Former NFL coach Mike Holmgren visited the Oakland Raiders last week, leading to speculation he could be considering a return to the sidelines. While Holmgren denied discussing the Raiders' head coaching vacancy, he didn't rule out the possibility of taking over after the season.
Holmgren acknowledged Monday on KJR's "Mitch in the Morning" show he had met with the Raiders, but he insisted it was just a friendly visit.
"Yeah, I did go down there," Holmgren told Mitch Levy, as transcribed by Pro Football Talk. "A couple of years ago, I had met with [owner] Mark [Davis] about possibly working with the Raiders, and it didn't work out. ... And [G.M.] Reggie McKenzie did work with me in Green Bay for many, many years. So I do have a relationship with him, those are all true. So they phoned me up, I went down there for a day and looked at some film. They had the bye after the London game. And just to float some ideas, and get another opinion of the team and what was going on. No jobs were discussed. Nothing like that, it was more just a pop in and pop out, and that's what I did."
When asked later if he definitely would not be the coach of the Raiders, Holmgren said: "Probably not. Probably not."
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said if Holmgren doesn't go to Oakland, another option could be the San Francisco 49ers.
"The Raiders may not ultimately be Holmgren's only Bay Area option," Florio wrote on Monday. "If/when (coach) Jim Harbaugh leaves the 49ers, Holmgren could be interested in returning to his hometown as coach of the franchise where he rose to prominence as an offensive coordinator. However, the 49ers would have to also be interested in him, which may be unlikely."
Florio reported a source as saying Harbaugh, who's reportedly the cause of friction in the 49ers' locker room, would "love" to coach the Oakland Raiders. Harbaugh was the subject of trade rumors in February with the Cleveland Browns, creating the possibility San Francisco would be willing to trade him.
