Rich Bisaccia did a better job than most could have imagined when he became the Raiders’ interim head coach after Jon Gruden resigned in October.
Las Vegas went 7-5 under Bisaccia to finish the season 10-7 and earn the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016.
While the Raiders didn’t defeat the Bengals on Saturday, Bisaccia did make a good case for himself to become the team’s permanent head coach. But Bisaccia didn’t campaign much for it when asked about team owner Mark Davis potentially hiring him for that role.
“Mark and I have had some conversations,” Bisaccia said. “There’s due process — he has to interview some other candidates, as I well know. I’m very respectful of the process, what it’s supposed to look like and how it’s supposed to work. I think we’ll be in constant conversation and we’ll certainly talk again before the week is over.”
Though Bisaccia was already with the organization, the Raiders must still comply with the Rooney Rule and interview minority coaches.
Bisaccia, who was previously Las Vegas’ special teams coordinator, said Monday that he learned he can be an effective head coach this year.
“I can see now how offensive coordinators can get a head job and still call plays and defensive coordinators can get a head job and still call plays,” Bisaccia said. “So, I kind of learned that about myself as well. I’ll leave it at that.”
After helping guide the Raiders to just their second playoff berth since winning the AFC in 2002, there’s an argument to be made that Bisaccia earned the right to be the team’s head coach for at least another season. Davis has an important call to make when it comes to the direction of his franchise in 2022 and beyond.