The Las Vegas Raiders have had 13 head coaches in the past 25 years along with only five winning seasons. In honor of another new Raiders head coach in 2024 here are the top five Raiders head coaches of the past 25 years excluding Antonio Pierce.
Raiders Top 5 Coaches of The Past 25 Years
Number Five: Hue Jackson
Number five was a toss-up between two coaches who went 8-8 with their only full season as the Raiders head coach. However, only one of them was expected to have a losing season. In 2011, Hue Jackson took a lackluster roster with Carson Palmer who threw 13 touchdowns and 16 interceptions that year to a disappointing .500 season. Somehow, Hue Jackson took a team that was 29th in defensive points allowed and 16th in points gained to eight wins. This gives him the edge over fellow eight-win, eight-loss coach Tom Cable who had a better roster. This season may have just been luck based on their statistics, which is why Jackson wasn’t given a second chance during a regime change. The astounding failure of Jackson’s successor Dennis Allen left many fans wondering what could have been if the Raiders had kept Jackson on as head coach.
It must be stated that Tom Cable could easily be put in this spot due to him producing a better season statistically than Jackson. But, the reasoning here is that Jackson overcame a lackluster roster while Cable underperformed based on the strength of the team in 2010. Either way, the fifth spot is a good reminder that having 13 head coaches in 25 years equates to your team losing a lot.
Number Four: Rich Bisaccia
The majority of the Raiders coaches in the past 25 years have losing records, so winning games and making playoff appearances are extremely valuable. Even though Rich Bisaccia was only an interim head coach, he was able to make the playoffs with the Raiders in a year filled with adversity on and off the field. During the 2021 season, Bisaccia won his locker room over and took one of the most disastrous seasons for the Raiders off the field to one of only five winning seasons and playoff appearances in 25 years. Bisaccia inherited a locker room that had its head coach taken away from a shocking controversy and two second-year first-round picks were cut for devastating off-field issues all in the middle of the season.
Bisaccia turned this rocky season into a fairytale run with the support of team leaders Maxx Crosby and Derek Carr. The Raiders fought until the last game of the season to get into the playoffs rattling off four straight wins to make it there. Their last game of the season against the Chargers got them in and will go down in their storied division rivalry’s history forever. Unfortunately for Raider Nation, fans and players were left wondering what could have been since Bisaccia was not asked to become the full-time head coach after saving the Raiders’ season in the interim. His playoff appearance, love from players, and winning record are the reason he is on the list even though he had the shortest tenure of any coach in the top five.
Number Three: Jack Del Rio
Jack Del Rio was the only Raiders head coach during the 2010s to have a winning season. Before Del Rio’s 12-win, season, the last time the Raiders had a winning record was in 2002 when they went to a Super Bowl. His tenure ended at 25-23 which is pretty good for three seasons with the Silver and Black given they only have had five total winning seasons since 1999. Del Rio had a part in drafting pro bowler Amari Cooper and took the Raiders to their first 12-4 season since 2000 with Jon Gruden. Unfortunately, Derek Carr’s MVP-caliber season was derailed by injury before the playoffs and they lost to the Texans in the Wild Card round.
As mentioned before, playoff appearances are important so going 12-4 and making it to the Wild Card is more than enough for a coach to make it into this top five. This is the last time Raider Fans were able to tune in on Sunday and expect the Raiders to win outperforming every expectation the league had for them. Unfortunately, the winning didn’t last long and the Raiders would have to wait again for another winning season to come.
Number Two: Brian Callahan
Serving during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Brian Callahan’s tenure as the Raiders head coach was short-lived like every other Raiders coach of the past 25 years. However, it could be argued that it is the most successful of all of them only looking at the results. Callahan inherited a good roster and great locker room in 2002 from Jon Gruden, which Callahan led to a Super Bowl appearance improving both the defense and offense. The 2002 season saw the Raiders make it to the big game and they haven’t come close since then. Callahan lost in the 2002 Super Bowl against none other than Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and lost his job after the 2003 season.
Possibly the most defining accolade of any great coach’s career, Callahan was the closest Raider of the past 25 years to hoist the Lombardi trophy for the Raiders’ fourth Super Bowl win. Callahan’s short tenure and the fact he inherited part of his team from the coach in the number one spot are what is keeping him at number two.
Number One: Jon Gruden
You guessed it, “Chucky” made his way to the number one spot of the top five Raiders coaches in the past 25 years. Jon Gruden not only brought the Raiders back to their winning ways for a short time, but he captivated one of the most loyal and hardcore fan bases in the NFL. Raider fans loved how Jon Gruden represented the Raider Way, but just as important that he just won. Gruden’s unique ability to lead a team, a proclivity toward hard-nosed football, and a never-say-die attitude kept veterans like Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, and Lincoln Kennedy around the organization playing at a high level. His four short years with the Raiders in the late 1990s and early 2000s were the best they’ve had with any head coach since, including himself. His two playoff appearances and relinquishing the 2021 team to Rich Bisaccia mid-season mean he had a hand in the majority of Raider playoff teams in the past 25 years. Many would also claim that the Raider Super Bowl team he defeated in 2002 was mostly one he had built anyway.
Raiders fans look back on Gruden’s time of success with the Raiders so fondly that they welcomed him back to a 10-year 100 million dollar contract in 2018 to lead them through their transition from Oakland to Las Vegas. Only this time Gruden would exit under worse circumstances, more controversy, and in the middle of the season. He messed up an opportunity with another great team he had built and primed to hopefully bring the Raiders back to prominence. The 2021 Raider team that rallied to a playoff run is a testament to the culture Gruden cultivated in the locker room and his impact as a head coach even though it was short-lived. Even in his absence, the team rallied behind the amazing interim coach Bisaccia and made the playoffs when it looked bleak at times.
Hopefully, another young and eager head coach by the name of Antonio Pierce can pick up the pieces again bringing the Raiders back to their winning ways. Pierce is largely unproven, but after reviving a locker room that looked defeated in the middle of the 2023 season Raider Nation is optimistic that Pierce is the long-awaited answer at head coach for the team.
Main Image: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
