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With several head coach vacancies around the NFL, it's the time when teams in need of a head coach are seeking interviews with potential replacements. One such name that has come up a lot in recent months about potentially being a head coach is Colts' offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, and according to ESPN's Josina Anderson, the Oakland Raiders have requested permission to interview him for their head coach opening.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Source: The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Raiders?src=hash">#Raiders</a> have requested permission to interview Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.</p>— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/550166132410564608">December 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Based on convo, I can tell t/ interest the Raiders also hv in Hamilton is sincere. They've heard good things abt him. Genuinely intrigued.</p>— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) <a href="https://twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/550286704930996224">December 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A team requesting to interview Hamilton is no surprise, and it sounds like, according to Anderson, the interest islegitimate and not just to fill a requirement (like the Rooney Rule, for instance). It sounds like the Raiders have actual interest in Hamilton - and why wouldn't they, considering the team is linked to being interested in guys like Eric Mangini and Pat Shurmur. It makes sense for the Raiders to look at a guy like Hamilton or Cardinals' defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, who haven't gotten a shot as a head coach before, rather than a former head coach who struggled.
The question then becomes one of when the Colts will let Hamilton interview for the position. This from ESPN's Mike Wells:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Pep Hamilton n Raiders, Indy can make them wait til after playoffs but they'll consider letting him interview if it doesn't mess w game prep</p>— Mike Wells (@MikeWellsNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeWellsNFL/status/550286024187060224">December 31, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Hamilton just concluded his second regular season as Colts' offensive coordinator, and under his guidance the Colts finished third in the league in yards per game and sixth in points per game. Quarterback Andrew Luck finished third in the NFL with 4,761 passing yards and led all quarterbacks with 40 touchdown passes. The Raiders would actually be a return to the Bay Area for Hamilton, as he previously worked as the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2006 and then as Stanford's wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator (or "Andrew Luck Director of Offense") from 2010-2012. He's arguably the second-hottest offensive-minded head coaching candidate this offseason, behind Denver's Adam Gase.