Name the Raiders Replacement Game

It has become an annual tradition to try to figure out who the next Raiders coach is going to be. The good news for Raiders fans is that it will be awfully hard to top the hiring of Norv Turner and Art Shell. Unless, of course, Al Davis went out and hired Dennis Green. And that has actually been mentioned one Raiders message board. So has Bill Cowher. But even the most myopic of Raiders fans don't actually believe that is possible. When searching for a list of candidates you have to find the right combination a good coach who has been beaten down on life enough so he will accept the criminally low amount the Raiders will offer.

Rob Ryan would make the perfect choice in this instance because, let's face it, he doesn't need much money because he doesn't spend a lot of money on grooming. Ryan's defense was the only bright spot in a dismal season. But that might actually work against him. Why tinker with something that already works? By moving Ryan from defensive coordinator to head coach, you run the risk of ruining the one part of the team that is successful.

Mike Martz's name will eventually surface. He was a candidate last year and a season under Matt Millen probably makes Davis seem pretty reasonable. Not sure if he would fit into the price range the Raiders are looking for, but he did win a lot of games in St. Louis. The only drawback is that his offense will get the Raiders quarterback killed. Kurt Warner had about five years shaved off his career and Marc Bulger is lucky that he left despite have good offensive linemen. Plus the dude is just flat crazy and arrogant. Which is good in coaches, but will likely cause a personality conflict with Davis down the road.

That leaves Cam Cameron, an interesting candidate that was floated by the local San Diego radio station. Cameron has head-coaching experience with Indiana and his teams always ran the ball well. And you obviously know how good he has been with the Chargers, and that might be his biggest selling points. If the Raiders hired Cameron, you can just see the stories now about how the Raiders turned around their franchise when they hired an offensive genius from the Chargers in 1963. That might be enough to push Cameron to the top.