Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride had a 90-minute phone conversation over the weekend with Raiders owner Al Davis concerning the team’s coaching vacancy.
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Gilbride and Davis spoke Saturday after Gilbride had expressed interest in the job through his agent, Raiders senior executive John Herrera said yesterday.
Gilbride is the first outside candidate to talk to Davis about the Oakland job. Interim coach Tom Cable also is a candidate after running the team for the final 12 games following the firing of Lane Kiffin in September.
Gilbride’s only previous head coaching experience in the NFL came in 1997-98, when he went 6-16 for the Chargers. He is a longtime assistant in the NFL and helped the Giants win the Super Bowl last season, then earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs this season.
The Raiders cannot talk to Gilbride again until the Giants are eliminated from the playoffs. Cable is still under contract until Jan. 13, and has talked with Davis over the past week about the team.
The Raiders also strongly denied a report on ESPN that Davis was in discussions to sell at least 10 percent of the team to C. Dean Metropoulos, a billionaire seeking to buy a team to move to Los Angeles.