Oakland Raiders Showing Interest in Jack Del Rio

The Denver Broncos have been highly successful over the past four seasons and that success brings interest from other teams. We already talked about the interest in offensive coordinator Adam Gase; Denver Broncos Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase is the Hot Name as Searches Begin https://milehighmaniac.com/2014/12/29/denver-broncos-offensive-coordinator-adam-gase-hot-name-searches-begin/

Now it appears that Broncos defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio could be the leading candidate to take over the Oakland Raiders. Del Rio is from the area, has ties to the Raiders and his parents are season ticket holders for whatever that’s worth.

Unlike other teams with coaching vacancies, this process could be a long one and the Raiders may not even seek permission to talk to Del Rio this week. Historically the Raiders have taken their time in hiring a new head coach, often waiting until well into February before making a decision. However most of those searches took place under the direction of Al Davis. It is unclear how Mark Davis will proceed in this process.

More from Denver Broncos

• The 2019-2020 Broncos Depth At Tight End Could Be A Huge Strength To This Offense
• Broncos Position Battles to Watch as Preseason Approaches
• NFL Draft 2019 Denver Broncos Day 2 Picks
• Losing Chris Harris Jr. Would Be A Tragic Loss For Broncos And John Elway
• NFL Draft 2019 Denver Broncos take Noah Fant with the 20th Pick

Davis made it a point to seek out Del Rio before Sunday’s game with the Broncos and believe me it wasn’t to congratulate Del Rio on the Broncos division title.

If Del Rio was to leave for the Raiders job, the Broncos would likely look outside the organization for his replacement and it could be the guy that Del Rio replaced.

Two years ago Dennis Allen left the Broncos to take, ironically, the Raiders head coaching job. He was fired four games into this season but is still highly regarded in the NFL as a defensive mind. Allen also has a strong relationship with John Fox.

Allen landed the Raiders because of the job he did with the Broncos defense in 2011. People will always remember that year as the Tim Tebow year but it was the Broncos defense that kept them in most of those games. While Tebow was playing awful through the first three quarters versus the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Chicago Bears, it was Allen’s defense that kept the Broncos in the game. Even in the season finale versus the Kansas City Chiefs, the defense held the Chiefs to seven points. The Tebow led offense could only manage a field goal in a loss that really should have cost the Broncos a playoff spot.

I’m not trying to take away what Tebow did that year, ok maybe a little, but the defense and special teams deserve more credit than they got or ever will get for that magical run. It was Allen who was the architect of that defense and would be an excellent choice if that’s how it plays out.

A lot of Broncos’ fans are going to scream for the team to hire Rex Ryan if Del Rio does leave and believe me I understand why, Ryan is a great defensive coordinator. However, Ryan has told multiple people that he has no interest in being a defensive coordinator next season and would go into television if he does not land a head coaching position. Ryan’s name has already been tied to the open job in Atlanta. The bottom line is Ryan will not be coaching in Denver in 2015.

There is some speculation that the Broncos could reach out to Ryan to serve as a defensive consultant during the playoffs. It makes sense given his success in slowing down Tom Brady and the Patriots offense but I just don’t see it. If Ryan has no interest in being a coordinator next season, then why would he sign on for two or three week gig?

The Patriots did something similar with Josh McDaniels in the playoffs two years ago but that was different. McDaniels was going to be with the Patriots as their offensive coordinator for the following season, so it made sense. Ryan has no reason to do that same thing for the Broncos. He might be willing to share some insights via a phone call if the Broncos choose to call, but I can’t see it going any farther than that.

Other names will surface if the job does open up and a lot of quality names would be extremely interested. The Broncos defense is loaded with a lot of young talent and one of the best defensive backfields in the NFL.

It’s a credit to John Elway, Fox and the Broncos that both Gase and Del Rio are drawing so much interest. It means the team is winning a lot of games and the organization is doing things the right way.