The Oakland Raiders appear to be on the verge of adding Paul Hackett to their coaching staff.

Jerry McDonald of the Contra Costa Times reports that head coach Lane Kiffin and Hackett have talked, although nothing will be finalized until Kiffin returns from vacation. Hackett would be an offensive assistant, but it’s not known what his title would be.

The most intriguing part of McDonald’s report is his theory that Raiders owner Al Davis would view Hackett as an immediate in-house candidate if Kiffin were to leave.

After reports this off-season that Davis wanted Kiffin to resign, and that Davis hired James Lofton as an assistant without consulting Kiffin, any change to the coaching staff has to be followed by questions of whether the change was at the behest of Kiffin or of Davis. However, Hackett has a good relationship with both Kiffin and his father Monte Kiffin, and it’s questionable whether Davis would want Hackett running his team. As head coach at USC and the University of Pittsburgh, and as the Chiefs’ and Jets’ offensive coordinator, Hackett has earned a reputation for an overly conservative offensive philosophy.

Hackett was the Buccaneers’ quarterbacks coach last season but was not retained this year.