Raiders coaching hire: Bigger search?
Would you rather the Raiders had a bigger coaching search>
One of the things that stood out about the Las Vegas Raiders decision to make 2023 interim head coach Antonio Pierce the full-time coach for 2024 was how narrow the hiring process was.
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The only other candidates to be interviewed for the job were Leslie Frazier and Kris Richard. Every team hiring a head coach must interview two diversity candidates in person to satisfy the Rooney Rule. Both Frazier and Richard were out of the league in 2023.
So, the search was far from complete.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just means the Raiders were focused on hiring Pierce.
Are you happy with that approach or would you like to see Las Vegas owner Mark Davis conduct a more normal search where several candidates were brought in before making the decision?
That’s how I would lean, but it doesn’t mean I’m right.
READ MORE:
Why the Raiders Need to Resign C Andre James
Yet again, the Las Vegas Raiders finished another NFL season producing a top-ten offensive line.
Raiders general manager Tom Telesco and head coach Antonio Pierce have many decisions to make around many free agents, including starting center Andre James.
There is no doubt that James finished the 2023-24 NFL regular season as a career-best. He finished the 2023-24 NFL regular season playing 963 snaps at the center position, only allowing three penalties and only allowing four sacks. His total snaps played listed him as the 20th best at his position. His penalties tied him for the 27th-best position, and his sacks tied him for the eighth-best.
James finished the 2023-24 NFL regular season with a Pro Football Focus grade of 74.6. He also finished with a pass-blocking grade of 71.2 and a run-blocking grade of 75.0.
At the end of the 2022-23 NFL regular season, James finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 62.8. He also finished with a pass-blocking grade of 64.5 and a run-blocking grade of 59.3.
Las Vegas Raiders and why the team should resign center Andre James this offseason
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In a recent Pro Football Focus article, the website listed one free agent each NFL team can’t afford to lose this NFL offseason and James was listed as the free agent the Raiders can’t afford to lose.
Pro Football Focus highlights and acknowledges James’s career best as a pass protector and run blocker during the 2023-24 NFL regular season. He finished with a PFF grade of 70.0 in both categories, with skillful blocks on zone and gap rushes.
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