Along with Michigan, the Oakland Raiders are among the teams that "definitely have interest" in making a play for San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Derek Carr, though, would be fine if the Silver and Black stuck with their current coach. The Raiders rookie quarterback came out in support of Tony Sparano on Wednesday when asked if he wanted the team's interim leader to return next season.
"Yeah, we love him," Carr said, per the Bay Area News Group. "He's our leader. Absolutely. We love him. Obviously, those decisions are going to happen, and we have no control in that. Those decisions will be made, and whoever is here is who we'll play for.
"But right now, coach Sparano is my leader. I love him 100 percent. He genuinely cares about me. He's pulled me into his office just to ask how I'm doing. ... Those kind of things from a head coach mean so much."
Sparano has kept his talent-poor team engaged, as exhibited by Oakland's win over the 49ers in Week 14. Still, we don't expect him to take the reins beyond 2014. With owner Mark Davis seeking a "superstar" coach, it's pretty clear the Raiders are looking for a big-name leader to refashion their franchise around.
The real question is whether Reggie McKenzie -- Oakland's embattled general manager who picked Carr and the last coach -- will be picking the next one.
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