelly in the building,
18:56 both minorities, both currently have the jobs,
19:00 and if the Raiders wanted to hire them,
19:02 they don't have to go through all the rigmarole.
19:04 And I don't mean rigmarole like the process is bad,
19:08 I just mean all of the details.
19:10 And they go, "Yeah, that's what I believe too,
19:15 but let me check."
19:16 And they came back and said to me,
19:18 this was Tuesday morning, this is now an AFC official,
19:21 "Yes, they could.
19:25 They may have to restructure the contracts
19:29 that says they would be the successor."
19:31 They go, "I'm not sure about even having
19:34 to redo the contracts."
19:35 That was their opinion.
19:36 They said, "But yes, there is a way
19:38 that they can hire them without doing it."
19:39 So that's two general managers.
19:41 Now, one of my friends is reporting that's not accurate.
19:45 In fact, they even tried to tell me you should,
19:48 well, it doesn't matter, talk to a league source,
19:50 not talk to, well, it doesn't matter.
19:52 I'm very comfortable, I talked to an AFC
19:54 and an NFC general manager, guys who are in this chair,
19:58 and in fairness to both of them, by the way,
20:00 in fairness to both of them,
20:04 they both have very stable franchises.
20:09 So it's not like they'd had to make a ton of hires,
20:12 but I'm just saying to you, that is what I'm hearing.
20:17 So these are men that I know personally,
20:20 they're men I trust, they're men who don't have an agenda
20:22 to give me bad information.
20:25 They're human, could they be wrong?
20:26 I guess, but I'm sticking with them.
20:29 At the end of the day, people reporting something different
20:33 aren't bad people, I don't disrespect them.
20:36 I'm just going to the general managers,
20:39 the guys that I have personal relationships with,
20:41 the guys that I do some hunting and fishing with,
20:44 guys that my family spends time with their families,
20:47 and I know them on a personal basis
20:49 away from what I do for a job.
20:52 So that is what I believe,
20:55 there's the information of why I believe it, that they could.
21:00 Now I want to talk about the list
21:02 of the hirings and firings again,
21:05 because I think there are some guys
21:08 who've moved off my original list.
21:09 Now I want to make this clear, okay?
21:12 I believe that when you are a franchise,
21:19 as iconic as the Las Vegas Raiders,
21:23 there are some other franchises
21:26 that are a little bit bigger as far as scope and following,
21:30 but I believe they are the biggest franchise
21:34 in any professional sports history.
21:37 Because even though there are some other teams,
21:42 the Cowboys being one, they just have a bigger family,
21:45 the reality is the reality,
21:47 Cowboys have a bigger footprint.
21:49 But there is no Jerry Jones,
21:53 had there not been an Al Davis.
21:55 Al Davis supported him,
21:57 Al Davis is the one that broke so many barriers,
22:01 stood up to the NFL,
22:02 and when Jerry came along and wanted to be a maverick
22:06 like Al Davis, Al supported him.
22:11 So you can give Jimmy all the credit in the world
22:15 for what he's done with the Cowboys,
22:16 and he deserves a lot,
22:17 but there is no Jerry Jones without an Al Davis.
22:21 That's just facts, the way kids would say it today, facts,
22:25 or as Zeke would say, keeping it 100,
22:29 but that's the reality.
22:31 Now, I want AP to go out and win this job.
22:35 I was asked yesterday on a national radio show,
22:37 do you think AP's done enough right now
22:40 that if you were Mark Davis, you'd hire him?
22:42 No.
22:44 I think he's done a lot right.
22:46 He's done a lot right.
22:49 And I just wouldn't, 'cause you don't have to,
22:54 but I'm rooting for AP.
22:58 Now, I have shared this with you before.
23:01 My philosophy is when you are a franchise
23:03 like the Las Vegas Raiders,
23:04 this is not where a coach comes to learn how to win.
23:08 And I wanna explain something here.
23:12 John Madden, greatest ever.
23:15 When you look at his winning percentage, great winner.
23:21 But he had a strong general manager,
23:23 and it was a different game at that time,
23:27 different franchise at that time.
23:29 I mean, AP talked the other day about learning to adjust
23:34 to all the demands on your time
23:37 and all the things that go into his job.
23:40 And so I think you want a guy to go somewhere else
23:43 to learn how to be a head coach.
23:44 That way, when he comes to the Raiders, let's go.
23:48 Let's go.
23:50 So that's my personal opinion.
23:54 I stand by that opinion.
23:58 That's why when AP got the job,
23:59 I said to everybody, this is great.
24:01 It's a 10-week job interview.
24:03 But now he gets to learn the nuances.
24:05 I laugh at people on Twitter
24:07 when he makes a decision and maybe it's a mistake.
24:12 He sucks, get rid of him.
24:13 Okay, you never make a mistake at your job.
24:16 And oh, by the way, he's learning on national TV
24:20 with 25 million people watching.
24:23 Give me a break.
24:24 There's gonna be a learning curve for everyone.
24:28 I don't care who you bring in.
24:31 You're going to have mistakes by rookie coaches.
24:35 That's why I'm not a fan of rookie coaches.
24:39 And here's another reason why,
24:41 'cause they don't get the time to learn how to coach.
24:45 You get brought in.
24:48 I mean, guys now are getting fired
24:53 a year or two into their contract.
24:54 So you're not gonna get the time.
24:59 But that's my philosophy.
25:02 Now, the next guy that comes out
25:04 and does it the first time and wins,
25:05 everyone's gonna say, "Oh, Hondo's an idiot."
25:07 Okay, I'm looking at percentages.
25:08 Remember, I'm not a fan.
25:10 So I'm looking at it percentage-wise
25:13 in the higher level of failure,
25:16 higher level of failure, in my opinion,
25:20 when it comes to guys who are rookie coaches.
25:22 That's number one.
25:24 Okay, so I want you to know,
25:25 when I start going over this list of names,
25:27 the first name that I want to talk to you about is AP.
25:32 I'm gonna tell you something.
25:34 If things continue the way they are,
25:37 and Mark Davis doesn't hire him,
25:42 he's gonna have a mutiny,
25:44 if they continue the way they are.
25:49 Now, I keep hearing all this,
25:52 AP is a player's coach, we need a disciplinarian.
25:55 Did you not just see him throw Teamer and Peters off?
26:01 Did you not see him bench Peters?
26:03 He is the rare coach that is a player's coach
26:06 and a disciplinarian.
26:08 They know, they love AP, they ain't playing,
26:11 or he ain't playing.
26:13 My father was a very gifted father, he was fantastic.
26:18 I literally don't have one bad memory of my father.
26:22 In fact, the only bad memory I have
26:27 when I got punished for something I didn't do
26:31 when he later learned that I didn't do it,
26:35 he literally, six foot five, 250 pound man,
26:38 he literally fell on his knees
26:41 in the middle of a grocery store
26:43 and he hung up on me and begged me to forgive him.
26:48 But my dad, he was kid's dad, like a player's coach,
26:53 but he wasn't playing, he was a disciplinarian.
26:59 You knew you can love him and enjoy him,
27:01 but you don't cross him when he makes a decision,
27:04 the decision's made.
27:05 I like that kind of coach, that's my favorite kind.
27:10 The Tom Coughlin coaches of the past,
27:14 Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick's, I think they win,
27:19 but only in a certain type of window
27:24 and it's not a window that the Raiders are.
27:28 To me, you've gotta be able to command and lead men,
27:30 but they've gotta be able to follow you
27:32 and they've gotta be able to revere you.
27:34 Now, that's my first choice on these,
27:37 we're gonna go over 10 names real quick.
27:39 Next is John Gruden.
27:42 I'm gonna tell you, there are a lot of people
27:47 who feel that Mark Davis, more than Brady and Jim Gray,
27:53 person he trusts the most is John Gruden
27:57 and would love to bring him back.
27:59 And I am hearing from multiple people around the league
28:05 that if John were willing to drop his lawsuit,
28:12 that they believe the NFL would give a passive nod
28:16 to go back and rehire him.
28:17 It's interesting.
28:21 A lot of people, in fact, I talked with several
28:24 general managers about this list and everything for today.
28:28 And the article that I'm writing that we'll publish
28:31 later today or depending on when you're seeing this,
28:32 did publish today and this is Wednesday of the bye week.
28:37 But I'm gonna tell you, everyone keeps talking about Gruden.
28:44 Now, I wrote an article when John, this is quite a while ago
28:51 but you can go look at it, John Gruden in the NFL.
28:54 But in fact, if you look at the community page on our YouTube
28:58 or on my Twitter @HondoCarpenter,
29:01 @H-O-N-D-O-C-A-R-P-E-N-T-E-R,
29:04 I will have it up there again for you to watch today
29:08 or to read today.
29:09 But a lot of people believe that John Gruden's lawsuit
29:12 is gonna take Roger Goodell out
29:14 and it's gonna embarrass a lot of people.
29:18 When I wrote it at the time, it was talked about nationally.
29:21 You may have seen me on Pat McAfee
29:22 or other shows talking about it.
29:27 And it got laughed at,
29:31 but now the Nevada courts continue to support it
29:36 and now it's coming up on potential discovery.
29:39 And if you know anything about the legal system
29:43 and discovery, John's gonna be able to ask
29:45 any question he wants.
29:47 Doesn't even have to be about him.
29:50 He can say, "I wanna talk to this owner.
29:53 "I wanna talk to that owner.
29:53 "I'd like to talk to Roger Goodell.
29:55 "I'd like to talk to whomever."
29:57 And John Gruden knows where everybody is buried in the NFL.
30:02 Can you picture him bringing in a NFL owner,
30:09 one of the executives or whomever,
30:11 saying, "Have you ever cheated on your wife?
30:19 "Have you ever used a racial slur?"
30:23 And he's asking questions that he knows the answer to.
30:30 So if you perjure yourself, bingo.
30:35 Plus all the information that he's gonna be able to ask,
30:39 like, "I want all the emails."
30:41 He can ask for all the emails
30:46 in the Dan Snyder situation with the Washington commanders.
30:51 There's gonna be a lot.
30:54 I wrote at the time and was at the front end of the curve
30:58 that I thought this Gruden thing,
31:00 if it goes to fruition and is able to grow to fruition,
31:03 it's gonna cost Roger Goodell's job.
31:04 I still believe that.
31:05 So does he give a passive to Mark Davis?
31:11 A lot of people think so.
31:14 And I am told that in court,
31:17 that Gruden's lawyer even said to the judge,
31:21 "Tell him to let John back in the league
31:23 "and he'll drop his suit."
31:25 I did not hear that when I was told it.
31:28 I believe it was by Adam Hill of the Review Journal
31:32 who told me that.
31:33 I wanna make sure I give him credit
31:34 or it could have been Willie Ramirez with the AP.
31:36 But one of them told me that.
31:38 And they deserve credit, again, for that.
31:44 So I think John Gruden is a very big chance
31:48 of getting this job.
31:52 Here's another one, Rich Visagia.
31:56 Loyalty means a lot.
31:57 Do I think Mark will give it to him?
32:01 I don't know who's gonna be in Mark's ears.
32:06 So if Mark's going on gut and him alone,
32:12 I think Rich has a very good chance.
32:14 Not as good as AP, not as good as Gruden,
32:16 but a very good chance.
32:17 If he goes with his gut, I think Visagia's right there.
32:24 If he goes with other people,
32:26 I don't think Rich has a good chance.
32:28 Now I wanna talk to you about Ben Johnson,
32:30 the offensive coordinator at the Lions.
32:35 This is a guy with no experience.
32:38 So if you bring him in, Raider Nation,
32:41 do you let the toxicity go while he makes rookie mistakes?
32:46 'Cause he's going to.
32:48 Again, I don't think this is a job
32:53 where you come in to try to learn how to coach,
32:54 but if you bring him in, I'm not gonna wish him ill will.
32:58 But I better not see, and I will.
33:02 Tweets, "Oh, he sucks.
33:03 "Get rid of him."
33:04 The first time he throws a bad challenge flag
33:06 or calls a timeout, he shouldn't or makes a mistake.
33:08 It's part of the rookie process.
33:11 Is there gonna be players who wanna stick around
33:15 for a rookie coach?
33:19 Okay, then you bring another guy, Frank Smith.
33:22 He worked for Gruden here with the Raiders
33:25 as a tight end coach.
33:26 He's now the offensive coordinator with Miami.
33:29 And I think he's done a lot with Miami,
33:37 but is there any wondering?
33:40 It's like Mick Lombardi.
33:41 Everyone knew Josh McDaniels was the offensive coordinator.
33:45 It wasn't Mick Lombardi.
33:45 He had the title, had some jobs,
33:48 but we all knew it was Josh McDaniels.
33:51 Same way when you start looking at Mike McDaniels
33:58 and Frank Smith.
33:59 Now, here is a guy that I believe was originally on my list
34:02 that's no longer on the list.
34:04 It's Lincoln Riley at USC.
34:07 I believe Lincoln would love to jump
34:09 to the National Football League.
34:10 I do think he would probably leave it there.
34:15 I think he would like to make the jump to the NFL,
34:18 but he did poorly.
34:34 I mean, his lack of discipline multiple times,
34:39 just he didn't act like a franchise leader.
34:43 And who's gonna give a $10 billion franchise
34:46 to a guy that acts childish?
34:50 Now he's a kid, so I'm not mad at Caleb.
34:53 But where was Lincoln Riley to go tell him,
34:56 "No, get out there, face the media.
34:59 No, get out there, do this.
35:01 Hey, put your shoes on.
35:02 Let's go do this."
35:05 Lincoln Riley, so trying to be Caleb's friend,
35:08 this is what I'm hearing from other people, that it hurt.
35:12 And a lot of people in the NFL were really turned off
35:16 by Lincoln Riley this year.
35:18 So everybody I talked to,
35:21 and remember I talked to multiple people about this list,
35:23 several of them were down on Riley anyways,
35:29 but even those that were for him
35:31 as a potential for this job, nope.
35:34 But I do have a new name.
35:36 And that name that I've heard from several people
35:39 is David Shaw, the former Stanford coach.
35:42 He would be a coach who would assemble a terrific staff.
35:47 He's already a very competent leader.
35:51 He's got head coach experience.
35:52 He's a CEO.
35:53 That's an interesting name I'm hearing about.
35:56 And we'll talk more about all of these.
36:00 But I haven't been doing a lot about it.
36:03 Because I generally think AP is moving
36:08 towards getting the job, but I'm just giving you some names.
36:14 Next, Eric Biennemi,
36:18 there's gonna be wholesale changes in Washington.
36:21 And I think he's gonna be out.
36:23 I don't think this time around is his chance.
36:26 I think a lot of people are still talking about it,
36:29 but a lot think his chances are very small right now
36:32 'cause of his situation.
36:34 And again, he was in Kansas City.
36:38 We're like Mick Lombardi with Josh McDaniels
36:43 or Frank Smith with Mike McDaniels.
36:45 People assume that Andy Reid was all of the OC.
36:51 And he certainly had a lot,
36:52 but I think Biennemi had a much bigger role
36:55 than Lombardi and Smith based on what I know
36:58 from people who played for him and the team
37:01 and inside the organization.
37:04 But I think Biennemi is way down the list.
37:07 Next, Eviro Everill.
37:12 He is the defensive coordinator for Carolina.
37:15 Now, I had one NFL executive flat tell me,
37:18 and you remember this from my previous article,
37:21 if he gets an interview with Mark, he's gonna get the job.
37:24 That's pretty fascinating.
37:28 I heard Carolina desperately wants to keep him
37:32 and that the firing was not because of him.
37:35 Obviously, the defense has been good in Carolina this year.
37:38 It was because of the offense.
37:43 I'm also hearing Carolina would like to go get Ben Johnson
37:47 of the Lions, but pay Eviro like a head coach.
37:56 And saying to a Ben Johnson, you handle the offense,
37:59 let this guy handle the defense.
38:02 Excuse me, I don't like that idea.
38:06 How do you tell your head coach you're not the head coach?
38:11 What head coach would take that job?
38:13 Years ago, I was a beat writer covering the, excuse me.
38:21 I was a beat reporter.
38:25 (clears throat)
38:27 It was a beat reporter for the, covering the Detroit Lions.
38:34 And they bring in Mike Martz with Rod Marinelli.
38:39 And I mean, and Mike Martz ran the offense.
38:45 Rod Marinelli didn't really have a say.
38:48 And it was a nightmare.
38:50 I just don't think that's a good idea.
38:52 So I think, but Eviro, Eviro,
38:54 but he'd still be a first year head coach.
38:56 Still be very impressive.
38:59 He's still gonna make those errors.
39:03 So if you're a team that doesn't think
39:05 we're gonna compete right away,
39:06 then that's a scenario where maybe you bring in
39:10 first year coach.
39:11 If Mark Davis is saying, listen,
39:12 it's not, we're gonna redo this,
39:17 which to me would be a stupid decision.
39:20 You've got one of the best special teams
39:22 in all the National Football League,
39:23 best kicker, best punter.
39:24 And your defense is really, really good.
39:28 There is no reason to tear down this team.
39:31 That's just stupidity.
39:33 But if Mark says, that's the way I wanna go,
39:36 then maybe you do go get a first year coach.
39:38 But if you're going to say, no, we expect to compete.
39:43 Let's go, let's go right now.
39:45 I think you go the rookie route.
39:49 Another one that I wanna talk to you about
39:51 is Matt Campbell, the coach at Iowa State.
39:53 Every NFL guy I talk to says if they were hiring,
40:00 they would be making it in.
40:01 The only two guys that made this list
40:04 by everyone I talked to,
40:06 Ejiro Ivaro and Matt Campbell at Iowa State.
40:11 And then Jim Harbaugh's in there.
40:14 Now, we originally, I have shared this with you,
40:18 I've been hearing that the NFL,
40:20 if the NCAA puts a punishment on him,
40:23 would do what they did to Jim Trestle.
40:27 So do you wanna coach that's not gonna be coaching
40:30 four, eight, 10, 12 a year?
40:32 We don't know.
40:33 That's a big one.
40:36 But the NCAA, which I think is such a joke organization,
40:40 they are as worthless as Congress.
40:43 I don't care if you're Republican or Democrat.
40:45 Dear God, can we all agree on that?
40:48 Um, they move notoriously slow.
40:53 So if they decide, okay, here's Harbaugh,
40:56 proven winner in the NFL, proven winner in college.
40:58 Yep, he rubs people the wrong way.
41:00 Yep, he's probably not gonna be here a long time
41:03 because he does rub people the wrong way.
41:05 And we're gonna have one of his former players
41:10 and a college and NFL superstar
41:13 on this podcast later this week.
41:14 We got a lot of great guests coming, by the way.
41:18 He rubs people the wrong way.
41:20 But if they want him and go after him,
41:23 get him right after the season,
41:25 before the NCAA has a chance to do that punishment,
41:28 then there's really nothing the NFL can do.
41:31 So there you go.
41:32 There's a deep dive.
41:34 Who's gonna be in Mark's ear?
41:36 Is it him or other people?
41:39 If it is other people, who?
41:40 We've again reiterated to you about the hiring
41:43 of a general manager and the hiring of a coach.
41:47 An AFC and NFC general manager both believe
41:51 the Raiders could hire Champ, NAP, or both
41:54 without having to go through all of the rules.
41:57 And then we went over the top 10 candidates.
41:59 Again, removing Lincoln Riley, adding David Shaw.
42:03 So there you go, everybody.
42:05 Hope this is a great midweek, biweek update for you.
42:08 I sure appreciate all of you.
42:10 I am really grateful for you.
42:11 Thank you for our growth.
42:13 Now, got an article coming on Wednesday,
42:16 so depending on when you saw it, this may come up before,
42:19 maybe you're watching it after.
42:21 But my next deep dive article comes tomorrow, Thursday.
42:24 You don't wanna miss it.
42:27 You don't wanna miss it.
42:30 It's publishing at 1230 Eastern Time.
42:34 It's the next deep dive Raider article that I assure you
42:38 gonna answer a lot of questions for you.
42:43 And it's gonna be an interesting deep dive.
42:47 Please don't miss it.
42:49 So from all of us at Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation,
42:52 Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
42:54 part of the Fans First Sports Network.
42:55 And by the way, I wanna let you know,
42:59 if you follow us on Apple for our iPads,
43:03 which for our podcasts, which are audio only,
43:06 or on Spotify, almost every day,
43:10 I do an exclusive five or 10 minute podcast
43:13 that's audio only.
43:15 It's called "Riding with Hondo."
43:17 If you haven't checked it out, you may want to.
43:19 Again, you can go anywhere you get your podcasts,
43:21 but go to Apple, look for Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast,
43:25 or go to Spotify.
43:27 You can go to my Twitter, and on my Twitter,
43:30 pin at the top, there's a link to it.
43:32 But you can go check that out too.
43:33 That's information that I don't put in these podcasts,
43:36 but it's really good.
43:37 It's 100% free.
43:38 It's just more inside information for you.
43:40 I appreciate all of you.
43:42 God bless you.
43:42 Have a wonderful day, and stay out of trouble, will ya?
43:45 We'll see you guys back here tomorrow.
43:46 Oh, and by the way, I haven't said this yet.
43:48 Merry Christmas to you.
43:52 Bye, everybody.
43:54 Have a good one.