Mike Shanahan was greeted by an NFL coaching legend during his sit-down with the Oakland Raiders.
According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport on Tuesday, John Madden sat in on Shanahan's interview in the Bay Area over the weekend, per two sources. The 78-year-old, who coached the Raiders from 1969 to 1978, has had an unclear role in the team's hiring process thus far.
Madden could possibly be looked at as an advisor, or someone who made Shanahan feel welcome in a place that has created some hostility for Shanahan over the years.
Shanahan's first tenure in Oakland was marked with a massive amount of infighting with then-owner Al Davis which resulted in Shanahan getting canned less than two years into his first head coaching job.
Understanding the business and the organization's traditional roots, Madden might have been able to calm the waters a bit. This is a pivotal hire for Oakland seeing as they have not had a winning season since 2002. Since that time they have had eight head coaches.
At the moment, we don't know whether or not Madden was asking any questions or if he was directing Mark Davis' line of questioning.
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