Well, they anointed Giff Smith interim coach. Maybe he can get something out of the team. They have a lot of work ahead. Eckeler has had a fairly disappointing season, turned the ball over a lot, and Stick is a raw talent. He has what appears to be a good arm, and legs to run, but he needs a lot of work, and they likely have to toss half the passing playbook out starting right now. They can't just stick the guy out there and expect him to do 90% of what Herbert did, which appears to be what happened last night. I don't know if that was Staley, or Moore, or both, but the fish stinks from the head. Staley's firing I'm sure surprises no one. He probably walked into his office this morning with an empty box, before Spanos even called him for a meeting.
Will Spanos hire a GM to hire a coach? Or work under the thinking the HC should control more? Also, while there's a opportunity to work with Herbert, they also just shut a window to build a team under his rookie contract. He's now paid a huge sum of money, and the Chargers are heading into a few years with little cap space, and potential dead money. Spanos is one of the cheaper owners. But unlike Mark Davis who seems to have done a good job increasing his wealth - which he also spends, Spanos doesn't like to spend. It's more likely he'll try to find some wizard HC at a lower rate (like he did with Staley, and Lynn and Mike McCoy).
You can't be serious - that idiot would actually consider hiring Gruden over Pierce? Lol
I'm very serious. This has been reported on a few times, and not just by internet crackpots. It's been said by reporters that he didn't want to fire Gruden in the first place. He's always felt Gruden was
the coach for the Raiders, and his father made a mistake in getting rid of him, leaving Chucky with "unfinished business" with the Raiders. Davis possibly thinks he can turn back time to the year 2000 and Gruden is just better than everyone. Mark also has a history of being distracted by shiny things. So it's quite possible if he just can't get Gruden, he'll push hard to get Harbaugh.
The irony of course is Antonio Pierce actually IS a Raider. Yes, he played for the Giants and did great in helping them win a Super Bowl. But he grew up a Raider fan, "straight outta Compton". He completely understands what it means to be a Raider. Gruden is from Ohio, didn't come up a Raider, didn't stick with the Raiders his entire career.
I'm not saying Pierce is certain to lead the Raiders to a slew of championships. You never know. But at this point in time, for this team, he seems like he's the best guy for the job for the next few years going forward. His players would fall on a sword for this guy. Hiring Gruden would be a total disaster setting the Raiders back another decade.