Raiders appear close to naming head coach, general manager
By Vincent Bonsignore Las Vegas Review-Journal
Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly speaks during a news conference following the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @HeidiFang
Raiders Interim Coach Antonio Pierce, right, and General Manager Champ Kelly celebrate after their team beat the Denver Broncos 27-14 during an NFL football game at Allegiant Stadium, on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal @bizutesfaye
Champ Kelly, Raiders interim general manager, left, speaks during the press conference as Antonio Pierce, interim head coach, looks on at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023, in Henderson. The Raiders have named Pierce as interim head coach and Kelly as interim general manager after the franchise fired Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal @bizutesfaye
Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly attends a news conference following the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @HeidiFang
Champ Kelly, Raiders interim general manager, left, speaks during the press conference as Antonio Pierce, interim head coach, looks on at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023, in Henderson. The Raiders have named Pierce as interim head coach and Kelly as interim general manager after the franchise fired Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Champ Kelly, Raiders interim general manager, left, speaks during the press conference as Antonio Pierce, interim head coach, looks on at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023, in Henderson. The Raiders have named Pierce as interim head coach and Kelly as interim general manager after the franchise fired Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Champ Kelly, Raiders interim general manager, leaves the podium after addressing the media at the Intermountain Health Performance Center, on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023, in Henderson. The Raiders have named Pierce as interim head coach and Kelly as interim general manager after the franchise fired Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal @bizutesfaye
Champ Kelly, left, Raiders interim general manager, speaks during the press conference as Antonio Pierce, interim head coach, looks on at Intermountain Health Performance Center, on Wednesday, Nov 1, 2023, in Henderson The Raiders have named Pierce as interim head coach and Kelly as interim general manager after the franchise fired Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye Las Vegas Review-Journal @bizutesfaye
A decision on the Raiders’ next general manager and head coach could come within the next 48 hours, NFL sources indicated Tuesday.
Champ Kelly, who served as the club’s interim general manager for the final eight games this season, is considered the favorite for the full-time position, according to sources. Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds also is being considered for the job.
Also, the Raiders have satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule guidelines after conducting in-person interviews and now can hire their next head coach. Antonio Pierce, the interim coach for the final nine games, is the front-runner to get the job, according to sources.
The Raiders interviewed former Vikings head coach and former Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and former Seahawks and Cowboys assistant coach Kris Richard this week.
Along with Kelly and Dodds, the Raiders interviewed former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco, Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray, Broncos executive director of football operations/special adviser to the general manager Kelly Kleine Van Calligan and Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown.
On the coaching front, the Raiders interviewed Pierce on Monday and concluded interviews with Frazier and Richard on Tuesday. Those are the only candidates they have interviewed, and there is no indication they have reached out to teams to seek permission to talk with current NFL coaches. That’s a clear sign they have zeroed in on Pierce as their permanent coach.
Raiders owner Mark Davis has also raised the possibility of hiring a president of football operations that would supervise a general manager. That could still come to fruition, though a more likely scenario might be the team hiring one of its general manager candidates as an assistant.
That’s how Kelly landed with the Raiders in 2022. The team hired Dave Ziegler as general manager after interviewing Kelly, then hired Kelly as his assistant.
