Raiders are thinking outside the box in their latest coaching search

The Las Vegas Raiders’ decision to interview Davis Webb for their head coach vacancy is a page right out of the Al Davis playbook.

And it’s further evidence that a pursuit being headed by Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek will be a departure from the club’s most recent coaching searches.

The Raiders have requested interviews with Webb, the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator of the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in their search to replace Pete Carroll.

The majority of those candidates were either expected to interview with the Raiders or have a resume worthy of consideration.

Except for the 30-year-old Webb, who was scheduled to interview with the club Wednesday.

A coaching neophyte with three years of experience, Webb’s inclusion represents the out-of-the-box thinking that seems to be guiding Brady and Spytek’s thought process.

Within NFL circles, Webb is viewed as a future head coach, albeit a few years down the line. He hasn’t even been a coordinator. But he’s intelligent, analytically driven, player-friendly and articulate.

The Raiders appear willing to look beyond his lack of experience, even to the point of hiring him a year or two earlier than conventional wisdom might dictate, and then giving him the time and room to grow into the role.

In that way, it’s an Al Davis-like way of thinking.

It was the Raiders’ late owner who promoted an unknown 32-year-old linebackers coach to lead the team in 1969.

John Madden went on to guide the Raiders to their first Super Bowl championship.

Davis also plucked 34-year-old Jon Gruden off the Philadelphia Eagles’ staff to be the Raiders’ head coach in 1998.

The ability to see around corners and identify future greatness, and then being bold enough to tap into it long before others might, was one of Davis’ superpowers. And it’s the type of thinking the Raiders should be embracing.

Long-range thinking

As a rebuilding team focused on the big picture rather than the immediate future, the Raiders should be looking for a coach who can grow with them and the quarterback they could select with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

That doesn’t mean Webb should be a lock to be the Raiders’ coach, or that Spytek and Brady should reject the idea of an older coach. Maybe even someone who failed in a previous spot.

But they should be open-minded to all possibilities, which is something the Raiders have not necessarily been during their past few coaching searches.

As an NFL executive pointed out when asked how he would advise the Raiders: “Hopefully they do a real interview process. Targeting one coach with no process is the reason they are in the position they are in.”

Two days into their most recent search, it’s obvious that close-mindedness will not be a problem.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.