Oakland Raiders HC Del Rio’s Staff a Balance of Experience and Attitude
By Kevin Saito
Members of the sports media and Oakland Raiders fans who have been stumbling all over themselves in a blind panic about Jack Del Rio‘s lack of a defensive coordinator can now rest easy. The job has been filled, and Del Rio’s coaching staff is now all but complete.
With the addition of Ken Norton, Jr. as Oakland’s new defensive coordinator, and Jethro Franklin as the team’s defensive line coach, Del Rio’s major coaching holes have been filled and he can now turn his attention to getting ready for the 2015 season.
The hiring of Norton, Jr. as his defensive coordinator didn’t come as much of a shock to anybody. Shortly after Todd Grantham was lured back to the University of Louisville with the promise of a heftier paycheck, Norton, Jr.’s name began to surface as a possible candidate for Oakland’s vacant DC job.
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Norton, Jr.’s hiring makes sense for the Raiders in a lot of ways. He and Del Rio have a long history and solid friendship together, and Norton, Jr. has had some success as a coach at both the collegiate and NFL levels. While at USC with Pete Carroll, Norton, Jr. – himself, a standout NFL linebacker – mentored future NFL stars such as Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Keith Rivers, and Rey Maualuga. After following Carroll to Seattle, Norton, Jr. oversaw the development of David Hawthorne and K.J. Wright.
If there was anybody built to help oversee the development of young standout linebackers Khalil Mack and Sio Moore, and assist them in taking their game to the next level, it is Ken Norton, Jr. As a player, his distinguished 13 year career netted him three Pro Bowl appearances, a first team All Pro award, three championship rings, and a reputation as one of the fiercest competitors on the field.
In Jethro Franklin, Del Rio and the Raiders are getting somebody who has also had coaching success at the collegiate and NFL levels. Franklin has coached at Temple, Fresno State, USC, UCLA, and last season, with the Miami Hurricanes, helping their defense improve to 14th in the nation in yards allowed in 2014. He’s also had stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers.
Dec 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 35-6. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
What Del Rio’s latest additions to his team does is give Oakland one of the most experienced coaching staffs the Raiders have had in a very long time. While his father, the late Al Davis preferred to hire young, up and coming coaches without much – if any – head coaching experience, Mark Davis has taken the opposite path in hiring Del Rio, a coach with plenty of experience, and some success as a head coach on the NFL level.
Del Rio has added to that pool of experience by bringing in assistants like Mike Tice, Bill Musgrave, Todd Downing, Bobby Johnson, Marcus Robertson, Brad Seely, and Sal Sunseri, who combined, have a tremendous amount of experience in the NFL.
But it’s not just experience that Del Rio’s coaches bring to Oakland. It’s also an attitude and a swagger that’s long been missing from the team. Raiders fans should expect the defense, under the guidance and leadership of Del Rio and Norton, Jr., to have an infusion of intensity and nastiness. Both men were ferocious on the field, knew how to finish plays, and there is no doubt they will be teaching the young Raiders defense how to do the same.
On the offensive side of the ball, Tice will undoubtedly help put a big mean streak into Oakland’s offensive line. He had a tremendous amount of success with the running game as the Viking’s head coach, helping them lead the NFL in rushing in 2002 for the first time in franchise history. With Musgrave’s penchant for a power running game, combined with Tice putting some attitude into his line, it could bode very well for the Raiders.
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While Del Rio’s coaching staff lacked a lot of flair and sizzle – the type some members of the media believed he needed – he assembled a rock solid core of coaches. No, they weren’t flashy hirings, nor did he nab and “rock stars” for his staff, but what he got were coaches who have a tremendous amount of experience, a history of hard work, and reputations for getting the most – and best – out of their players.
Del Rio and his staff will look to build bigger and better things on the small successes the team had late last season. And with the core of young playmakers the Raiders have, along with a coaching staff that knows how to put them in positions to succeed, Raiders fans have reason to feel optimistic.