Oakland Raiders: Jack Del Rio Setting Bold, Strong Tone In 2016

The Oakland Raiders scored a big win in week one and HC Jack Del Ri is setting a bold, strong tone for the road ahead.

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Turns out, former Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen isn’t going to get that game ball after all. The Raiders denied him the chance to rub a little salt into the wounds with an explosive offensive performance and just enough defense. Oakland got the job done and notched their first opening week win in half a decade, beating Allen’s defense and the Saints in a wild, wild game. Or at least, a game with a wild, wild finish.

The fact that the Raiders overcame a 14 point second half deficit to win a game is impressive enough. It was the type of game past Oakland squads would likely have lost. But this team has something those teams of yesteryear didn’t have – a ton of hutzpah. And it’s clear that the Raiders are getting that hutzpah straight from the man in charge – HC Jack Del Rio.

The tone Del Rio is setting for this 2016 squad is one that is bold, strong, and demands accountability. Past coaches like Allen, Tony Sparano, Lane Kiffen all paid lip service to the idea of holding players accountable, but they never walked the walk the way Del Rio is.

In terms of boldness and audacity, you can’t get much more – to quote Saints quarterback Drew Brees – “ballsy” than Del Rio sending his team out for a two point conversion attempt to win the game. Sure, there was a logical component to it – Oakland’s defense hadn’t stopped the New Orleans offense all game long.

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It was reasonable to think that if Del Rio had played it safe and opted for overtime, if they didn’t win the toss, they were going to lose that game.

But to dial up a two point conversion attempt, on the road, in a hostile environment, is a measure of – well – “ballsiness.”

Del Rio downplayed the aggressiveness or the gutsiness of the call, preferring to talk about trusting his players. Which he had to do to make the call to begin with. However, there is no question that it was a bold, aggressive call. Ninety nine percent of coaches in this league, in that same position, would have opted to play it safe.

Not Del Rio. Not this season. He’s determined to change the culture and set that bold, brash tone that has always been part of the Raider mystique.

Somewhat overshadowed by Michael Crabtree coming down with that two point conversion – and what it means for this team – was Del Rio benching high priced free agent cornerback Sean Smith. It would have been easy to leave his forty million dollar man out there to finish out the game.

Despite Smith putting on a very D.J. Hayden-like performance, nobody would have batted an eye if he’d left him in the game. After all, he was the most coveted corner on the free agent market, the Raiders are paying him a ton of cash, and he’s one of the better cover corners in the game.

He was just having a really, really rough night.

And to his credit, Smith put the blame squarely where it belonged – on his own shoulders. Asked about his performance, Smith shared a few thoughts.

"“I was getting killed. I’m not going to lie to you. It was getting bad out there. I was costing our team points so Coach did what he had to do. I would have loved to stay in, fight that thing out, but Coach made the decision which was best for the team, so I’m going to ride with it.”"

The smaller, quicker Saints receivers presented a terrible matchup problem for the bigger Smith. At 6’3”, 220 lbs., Smith is one of the biggest corners in the game. He’s not the most fleet of foot, but he’s exception in coverage – ordinarily.

Cooks and Sam Snead got to him early and often and made Smith’s life a living hell. Before he was yanked by Del Rio, Smith had given up four receptions for 183 yards. The back breaker of course, was the 98 yard touchdown catch and run to Cooks.

And rather than leave Smith on the field to work it out on his own, a furious Del Rio did what a lot of coaches have a very hard time doing – he held him accountable and sat him down. Accountability is something that’s easy to talk about but is oftentimes difficult to put into practice when you’re talking about the best players on your squad. But Del Rio did just that.

Those two actions – going for two with the game on the line, and benching a high priced free agent pick up – have set a real tone for this team. Del Rio sent a strong message – he trusts all of his players, but will hold their feet to the fire when necessary, and if you don’t perform, you’re not going to play.

The tone Del Rio set is important. And does more to change the culture of this franchise than most anything that’s been tried over the last decade plus. Those two decisions may be among the most important he makes this season for the impact they will have on this squad.

Next: Allen Claiming a Hand in Raiders' Rise

2016 got off to a tremendous start with a wild, exhilarating win on the road in a hostile environment. It’s one that will resonate with this team throughout the season. But the decisions Del Rio made during that wild game will also resonate, and very well may ultimately have the bigger impact.