Oakland Raiders: Five Who Should Be Considered For OC Job In 2018

The Oakland Raiders, after a dismal showing in 2017, will likely be in the market for a new offensive coordinator in the offseason – here are just a few of the possibilities they should consider.

Suffice it to say, the Oakland Raiders have had a disappointing year. Which is, of course, the kind and generous way of saying the Raiders have been an absolute three-alarm dumpster fire this year. And nowhere is that more evident than on the offensive side of the ball.

Last year, the Raiders had one of the best, most electrifying offenses in all of football. They were never out of games and could score from practically anywhere.

This year though? This year, it seems like it’s a coin flip whether or not they could score from the one-foot line with a first down and only eight men playing defense.

The biggest difference from 2016 to 2017, of course, was the team letting former OC Bill Musgrave walk after his contract expired and elevating former quarterbacks coach Todd Downing to replace him. Hindsight being 20/20 and all that, it was one of the biggest, boneheaded blunders in HC Jack Del Rio‘s tenure at the helm.

It was hard to blame Del Rio for taking the flyer on Downing though. His work with quarterback Derek Carr, helping him become an elite-level franchise quarterback is unquestioned. He was becoming a hot commodity and was thought to be the next hot offensive coordinator.

It’s hard to blame Del Rio entirely for taking that leap, rather than see him go to another team and put together a juggernaut of an offense.

You can blame Del Rio though, for sticking with Downing far too long after it became apparent that the job is simply too big for him, he isn’t the offensive innovator many thought him to be, and doesn’t put his offense in positions where they can find success.

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But, that’s neither here nor there. Or, at least, that’s fodder for a different article.

Which means that although we’re apparently stuck with Downing for the remainder of this year, Del Rio will likely be moving on from him once the season comes to its inevitable conclusion.

At least – he should. He really, really should.

With that in mind – and the fervent hope that desire actually comes to fruition – let’s take a look at some potential replacements. This list isn’t perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it complete – with the offseason approaching, you can bet there will be plenty of other names on the market soon enough.

It’s painfully obvious that what Del Rio and the Raiders need is somebody with some experience and a proven track record. Somebody who knows how to run an offense and somebody who doesn’t let the job be too big for them.

So, for now, in no particular order of preference, let’s take a look at a few names that could possibly fit – and do a better job running Oakland’s offense than Todd Downing.