Las Vegas Raiders are now set on their first and second choice for their opening head coach vacancy

Now that there is a weird situation going on with the Las Vegas Raiders and their general manager signing, described in more detail here, I thought it would be good to talk about where the head coach search is going. It's been quiet since Ben Johnson chose the Chicago Bears over the Raiders after everyone believed he was going to Las Vegas.

But, there seems to be an update, despite things being so crazy right now between the Las Vegas Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Raiders still have a head coach search to do. And, with that search, the Raiders will eventually have a decision to make. As things stand right now, the Raiders know who their top two options are.

We have heard the name Pete Carroll for a while now. And, he seems to be the top option. But, they aren't rushing that decision because Carroll only interviewed with two teams, the Raiders and the Bears, who already have their coach. So, why would they rush there? They want to make the right choice.

The one thing ultimately holding the Raiders back from making that decision right now, has to be Carroll's age and the years he has left coaching. I know it's been a joke out there that he'd and this and that, but they truly want someone that they can keep around for the long haul, a coach that will be there for a long time.

The Raiders are currently paying three guys to not be their head coach anymore and will make that four when they hire their next head coach. You don't want to add to that, and you certainly don't want to make it a habit of keeping a guy around for no longer than two years.

Pete Carroll does have the championship pedigree, though, as he won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks against the Denver Broncos, and lost another one to the New England Patriots. He's been there, done that.

The other name they have their eyes on is Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who is considered to be the best coordinator in the history of the NFL. He has won four Super Bowls, three with the Chiefs and one with the New York Giants. He could very well win one this year again.

But he's been a head coach before, in a weird situation with the Los Angeles Rams, who were then the St. Louis Rams. And, that didn't work out, obviously, but sometimes guys get it right on their second try. Look at Dan Quinn, who has the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship against the Philadelphia Eagles, but was terrible with the Atlanta Falcons.

The one thing with Spagnuolo is that he may not take the job if it's offered. He has been with the Chiefs for six years, and he just got his wife to move this last year to Kansas City from the east coast. He also just got an extension this last offseason, and there are thoughts that he could be waiting for Andy Reid to retire to take that job.

But, that's a bunch of unknowns. I would also throw out there that the Raiders seem to love the interview they had with Ron Rivera, but as of right now, nothing is really materializing there.

The Raiders have a decision to make. But, as things currently stand, that seems to be the two favorites for the job.