The Oakland Raiders made the right call in hiring Jack Del Rio. Especially so when you consider who they had interviewed.
Eric Mangini? Are you kidding me? Pat Shurmur was considered the front-runner for awhile. Yikes! That’s almost as bad as the so-called “Man-Genius.”
Del Rio was the right way to go; the best case scenario.
The Oakland Raiders were looking for someone to build maybe without all of the resources that some of the other NFL teams have. Del Rio grew up a Raiders fan; his parents actually had season tickets for the Oakland Raiders.
What he did, at least for awhile, in Jacksonville was pretty amazing when you consider how hapless the Jags have been otherwise. Also, every coaching candidate this year must have Broncos or Stanford ties.
Or so it seems.
Great coaches are always associated with a single article of clothing (Belichick- hoody, Tressel- sweater vest, Landry- hat just to name a few) and Del Rio had that for awhile with the leather jacket.
“Jack Del Rio brings a strong leadership presence to this organization,” said Oakland Raiders General Manager Reggie McKenzie. “He has developed an excellent reputation as a coach in this league and we are happy that he is a Raider.”
Del Rio just finished his second run as a defensive coordinator under Head Coach John Fox (who will now take the Chicago Bears Head Coaching job), as the two spent the 2002 season together in Carolina. Del Rio was part of three-straight AFC West titles with the Broncos and helped lead Denver to an AFC Championship and appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 campaign.
Del Rio’s defenses have ranked in the top six in the NFL in yards per game allowed in 10 of his 17 seasons as a position coach, coordinator or head coach.
The Oakland Raiders will unveil Del Rio to the public in a media conference later today.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports, Yardbarker Network, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive Inc.
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