Raiders Pushed to Hire ‘Tour De Force’ Head Coach: ‘Vegas Needs a Big Name’

The Las Vegas Raiders are about to hire their fifth full-time head coach since Mark Davis took over ownership of the team in 2011. None of the coaches he has hired has made it through a fourth full season.

The Raiders need stability at head coach and there’s one name commonly linked to the job: Jim Harbaugh. The Michigan head coach has been eyeing the NFL for a few years now and Vincent Bonisgnore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal laid out why he might be a good fit.

“Davis has incredible respect for Harbaugh, a Raiders assistant from 2002-03,” Bonsignore wrote in a December 1 column. “Davis considers Harbaugh an undisputed winner. It’s difficult to imagine Harbaugh not having success at his next stop given his track record with Stanford, the 49ers and Michigan.

“He’s also the kind of tour de force personality that would embrace the tradition and spirit of the Raiders while fitting in with the bright lights of Las Vegas.”

Bonsignore also got a quote from a source that urged the Raiders to make the move.

“As one league source put it: ‘Vegas needs a big name and Harbaugh is it. Let him go coach, have some power, and look out. In a good way.’”

Is Jim Harbaugh Ready to Leave Michigan?

Jim Harbaugh has a good thing going at Michigan. He gets to coach his alma mater and has led the team to the college football playoff in back-to-back years and will likely do it again this year. However, he may have another suspension from the NCAA looming and could feel like he has unfinished business in the NFL.

As the San Francisco 49ers head coach, he went 44-19 and lost the Super Bowl in 2012. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is reporting that there’s a good chance Harbaugh finally returns to the NFL.

“Jim Harbaugh’s name has percolated in league circles, with many believing this might be the year he takes the plunge back in the NFL,” Fowler wrote in a November 29 column. “The sign-stealing suspension at Michigan looms large, and winning a national title with the Wolverines would make leaving the program almost poetic. He very well might want personnel power to accompany coaching duties, but he’d have a clear advantage in talking with teams that, per NFL rules, must wait until after the divisional round of the playoffs to interview candidates currently employed by NFL teams. Harbaugh isn’t beholden by those rules and is free to talk now.”

Will Las Vegas Raiders Hire Jim Harbaugh?

It’s only been a year since the Raiders last had a coaching search. Jim Harbaugh was heavily linked to the job at the time and it looked like a real possibility he would get it. However, the Raiders never even interviewed him prior to the team hiring Josh McDaniels.

Harbaugh got his coaching start with the Raiders back in 2002 as the quarterbacks coach so he has close ties to the franchise. He also met his wife Sarah Feuerborn Harbaugh in Las Vegas so the two have a connection to the city. Harbaugh on the Raiders makes a lot of sense but there could be other teams interested. Mark Davis might not be inclined to make this move as he didn’t show much interest last year. It’ll be interesting to see if his thought process has changed since he botched the McDaniels hire.