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

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 08: head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during warms up prior to their game against the Baltimore Ravens at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 08: head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during warms up prior to their game against the Baltimore Ravens at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 8, 2017 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Oakland Raiders
DENVER, CO – AUGUST 31: Offensive coordinator MiKe McCoy of the Denver Broncos looks on during a preseason NFL game between the Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on August 31, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Mike McCoy

McCoy was the designated scapegoat in Denver when their season started to go off the rails. It’s hard to pin all of the blame on him however. Could anybody have really done much better with a quarterback room inhabited by the likes of Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, and Brock Osweiler?

As an offensive coordinator, McCoy has some solid credentials. In 2009, his offensive scheme led Kyle Orton to have a career year – throwing for 3,802 yards, on 62 percent passing, 21 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions.

In 2010, the Broncos had the league’s seventh-ranked passing attack, with Orton being in the top-five in passing yards per game, league-wide. The next year though, saw Tebow-mania infect Denver and in response, McCoy altered his scheme to suit his personnel – something Downing has failed to do all year long.

With Tim Tebow under center for Denver, the Broncos weren’t nearly as much of a passing threat as they’d been with Kyle Orton at the controls. Impressively enough, McCoy altered his scheme and the Broncos turned around led the NFL in rushing in 2011.

Outside of an inspired late season charge that saw his then-San Diego Chargers make the postseason and win a Wild Card game, McCoy’s tenure as San Diego’s head coach wasn’t all that terrific. There were some mitigating circumstances, such as an insane amount of injuries and just bad luck, but his 27-37 record with the Chargers just wasn’t all that great.

And then of course, came his stint as Denver’s OC this year, and the rest is history.

GM Reggie McKenzie and Del Rio would be wise to talk to McCoy. No, he’s not the sexiest pick out there, but he’s solid as an offensive coordinator, has plenty of experience, puts together a good game plan (as evidenced by his success against the Raiders over his career).

And most importantly, is flexible enough to adjust his scheme to fit the personnel he has on hand, rather than try to shoehorn them into a rigid structure that doesn’t play to their strengths.