Why Would HC Jack Del Rio’s Involvement In The Draft Process Be A Bad Thing?
By Kevin Saito
Given the time of year it is, it shouldn’t be surprising that Oakland Raiders‘ GM Reggie McKenzie and HC Jack Del Rio, like all of the other power players on teams around the league, are engaged in a campaign of obfuscation and subterfuge. And their performance at the presser following the end of the recent three day veteran’s minicamp, only reinforced that fact.
Longtime Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur seemed to sum up the frustration many felt about the wall of silence from Oakland’s newest power couple when he fired off this Tweet:
McKenzie and Del Rio wouldn't even admit there is a need at pass rusher ... so, yeah, that was 40 minutes of our lives wasted. #Raiders
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) April 24, 2015
The lack of anything substantial, even the smallest nugget of concrete information is frustrating. For fans wanting to know what our team is doing, and for those of us who rely on information to do our jobs, it can be incredibly maddening.
As frustrating as it is though, it’s understandable. After all, why should they tip their hand about their draft plans ahead of time? To paraphrase Del Rio, it’s not their job to prepare the other 31 teams for Oakland’s draft strategy.
Understandable, but still frustrating.
And within that blank space and that void of information we have to trudge through until the draft, some of the strangest articles begin to make appearances. Articles that speculate about and comment on issues that don’t seem to have any basis in reality. Articles that seem to be fanning the flames of problems that don’t really exist anywhere but in the mind of the writer who wrote it. And articles that look to create imaginary problems simply to get some tongues wagging.
It’s somewhat understandable given the fact that we’re floating through a total void of information, but having to separate the wheat from the chaff sometimes becomes a tedious exercise.
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A recent article penned by Vic Lopez over on Just Blog Baby took issue with the fact that Del Rio is going to have a strong influence on the Raiders’ draft board this year. As if having the head coach of the players the team is going to be drafting giving his two cents is a bad thing.
"If it aint broke, don’t fix it….In 2014 the Oakland Raiders draft strategy behind GM Reggie McKenzie was damn near perfect. McKenzie showed what patience and excellent scouting can bring to a NFL franchise. Solid contributors and potential stars in a rookie class filled with depth and promise."
We don’t disagree with Lopez on this point. McKenzie’s 2014 draft was an absolute home run. He nailed it from the first pick to the last, and made the team better. He did indeed draft some solid contributors and potential stars, and the Raiders are a far better team for it.
But after that opening line in Lopez’s article that we agree with wholeheartedly – well – things got a little weird.
Lopez went on to discuss the potential problems with letting Del Rio have any sort of say or influence over the draft board that ranged from the possibility of it igniting a power struggle between coach and GM, to the possibility that Del Rio’s presence might hurt McKenzie’s feelings and make him begin to second guess himself.
To most all of that, we say, hogwash.
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We need to start by being honest about the 2014 draft. It was a home run, absolutely. But McKenzie’s first and second round picks – Khalil Mack and Derek Carr – were absolute no-brainers. It didn’t take a whole lot of research and/or decision making to pull the trigger on drafting two players – both very highly regarded – who can and likely will be foundational pieces for Oakland for a long time to come.
Both players literally fell into McKenzie’s lap when they weren’t necessarily expected to, and all he did was not fumble on the play. They were easy picks to make and didn’t require a lot of thought. So kudos for that?
As for the rest of his picks in 2014 though, Lopez is right. The Raiders’ scouting staff did an excellent job of identifying players who would not just be available in the later rounds, but would be good fits, and solid contributors. Justin Ellis, Gabe Jackson, and Travis Carrie were all terrific choices and will be good foundational pieces the Raiders can build upon.
It’s true that Dennis Allen didn’t have a whole lot of influence on last year’s draft board. His voice wasn’t very loud in that war room. Reggie did that draft essentially on his own because he had to. Allen was a decent coordinator with the Broncos, but let’s face it, he was not head coaching material, nor did he seem particularly skilled when it came to evaluating players.
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Allen was a decent enough coordinator, but wasn’t a real “football guy.” Unlike Del Rio, Allen didn’t play – aside from a one year stint on Buffalo’s practice squad – and through no fault of his own, can’t know the game the same way. Del Rio played at a very high level for a number of years, and having been Baltimore’s linebacker coach in 2001, knows what it takes to get a team to a Super Bowl. And win.
So from that standpoint, despite what Lopez claims in his piece, it was actually broke – therefore, it needs to be fixed. The Raiders, as a team, can only benefit from having an actual “football guy” like Del Rio in the war room, helping shape the roster of players he’ll be coaching and the direction of the franchise moving forward.
Lopez goes on to ask just how much influence Del Rio should have over draft day decisions. He also asks a series of hypothetical questions pulled from the ether that seem to cast Del Rio as a power hungry beast who is just itching to bump McKenzie out of his job and take over. Where that idea came from is anybody’s guess, but worrying about something that there has been no hint of seems counterproductive at best.
Feb 18, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio speaks at a press conference during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The answer to the one question worth answering though, is simple – Del Rio should have as much influence on draft day as he wants and owner Mark Davis is comfortable giving him.
No disrespect to McKenzie, but Del Rio is the one who will be coaching these guys. McKenzie has never been a coach, and though he undoubtedly knows football, and has a terrific pedigree and reputation as a front office man, he isn’t the one who will be leading these players onto the field each and every Sunday. Del Rio has to know these players inside and out, has to trust them, and most importantly, he has to believe in them.
Davis is smart enough to know what he doesn’t know. He’s said so many times as a way of explaining why he brought McKenzie aboard in the first place. But he’s also smart enough to know when something isn’t working – which is why the decision to hire Del Rio was, according to many reports, his to begin with. It’s why Del Rio is also the first head coach of the team to have been given as much power and authority that he has. And the reason for that is simple — Davis knew that something was broke and needed to be fixed.
Knowing that Del Rio is very smart, has a high football IQ, knows the players inside and out, has had some success on the pro level, and is a genuine “football guy,” why would anybody, let alone McKenzie, balk at taking his input into drafting strategy? It makes no sense whatsoever.
McKenzie is growing into the job, there is no question. He’s gotten better over the years, and his drafts – as well as his free agent signings – have improved. But Del Rio is the first bona fide head coach he’s had under his charge. There isn’t anything Del Rio hasn’t seen or done before. He knows how to evaluate talent, and he knows how to shape a roster. McKenzie is great with the X’s and O’s, but he isn’t down in the dirt with Del Rio, and doesn’t see or know things the way the head coach does.
But McKenzie is smart too. Smart enough to, like Davis, know what he doesn’t know. By all accounts, his working relationship with Del Rio has been – while not always entirely smooth – productive. Respectful. Honest.
Both men want the same exact thing – to bring the Raiders, a team they both love deeply, back to greatness again.
In the end, McKenzie will be the one turning in the card. He will have the final voice on the subject. However, Del Rio is going to have a very loud voice as well. And despite what Lopez and others might think, he absolutely should.
McKenzie and the Raiders will only benefit from Del Rio’s involvement in the Raiders’ draft process. They’ll be a far better team with him involved. And McKenzie knows it.