Raiders' Davis takes swing, so to speak, at Gilbride

Raiders' Davis takes swing, so to speak, at Gilbride
January 4 Oakland Tribune columnist Cam Inman

"A month from now, Kevin Gilbride's stock might be exceptionally high if he's coming off a second straight Super Bowl championship as the New York Giants offensive coordinator.

That would give him serious credibility for any team still looking for a coach, perhaps so much so that he wouldn't stoop to the Raiders' post that he reportedly interviewed for Saturday.

But Gilbride just might be hungry enough for another head coaching job — he went 6-16 with the San Diego Chargers 10 years ago — that he'd buy Davis' sales pitch. Norv Turner was desperate enough to become a head coach again that he served a two-year stint with the Raiders.

Turner's tenure didn't work out so well (at least with the Raiders, but it has since with the playoff-winning San Diego Chargers after his 2006 layover with the 49ers.)

Don't you get the feel that Gilbride would give off the same vibe as Turner did in Oakland -- retread coach, older offensive mind, uninspiring to a fleeting fan base?

It's hard to consider him a positive candidate for the Raiders and think he could actually flip a locker room still infected by six consecutive losing seasons.

Gilbride, 57, is believed to be the first coach Al Davis has interviewed this offseason, reportedly doing so over the phone Saturday.

He's been on Davis' radar for more than a month. But when Gilbride's name was mentioned last week as a possible candidate in various reports, Raiders senior executive John Herrera disputed those reports, saying: "Every one is false and unfounded. They're just throwing pie against the wall."

How's that pie taste, now? Gilbride's interview Saturday was first reported by the NFL Network and later confirmed by the Bay Area News Group's Steve Corkran.

Davis probably didn't just ask Gilbride what it was like to take a punch from a Ryan family member and if he'd like to keep Rob Ryan — Buddy's son - as the Raiders defensive coordinator. He surely quizzed him on the Giants' successful use of three running backs, which Davis has in his stable with Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas and Michael Bush.

That this interview apparently took place on the phone makes you wonder just how serious a candidate Gilbride is, not to mention that the Raiders would have to wait to name him coach until the Giants' postseason run ends.

I doubt Gilbride would ditch the Giants for the Raiders, that this is more of a way to market himself. I also doubt he could transform a franchise that's young offensively and porous defensively. Then again, there are only 31 other NFL coaching jobs available, and his name hasn't been mentioned — at least publicly - with those openings in Denver, Cleveland, St. Louis, Detroit and New York (Jets).

Most likely, Davis is on a reconnaissance mission, gathering as much information as he can about Gilbride's own offensive philosophies and other league-wide trends."Link