9 Las Vegas Raiders head coaching options after Pete Carroll firing

Black Monday has arrived in the National Football League.

It has just passed noon on the East Coast and already three coaches — Raheem Morris, Kevin Stefanski, and Pete Carroll — have been relieved of their duties. By the time you read this, more names could join that list.

We focus here on the Las Vegas Raiders. Carroll’s return lasted just one season, and after a 3-14 finish the Raiders have the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. But Carroll will not be around for that pick, and general manager John Spytek in coordination with owner/FOX analyst/former quarterback/Pizza Hut pitchman Tom Brady will be focused on hiring the next head coach, an individual that should align with the team’s “shared focus on leadership, culture, and alignment with the organization’s long-term vision and goals” per owner Mark Davis.

Here are some names they might consider.

Klint Kubiak, Offensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks

With the Raiders picking first in the 2026 NFL Draft, it is very likely a quarterback will be the position they address. Whether it is Fernando Mendoza from Indiana or Dante Moore from Oregon, the Raiders need to figure out the present and future at quarterback.

That could make Klint Kubiak an ideal selection. Kubiak’s name has been rising to the top of lists like this one, given the work he did in San Francisco as the passing game coordinator under Kyle Shanahan and with Brock Purdy, and what he has done this past season as the offensive coordinator in Seattle. Las Vegas needs to put their next quarterback in a position to succeed, and Kubiak makes a great deal of sense.

Mike McCarthy

Mike McCarthy’s tenure in Dallas ended following last season. But if the Raiders want a more experienced option as a head coach, then adding McCarthy to lead the organization in a new direction is an option. He has nearly two decades of head coaching experience in both Dallas and Green Bay, and has posted a a 174-112-2 overall record.

Yes, there is a lack of playoff success, but the Raiders need to start winning games before they can think about the postseason.

Mike Kafka, Interim Head Coach, New York Giants

When the New York Giants fired head coach Brian Daboll, they turned to Mike Kafka as their interim head coach. The offensive coordinator led the Giants to wins down the stretch over the Dallas Cowboys and yes, the Raiders, tanking their draft spot but showing some promise for the team heading into 2026.

Kafka is not considered to be a top-flight candidate for the Giants job, with Kevin Stefanski listed as one of many options the Giants are considering. But his experience as an offensive coordinator coupled with what he showed down the stretch this season could make him an option for the Raiders.

Speaking of Stefanski …

Kevin Stefanski

The Cleveland Browns parted ways with Kevin Stefanski on Monday morning, ending his six-year run at the helm of the organization. During that stretch Stefanski led the Browns to the playoffs twice, and was picked as the Coach of the Year in each of those seasons.

However, he was crippled by the trade for Deshaun Watson, which ultimately left the team without a starting quarterback and hamstrung by the salary cap. The list of quarterbacks the team turned to following Watson is almost enough to set up a full court five-on-five:

Jacoby Brissett
Joe Flacco
Jameis Winston
Shedeur Sanders
Dillon Gabriel
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
P.J. Walker
Jeff Driskel
Bailey Zappe

Stefanski is expected to be at the top of every coaching list, and his background on the offensive side of the ball could make him an ideal fit in Las Vegas as they likely turn to a rookie QB.

Brian Flores, Defensive Coordinator, Minnesota Vikings

While the idea of pairing an offensive-minded head coach with a rookie quarterback makes a great deal of sense, this could also be the spot where Brian Flores makes his return to a head coaching job.

There is obviously some history with Brady, as Flores’ time in New England overlapped with Brady’s time as the Patriots quarterback. Flores even spent the 2010 season as an assistant on the offensive side of the football.

But the past three years Flores ran the defense in Minnesota, and his aggressive style of play made the Vikings one of the toughest defenses to face as a quarterback. While hiring an offensive-minded head coach to help an expected rookie QB makes some sense, hiring a defensive-minded head coach to build a stout unit on that side of the ball — and perhaps get that rookie quarterback some short fields to work with — is another approach the Raiders could take.

Robert Saleh, Defensive Coordinator, San Francisco 49ers

When the Raiders hired Carroll last cycle, they also approached Robert Saleh to take over as defensive coordinator. As confirmed by Kyle Shanahan last month, Las Vegas made Saleh a “substantial” offer to take over as DC, and serve as the “coach in waiting” behind Carroll.

Instead, Saleh returned to the 49ers where he had previously served as the head coach.

But with the Raiders job now open again, Las Vegas might return to this option in the coming days.

Kliff Kingsbury, Offensive Coordinator, Washington Commanders

Could Las Vegas be where Kliff Kingsbury makes a return as a head coach?

For the past two seasons Kingsbury has been the offensive coordinator in Washington, and in 2024 he helped turn Jayden Daniels into the Offensive Rookie of the Year while Washington stormed into the NFC Championship Game.

2025 was a different story, as Daniels dealt with injuries throughout the year and the Commanders struggled with a tougher schedule.

Still, Kingsbury has both head coaching experience and a track record of revitalizing offenses. And what he did with Daniels could be a big selling point as the Raiders look to draft a rookie quarterback.

Thomas Brown, passing-game coordinator, New England Patriots

After the Chicago Bears parted ways with Matt Eberflus midway through the 2024 season, they installed Thomas Brown as their interim head coach. It was the second promotion that season for Brown, who was bumped to to offensive coordinator after the team fired Shane Waldron, after beginning the year as the running backs coach.

While the team went 1-4 with Brown in the head role — leading Chicago to look elsewhere last hiring cycle — there were some who believed Brown as a leading candidate for that job.

This season he has served as the passing-game coordinator in New England, helping turn Drake Maye into an MVP candidate. And he was also a coach under Sean McVay in Los Angeles, including two years in an assistant head coach role. Is all of this enough to take over in Las Vegas?

Curt Cignetti, Head coach, Indiana

Let’s close this out with a name out of left field.

Assume for a moment that the Raiders are already locked in on Fernando Mendoza as their pick at the top of the draft. One of the best things you can do for a young quarterback is make him comfortable.

That would make Curt Cignetti an option.

As the coach has said himself, all he does is win. In his first year at IUP he took a team coming off a losing record and finished 7-3, and departed that school having posted a 53-17 record over six seasons. He then went to Elon and again took a team coming off a losing record, went 8-4 in his first year, and departed after posting a 14-9 record over two seasons.

His next stop? James Madison, where over five years he led the Dukes to a 52-9 record, and oversaw their move from the FCS to the FBS, where they finished ranked in the Top 25 after the 2023 season.

Then came Indiana, where he took over a program that finished 3-9 in 2023 and had not enjoyed a winning season since the 2020 COVID-19 year. In his first season the Hoosiers went 11-2 and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff. This past year Indiana won their first Big Ten Championship Game, finished undefeated, and are on the verge of a spot in the National Championship Game

All Cignetti does is win.

And bringing him to the NFL along with Mendoza is a fascinating idea.