If not for the Baltimore Ravens, the Las Vegas Raiders may have already hired their next head coach.
According to The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec, the Ravens moved quickly to hire their new head coach, former Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, because the Raiders were making a push to hire him.
"Yet, waiting to interview more candidates — coaches participating in Sunday’s conference championship games aren’t permitted to meet with teams until next week — suddenly felt perilous," Zrebiec wrote. "The Las Vegas Raiders were making a push for Minter, and the Ravens risked losing a guy who had aced the interview process and checked just about every box in their head-coaching search."
If this is to be believed, it shows Minter was the guy the Raiders wanted but they simply fell short.
As far as where the Raiders go from here is concerned, rumors have connected Las Vegas to Denver Broncos passing-game coordinator Davis Webb and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak the most.
With the Broncos eliminated from the postseason, the Raiders can hire Webb this week if they so choose. We'll get a good idea just how realistic Webb's chances are if the Raiders bring him in for another interview this week.
With Kubiak, the Raiders can bring him in for another interview in the week leading up to the Super Bowl but can't officially hire him yet.
The Raiders have ex-Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady still floating around out there. Brady and Evero have interviewed twice.
If Kubiak is Las Vegas' guy, we may not have a resolution to this situation until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 8.
However, if it's one of the other candidates we mentioned, a hire could come down as soon as this week.
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