The Oakland Raiders are set to earn another in a long line of top 10 picks in the upcoming draft - being the frontrunners for the #1 overall pick. They lack playmakers and they lack leadership. Interim head coach Tony Sparano is not a legitimate choice to lead the team beyond this season. He's a decent offensive line coach, but this is the same man who's amazing innovation brought an offensive scheme from the 1920's to the 21st century. General Manager Reggie McKenzie knows he needs a head coach who can inspire his players. It would be great if that guy could also help mold Derek Carr, but a solid leader is what they need the most.
Most reports from people with actual connections to the NFL signal that Jim Harbaugh will head to Oakland when he finally wears out his welcome in San Francisco. But why would McKenzie hire a guy who is going to butt heads with him at every turn? Harbaugh does have a track record of turning around teams - see his work at Stanford and most recently with the 49ers. He would also be a great mentor for Derek Carr. However, I think Harbaugh ends up going home to Michigan or, if he prefers to stay in the NFL, ends up taking over for Ryan in New York. I think he'd prefer New York since he'd get to pick his own QB of the future instead of being saddled with Carr.
So Harbaugh would go to New York to battle Bill Belichick twice a year and honestly who doesn't want to see those two game plan against each other!? Ryan, on the other hand, will almost assuredly be let go by the Jets at the end of the season so their GM, John Idzik, can select his own head coach. After missing out on Harbaugh, Ryan makes a lot of sense to lead the Silver and Black.
While he has shown that he cannot develop a young QB, Ryan brings a lot of credentials that Oakland has been missing since Jon Gruden got shipped to Tampa Bay. With his offensive deficiencies Ryan would need to hire an offensive coordinator who can develop Carr, and no, Marty Morhinweg is not the answer. How about Jay Gruden if/when Daniel Snyder fires him for being mean to his beloved RGIII? He helped Andy Dalton look good. Jay hasn't looked at good in our nation's capitol, but Washington is a worse mess than the Jets right now.
The Raiders need help on defense too. If Ryan can convince McKenzie and Mark Davis that he'll bring in a guy to develop Carr then he should get the job. Ryan is a masterful defensive mind and he's a hell of a motivator. Just look at all the current Jets players who are standing up for him to the press. They love playing for him and they play hard for him too. Passion to play the game of football left Oakland 12 years ago and Ryan will bring plenty of passion with him. If he fails, he'll end up becoming a defensive coordinator somewhere - at least for awhile. But why not go big? See if Ryan can bring back some of that excellence Oakland claims to be committed to.
