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Las Vegas Raiders News & Rumors

Raiders To Interview Dwayne Joseph For GM Opening

January 24th, 2022 at 4:38pm CST by Ben Levine

We can add another name to the list of Raiders GM candidates. According to Mike Jones of USA Today (on Twitter), the Raiders will interview director of pro personnel Dwayne Joseph for their general manager opening.

Joseph joined the Raiders back in 2019 as their director of pro scouting. Following his first two years on the job, Joseph was named as a top minority candidate for a GM job. However, the executive didn’t end up getting any interviews during last year’s cycle.

The 49-year-old has been in front offices since 1998. He’s had multiple stints with the Bears organization, including most recently as assistant director of pro personnel between 2013 and 2015. Joseph has also spent time with the Dolphins and Eagles.

Joseph is now the fifth candidate to emerge for the Raiders GM job, joining a list that already includes:

Updated 2022 NFL Draft Order

January 24th, 2022 at 8:55am CST by Adam La Rose

The Divisional Round has come to end, and after each game was decided on the final play, the season has come to a bitter end for another four teams. That brings the total number of squads locked into their first round draft position to 28. Interestingly, the Rams and 49ers are still standing after they each parted ways with top draft picks this past offseason. San Francisco’s first choice is currently slated to be 61st overall, while the Rams aren’t projected to be on the board until the 101st pick. For Los Angeles in particular, the decision is certainly paying off so far.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order is determined by the inverted 2021 standings, plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule. For playoff teams, the order is determined by their postseason outcome and regular season record.

Here is the updated order after this weekend’s results:

  1. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-14
  2. Detroit Lions: 3-13-1
  3. Houston Texans: 4-13
  4. New York Jets: 4-13
  5. New York Giants: 4-13
  6. Carolina Panthers: 5-12
  7. New York Giants(via Bears)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: 7-10
  9. Denver Broncos: 7-10
  10. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
  11. Washington Football Team: 7-10
  12. Minnesota Vikings: 8-9
  13. Cleveland Browns: 8-9
  14. Baltimore Ravens: 8-9
  15. Philadelphia Eagles (via Dolphins)
  16. Philadelphia Eagles (via Colts)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: 9-8
  18. New Orleans Saints: 9-8
  19. Philadelphia Eagles: 9-8
  20. Pittsburgh Steelers: 9-7-1
  21. New England Patriots: 10-7
  22. Las Vegas Raiders: 10-7
  23. Arizona Cardinals: 11-6
  24. Dallas Cowboys: 12-5
  25. Buffalo Bills: 11-6
  26. Tennessee Titans: 12-5
  27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 13-4
  28. Green Bay Packers: 13-4
  29. Cincinnati Bengals: 10-7*
  30. Miami Dolphins (via 49ers)
  31. Detroit Lions (via Rams)
  32. Kansas City Chiefs: 12-5*

* = Remaining playoff teams

Matt Rhule Eyeing Michigan Job

January 22nd, 2022 at 6:00pm CST by Ely Allen

With next season looking more and more like a make-or-break year for Matt Rhule, the Panthers’ head coach may be making anticipatory moves to stay employed. Jason La Canfora, of CBS Sports, reported that Rhule, and potentially other head coaches in the NFL, may set their sights on the University of Michigan opening, should current head coach Jim Harbaugh be drawn to Las Vegas. 

Harbaugh is currently negotiating with Michigan after he led the Wolverines to their first College Football Playoff appearance and their first outright Big Ten Championship since 2003. He had signed an extension at the start of the season to secure him in Ann Arbor through 2025, but, with mounting interest from the Raiders, the negotiations are giving Michigan a chance to convince him to stay. The Raiders are searching for a new general manager as well as head coach, following the departures of Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden. Harbaugh isn’t the only target in Vegas, though. He’ll have to compete with interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who, despite a season of turmoil, led the Raiders to a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. Jerod Mayo and DeMeco Ryans have also been mentioned as candidates.

Rhule’s interest in heading back down to the college ranks of coaching have not quite been a secret. Sources have informed La Canfora that Rhule was watching the situations at Penn State and LSU closely, in case a beneficial opportunity presented itself.

Rhule got his first head coaching opportunity at Temple in Philadelphia, where he had spent years as an assistant under Al Golden. He took his first Power 5 opportunity as the head coach at Baylor, following the scandal that led to Art Briles‘s dismissal. He took the Bears from 1-11 in his first season to 11-3 in his third season and rode that success straight to the NFL.

There are still many situations that need to play out. Harbaugh would have to leave Michigan. Rhule would have to decide to put his name in the ring for the vacancy at Michigan. Michigan would have to determine that Rhule is the best candidate for the position. None of this is guaranteed, but, if it all plays out, look for Carolina to be added to our 2022 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker.

Jim Caldwell Says He Didn’t Decline Vikings, Raiders Interviews

January 22nd, 2022 at 8:44am CST by Ben Levine

There were rumblings this week that former NFL head coach Jim Caldwell declined interviews with the Vikings and Raiders regarding their head coaching vacancies. However, Caldwell took to Twitter this morning to deny those rumors.

“I would like to correct an erroneous report that I turned down opportunities to interview for the head coaching job with Minnesota and Las Vegas,” Caldwell said in a statement. “Those reports are not true.

“I have profound respect for both organizations and for the Wilf and Davis families and I did not decline any opportunity to interview with them.”

Caldwell, 66, served as the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach in 2019 before health issues forced him to step aside. Fortunately, he’s said to be back to full health now, and it sounds like he’s ready for his next job.

Between his time with the Colts and Lions, Caldwell owns a career 62-50 record as a head coach with four playoff berths and one Super Bowl appearance. Caldwell’s last stop in Detroit saw him never finish with fewer than seven wins, but he was still canned following back-to-back 9-7 seasons.

This offseason, Caldwell has already interviewed for jobs with the Bears and the Jaguars.

Raiders Expected To Interview 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans

January 22nd, 2022 at 8:26am CST by Ben Levine

While DeMeco Ryans is surely focused on his showdown with the Packers tonight, the 49ers defensive coordinator has garnered another interview. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the Raiders are expected to interview Ryans for their head coaching vacancy.

The former NFL linebacker has been on the 49ers coaching staff since 2017, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator last offseason after Robert Saleh left for New York. During his first season in the role, the 49ers defense ranked third in yards allowed and ninth in points allowed.

We previously learned that Ryans was on the long list of candidates for the Vikings HC job. Indeed, Schefter notes that the defensive coordinator is set to meet with Minnesota on Sunday.

This is the fourth name connected to the job in Las Vegas, with Ryans joining a group that includes:

NFL Moves To Dismiss Jon Gruden’s Lawsuit

January 20th, 2022 at 11:45am CST by Adam La Rose

The case of former Raiders HC Jon Gruden‘s lawsuit against the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell has taken another turn. The league has filed for the suit to be dismissed, according to a report from Daniel Kaplan of the Athletic. 

[Related: Jon Gruden Sues NFL, Roger Goodell]

Kaplan notes that the league has actually moved for the case to be taken to arbitration in Nevada state court first, and asked for it to be dismissed pending its decision on arbitration. The league’s written response to Gruden’s suit states that “Gruden sent a variety of similarly abhorrent emails to a half dozen recipients over a seven-year period” besides those sent to former WFT president Bruce Allen. Like those emails, which led to Gruden’s resignation in October, these other ones “denounced `the emergence of women as referees,’ and frequently used homophobic and sexist slurs to refer to Commissioner Goodell, then-Vice President Joseph Biden, a gay professional football player drafted in 2014, and others”.

The response also comments on claims alleging the league leaked the damning emails as a way to get revenge against Gruden due to his remarks against the commissioner. As reported by Mark Maske and Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post, the league responded that Gruden “primarily assumed the risk that his emails could be circulated beyond the original recipient group, and possessed and distributed by the WFT, NFL and others”. It continues, “to be sure, the NFL and the commissioner did not leak Gruden’s emails”.

The motion details how Goodell had grounds to fire Gruden outright, given the fact that the nature of his emails were detrimental to the league. For that reason, it states, no one at the league office had a motivation to “publicly sabotage Gruden’s career”, as the original lawsuit claims. Instead, it argues, the suit “should be dismissed in its entirety”.

No further developments (such as if the case will proceed to court) will be able to take place until the aforementioned arbitration decision is made.

Jim Harbaugh Would Reportedly Take Vegas HC Job If Offered

January 20th, 2022 at 8:57am CST by Adam La Rose

Rumors have been constantly swirling around Jim Harbaugh and the Raiders’ head coaching position. While most of the reporting and speculation to date has been centered on owner Mark Davis working to convince Harbaugh to return to the NFL, not much has been said with respect to the latter’s interest in the position. 

According to a report from Bruce Feldman of the Athletic, the presumption that the current Michigan HC is the favorite to take over in Las Vegas is certainly warranted from both perspectives. As he writes, there are “multiple sources” inside the school’s program who “think [that] if Harbaugh is offered the Raiders’ head coaching job, he’d take it”.

The 58-year-old’s ties to the franchise date back to 2002, the start of his NFL coaching career. It was then, during his tenure as the team’s QB coach, that a longstanding friendship with Davis began. Feldman also notes that Harbaugh “has family ties to Las Vegas, which is where he met his wife”. Those were some of the factors that made him an early favorite for the HC position, before the Raiders even began conducting interviews.

Recent developments have also pointed towards Harbaugh ultimately being hired. GM Mike Mayock was let go on Monday; one of the effects of that decision is, according to many, an increased likelihood that interim HC Rick Bisaccia won’t return despite his ability to settle down a turbulent season and help guide the team to the playoffs. It has been reported for weeks, of course, that Davis has his sights set on Harbaugh, and has all along. A departure from Bisaccia would only open the door further to Harbaugh being brought in.

Two things are important to keep in mind with this situation. Firstly, Bisaccia interviewed for the full-time HC gig on Wednesday, so he does still have a chance to be retained. Secondly, as Feldman warns, “Harbaugh can be hard to read”. Taking that point into consideration, along with the fact that the Wolverines just had their best season of Harbaugh’s tenure (defeating Ohio State en route to a CFP semifinal appearance), leaves open the possibility that Michigan could try to keep him in place with a new contract.

Ultimately, though, this latest news seems to be another signal that a second head coaching role is in the cards for the former Super Bowl runner-up.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/19/22

January 19th, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of Wednesday’s reserve/futures deals here:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

  • CB Lamar Jackson

Cleveland Browns

  • RB John Kelly Jr.

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Raiders To Interview Champ Kelly

January 19th, 2022 at 8:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders are set to interview Champ Kelly for their GM vacancy on Thursday (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Bears’ assistant director of player personnel joins Bengals scout Trey Brown, Colts vice president of player personnel Ed Dodds, and Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler on Las Vegas’ interview list.

[RELATED: Raiders Request GM Interview With Bengals’ Trey Brown]

Kelly began his career with the Broncos and has been with the Bears since 2015, the start of Ryan Pace‘s tenure as GM. The Bears have since parted ways with Pace, but they still held Kelly in high regard, interviewing him for their own vacancy last week. The Broncos and Panthers also looked at Kelly last year, before before hiring George Paton and Scott Fitterer, respectively. And, in 2019, the Jets met with Kelly before going with Joe Douglas.

Ziegler, meanwhile, is set to interview on Friday. His CV includes nine years with the Pats plus time with the Broncos.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/18/22

January 18th, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s reserve/futures deals:

Baltimore Ravens

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

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