Oakland Raiders to hire Jack del Rio as head coach

By Cory Buck | Jan 14, 2015

Sep 7, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio during the second half against the against the Indianapolis Colts at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

The Oakland Raiders are reportedly set to hire Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio as their new head coach.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the Oakland Raiders are prepared to introduce former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio to the same position. Del Rio has been the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos for the last three seasons, but his standing on the team was in flux after the dismissal of head coach John Fox. As a result, Del Rio has apparently agreed to coach the Raiders after a lengthy second interview.

Raiders expected to name Jack Del Rio as their next head coach as early as today, per sources.
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 14, 2015

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The Raiders weren’t going to find many coaches on the open market with more head coaching experience than Jack Del Rio. That’s a big boon for one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Del Rio coached the Jaguars for nine seasons before being dismissed in the last quarter of his ninth season. He presided over the team’s only playoff win since their 1999 franchise-record season in which the team went 14-2 under quarterback Mark Brunell.

However, that one playoff win was Del Rio’s sole postseason victory in a span than ran from 2003-2011. Now Jack Del Rio will have a chance to put that behind him, taking in some playoff experience gained with the Denver Broncos over the last three seasons. He can use what he learned from Fox and the gang in an effort to get the Raiders some playoff success, or even an appearance, in the process.

Jack Del Rio is primarily known as a ‘player’s coach’. He doesn’t ream out his players like some coaches and while he’s certainly a hard dude on the sidelines, he was known to have a fun streak that occasionally backfired. Just ask punter Chris Hanson, who missed the balance of the 2003 season thanks to Del Rio’s infamous stump of wood and the accompanying axe.

There’ll be no axes in Oakland though as one can safely assume Del Rio has learned a few lessons since that mistake in 2003. Now the Raiders can look forward to greater focus on defense under a man whose specialty has been just that.

Expect defensive players like star linebacker Khalil Mack to thrive under Del Rio as well as a budding defense that played much better in the second half of the season than they did the first. The team has a young talented quarterback and another high first round pick to aid the process as well.

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