Raiders owner Al Davis is reorganizing his front office and could bring in a new salary "capologist" and contract negotiator, a league source said Thursday.
Rams executive Samir Suleiman, director of football operations in St. Louis since 2000, is among those being looked at. A source within the Rams organization confirmed his candidacy Thursday.
Suleiman said he hasn't been contacted by the Raiders and was unaware of any opening. Asked if he'd be interested, he sounded very much so.
"It's a great organization, so anybody would be lucky to work for them," Suleiman said in a phone interview. "And, black is my favorite color."
Suleiman, 32, was a finalist for a similar position in Green Bay earlier this year.
His expertise lies in salary-cap management and player negotiations. He was also involved in Rams' trades, pro personnel and player procurement.
Suleiman served on the NFL Management Council in 1997, monitoring the league-wide cap and analyzing player contracts. He then spent two years with the Jaguars as manager of contract information.
He was involved in controversy in 2005 when the Rams reprimanded him for leaving a threatening phone message with a newspaper columnist.
For the past year, finance executive Marc Badain and director of football operations Mark Jackson shared the Raiders' salary-cap and contract duties, though Davis became increasingly hands-on during the recent free-agent period.
The job was previously held by Michael Lombardi, who was let go after the 2007 draft.
If Suleiman is hired, his priority will be keeping the salary-cap books in order. One reason the Raiders released running back Dominic Rhodes this week was to offset the cap hit from the Fabian Washington trade, which threatened to push them over the limit.
The move showed how close the Raiders sit to the $116 million cap threshold, which is no surprise after their free-spending offseason. Huge deals went to DeAngelo Hall (seven years, $70 million), Javon Walker (six years, $55 million), Tommy Kelly (seven years, $50.5 million), Gibril Wilson (six years, $39 million), Kwame Harris (three years, $16.3 million) and Justin Fargas (three years, $12 million).
Suleiman would also assume a lead role in pending contract talks with No. 4 overall draft pick Darren McFadden, who will command a contract in the $50 million range with at least $20 million guaranteed.
The Raiders hope to avoid a repeat of last season's holdout by No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who was not signed until after the season started.
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