With Jack Del Rio in Oakland, New Coordinators Will Be Vital to Raiders Success: Now that the Oakland Raiders have finalized a deal to make Jack Del Rio their head coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the task of turning around a moribund franchise enters another phase of a 13-year process. The goal is to get back to the playoffs and contend for championships, but at 3-13 in 2014, the Raiders have a long way to go. For the Raiders to get there, they must hire top assistant coaches to maximize and develop the talent they have. The role of the two coordinators in Oakland’s turnaround will be nearly as important as general manager Reggie McKenzie’s and Del Rio’s. The most important job of the coordinators will be the task of continuing the development of quarterback Derek Carr, linebacker Khalil Mack and the other young talent on the roster. The offensive coordinator will be particularly important because Del Rio comes from a defensive background. Although many consider Carr the future in Oakland, his rookie year was far from perfect. Carr needs to take the next step for the Raiders to get where they want to go. The offensive coordinator—with an assist from the quarterbacks coach—is going to be directly responsible for Carr dragging Oakland’s offense out of the dregs of the league in offensive output. One of the biggest selling points of hiring Del Rio aside from his head coaching experience was that he was well-connected. Several high-profile coordinator candidates have already emerged on Del Rio’s wish list, which is exciting for Raiders fans because the team has never really had big-name coordinators. The obvious Plan A for the Raiders at defensive coordinator is former Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith. Del Rio has known Smith for years, and he was Del Rio’s defensive coordinator in Jacksonville from 2003-2007 before landing the top job with the Atlanta Falcons. Smith also worked with Del Rio from 1999-2001 with the Baltimore Ravens. If Smith decides to go elsewhere, the Raiders could consider Mike Nolan. Smith worked under Nolan with the Baltimore Ravens, and he was Smith’s defensive coordinator in Atlanta for the last three seasons. Nolan also had head coaching experience with the San Francisco 49ers, but he hasn’t been anything other than a coordinator or head coach since 2001, when he was a wide receivers coach as a placeholder until then-Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis left to become the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. If Nolan doesn’t become the defensive coordinator, he’s likely not coming at all. Another option is San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who, according to Cam Inman of Bay Area News Group, is not expected to return after San Francisco skipped over him for the top job and hired defensive line coach Jim Tomsula on Wednesday, per 49ers. Fangio and Del Rio share the same agent, Bob LaMonte, which is often a common thread as head coaches assemble their coaching staffs. There seems to be no shortage of quality defensive coordinators available, but there doesn’t seem to be as many hot names on the offensive side of the ball. The first choice would probably be former Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman, who was also the Raiders’ offensive coordinator the last time they went to the playoffs. Trestman’s offense in Chicago in 2013 was second in scoring and eighth in yards, but it plummeted to 23rd and 21st in those categories in 2014 amid internal turmoil. It’s similar to what happened to him as offensive coordinator of the Raiders as they went from second in scoring and first in yards in 2002 to 26th and 25th in 2003. If Del Rio can keep Trestman from fouling up the chemistry, there is no doubt he is a bright offensive mind. The Bears were the third offense he has shaped into a top offense, as he did so previously with the 49ers and Raiders. Since Trestman is interviewing in Cleveland and could be a candidate in San Francisco, the Raiders will need to have more people on their list. Matt Cavanaugh, who was Trestman’s quarterbacks coach in Chicago, also has ties to Del Rio. Cavanaugh was the offensive coordinator in Baltimore for six years, including all three years Del Rio was there as linebackers coach. Elevating Cavanaugh to offensive coordinator makes sense if they don’t land Trestman but could be a candidate as the quarterbacks coach even if they do. Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Carl Smith could also be a candidate. Smith was Del Rio’s offensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2005-2007. The Raiders would have to wait to hire him, but this is where McKenzie could be of assistance to Del Rio. McKenzie worked with Seahawks general manager John Schneider in Green Bay, so he would be able to find out if Smith was interested and if they would let him leave. Del Rio could continue to assemble his staff knowing that Smith was going to be available. Another option would be Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, who was Del Rio’s offensive coordinator from 2003-2004 in Jacksonville. Musgrave was also Smith’s quarterbacks coach from 2006-2010 and added assistant head coaching duties in 2010 before leaving to become the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings from 2011-2013. If some of Chip Kelly rubbed off on Musgrave, the Raiders could be in business offensively. Musgrave took quarterback Christian Ponder to the playoffs, and the offense steadily improved each year he was there, although not to an elite level. Trestman, Cavanaugh and Musgrave all have offensive coordinator experience and have coached quarterbacks for many years. Of course, none of them would maintain much cohesiveness for Carr, although they all run a similar offense as last year’s offensive coordinator, Greg Olson. Oakland’s quarterbacks coach, John DeFilippo, is a free agent, but the Raiders should also consider him for the job. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN, they want to keep him on as quarterbacks coach so Carr has some consistency. That is if DeFilippo doesn’t land the offensive coordinator job in Cleveland or find a better job elsewhere. DeFilippo could assist Carr in translating any differences in the new offensive terminology and pick up where he left off last year. Assuming Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase wants it, he’d also be a candidate, according to Jeff Darlington of NFL. Gase didn’t get the top job with the 49ers, but the Broncos will interview him after firing head coach John Fox. Mike Tice is another strong candidate to join the Raiders if the Atlanta Falcons will let him out of his contract—probably not as a coordinator but likely as an offensive line coach. He was Smith’s offensive line coach last year and was Del Rio’s assistant head coach from 2006-2009 in Jacksonville. Tice has head coaching experience like Trestman, Smith and Nolan. The Raiders wouldn’t lack experience on their coaching staff. Whatever the Raiders do with their coordinators, bringing in Del Rio assured they will have several quality candidates on their list and a real chance of getting one. That is an improvement for the Raiders, so they can hope to see similar improvements from the offense and defense in 2015. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #AFCWest #OaklandRaiders
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 03:14:12 +0000
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