Raiders owner Mark Davis says that John Madden is helping him with the football side of things as the franchise seeks a new head coach.
Asked by Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News why Madden participated in Davis’s interview of Mike Shanahan, Kawakami said it’s important to him to have a football guy who can help him.
“I know my limitations, and I’m not an X’s and O’s guy,” Davis said. “So I need somebody who knows X’s and O’s to sit with me and ask all the football questions. The other stuff, I can talk about—macro theory, all those things. But when you put the tape on and start looking at football and why did you do this or do that, I want somebody who knows why you did this.”
Davis said Madden’s help has gone far beyond just sitting in on the Shanahan interview.
“John’s been involved with me for a long time on all kinds of stuff,” Davis said. “But at the same time, it’s just a great resource. It’s just awesome. And he doesn’t say, ‘OK this guy’s great, this guy isn’t great.’ He gets into a discussion so I can take in all the information and make decisions based on that. As I said long ago, the one thing I know is what I don’t know. I’m going to get people around me when I don’t know something to make sure I get it right.”
It’s been a while since the Raiders have gotten a coaching hire right. Maybe Madden can help change that.
