According to Jory Epstein and Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, one NFL coach believes the Las Vegas Raiders are lacking in talent.
Epstein and Robinson, who polled several coaches, said the Raiders’ talent could prevent someone from being considered for the head coaching job. “You have no defenders. You don’t really pick one where you want to be,” said one coach. “There’s not a lot of talent on the team, especially offensive players Davante (Adams) and Josh Jacobs. I don’t know if I really want to get those guys back. Defensively, we have Maxx (Crosby). But after that, there was no money left.”
The Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels along with head coach David Ziegler in October after starting the season 3-5, but Las Vegas bounced back late in the season to finish 8-9. Now the Raiders are looking for their third coach in four years. The Raiders had the worst offensive numbers in the NFL this season, ranking 27th in total offensive yards per game and 23rd in points per game. The Raiders clearly need offensive power, but where that power will come from is unclear at this point.
This season, Las Vegas added rookie Aidan O’Connell at quarterback, who has thrown for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions since replacing Jimmy Garoppolo. Further development from the 25-year-old should lead to growth in the second year as well. However, the lack of talent could prevent the Raiders from landing a big-name coach like Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh.
Another coach interviewed said that while the lack of talent was a negative for potential candidates, there were some positives towards the end of the season. “There’s not a lot of talent in the back end of the franchise that can step up,” one coach said. “But once it starts growing, there are some advantages for you.”
