Life under Tony Sparano wasn't all bad for the Oakland Raiders. All three of the team's wins came after Sparano was named interim head coach back in Week 5. Even rookie quarterback Derek Carr has expressed his desire for Sparano to remain as head coach next season.
But the reality is that Sparano is a stopgap, nothing more. Oakland is looking to make a splashy move as they begin to review a number of candidates for their head coaching vacancy.
The latest on their search comes from Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, who reports that Raiders owner Mark Davis will begin interviewing candidates early next week after the team's final regular season game against the Broncos.
It's not a secret that Davis' top choice is San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, whose time with the Niners is expected to come to an end next week. However, the Raiders will have to compete with a lucrative six-year offer worth $48 million from the University of Michigan, Harbaugh's alma matter. With an annual value of $8 million, Harbaugh would become the highest paid coach in college football, roughly $1 million ahead of Alabama's Nick Saban. Harbaugh would also have his pick of a handful of NFL jobs, should he want to remain at the pro level.
From a roster standpoint, there are better opportunities for Harbaugh to begin his second NFL stint. Carr has shown promise, and Oakland's defense is not as bad as their reputation, but the Raiders still suffer from a dearth of overall talent. Oakland fans should hope that Harbaugh's reported affinity for the west coast is as strong as they say it is.
While Sparano does remain a candidate, it seems unlikely that he'll be able to remove the interim tag from his title.
