Time might be able to heal all wounds after all.
Dianna Marie Russini of NBC Washington reports that Mike Shanahan has interviewed for the Raiders head coaching job a little more than 25 years after he was fired as the team’s head coach after 20 games on the job. Adam Schefter of ESPN adds that Shanahan met with Raiders owner Mark Davis and other team officials.
Schefter also passes along Shanahan’s confirmation that he interviewed with the Bills over the weekend. He’s also spoken to the 49ers.
Shanahan and the late Raiders owner/icon Al Davis had an awful relationship during Shanahan’s brief time with the team and things didn’t thaw out over the years with both men throwing the occasional barb at the other one. Or the occasional football. Former NFL quarterback Elvis Grbac said that Shanahan told him to throw a ball at Davis during pregame warmups when Shanahan and Grbac were with the 49ers in 1994, which illustrates how strange it is to see Shanahan talking to the Raiders about working together.
Shanahan said last month that he’s interested in coaching again and indicated that he’d only come back to a team that’s ready to win. The Raiders don’t appear to qualify based on their 2014 record, although quarterback Derek Carr’s rookie season is one reason for the Raiders to hope that winning isn’t too far away in Oakland.
Shanahan may feel the same way, which could make for one of the most unexpected reunions in football history.