Raiders coaching search: NFL dominoes starting to fall

As the Las Vegas Raiders work to finalize their general manager opening, they are seeing head coaching jobs starting to be filled.

On Thursday morning, the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears became the first two teams to hire head coaches this cycle. There are seven openings currently remaining.

In addition to Nathanial Hackett and Matt Eberflus, hot candidate Dan Quinn is also off the market. He is staying in Dallas as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator.

How exactly do these early moves affect the Raiders and their coaching search? They may not because none of the three were directly connected to the Raiders. However, it is an indication that the coaching market is heating up. Several other teams are in the process of conducting second interviews with candidates, so the hot names are starting to fly off the shelves.

So far, the Raiders have interviewed interim coach Rich Bisaccia and New England inside linebacker coach Jerod Mayo for the coaching job. Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is interviewing in Las Vegas on Thursday. San Francisco defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans is expected to interview early next week (Ryans is also considered a top candidate in Minnesota).

Don’t be surprised if more interviews happen after the Raiders wrap up their general manager search. There are eight current candidates and that could search wrap up soon. Of course, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels still hover as potential candidates as well.

There is no doubt. the hiring push is in full swing in the entire NFL. Stay tuned.