Oakland Raiders Coaching Staff: Chucky's Back, Bresnahan That Is

That’s right, Chucky is back on the Oakland Raiders coaching staff. This move clearly signals the Raiders will return to their dominant form the turn of the millennium from the last time Chucky was on board. Oh wait, it is Chuck Bresnahan and not Jon Gruded we are talking about.

Chuck Bresnahan, the Raiders defensive coordinator from 2000-2002, has traveled some miles since he left. He comes to the Raiders from the Florida Tuskers of the UFL, where he served as the defensive coordinator and linebacker coach.

Bresnahan was hired as the linebackers coach for the Raiders. It is certainly worth noting that the Raiders do not yet have a defensive coordinator. They may have their target set on the Super Bowl.

It has been rumored that the Raiders are interested in Green Bays secondary coach, Darren Perry as well as their linebackers coach, Winston Moss. These same two men are also likely being targeted for the Phildelphia Eagles defensive coordinator job.

If the Raiders are unable to hire one of these two guys, I would expect them to promote Bresnahan to the coordinator position. Here is to hoping they land one of the guys from Green Bay. While I do not think Bresnahan is horrible, it would be nice to get some fresh meat in the spot and have Bresnahan’s experience assisting him.

Oakland Raiders Coaching Staff: Taking Shape By Subtraction

The Oakland Raiders coaching staff has five fewer members. The following coaches were either fired or not re-signed: linebackers coach Mike Haluchak, quarterbacks coach Ted Tollner, quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett, offensive line coach Jim Michalczik and assistant line coach Chris Morgan. In typical Raiders fashion this news was made available by the simple deletion of their names for the team website.

None of these moves could come as a big surprise. In fact, Jim Michalczik has already been introduced as the offensive line coach for the California Golden Bears.

The most interesting bit here is that two of the more maligned coaches by fans remain on the roster. It appears that both special teams coach John Fassel and wide receiver coach Sanjay Lal will be back with the club next year. Fassel’s special teams saw immense improvements in kickoff returns, but slipped a bit in coverage.

As for Lal, he takes a lot of criticism, but I am not sure what people expect. He is a coach, not a miracle wielding genie. As below average as the Raiders receivers were, they showed improvements. It is also worth mentioning that rookie Jacoby Ford went way beyond expectations as part of both Fassel’s and Lal’s groups.

Oakland Raiders Defensive Coordinator: New/Old Names Come Up In Search

The Oakland Raiders' search for a new defensive coordinator exists in the public solely in the land of speculation. Throw in the names of Chuck Bresnahan and Joe Cullen into that speculation mix. The legitimacy of the candidacy for these two is certainly up for debate

It was reported earlier that Jason LaCanfora of the NFL Network reported that current Jacksonville Jaguars defensive line coach Joe Cullen would be visiting Oakland for an interview in the coming weeks. It was then quickly revealed that the tweet did not come from the real Jason LaCanfora. Who sets up a fake LaCanfora Twitter account and tweets something as mundane as that? My guess is Joe Cullen's agent. 

The other new name to surface today is a familiar one: Chuck Bresnahan. Bresnahan was the Raiders defensive coordinator the last time the Raiders were any good and he is currently the defensive coordinator for the mighty Florida Tuskers of the UFL. Bresnahan was also the defensive coordinator for the Bengals when Hue Jackson served as Cincinnati's wide receivers coach.

Oakland Raiders Defensive Coordinator Search: Is The Next DC Preparing For The Super Bowl?

The Oakland Raiders search for a defensive coordinator may be to the Super Bowl. Unlike the search for the offensive coordinator, where the Raiders made it know that they were targeting Al Saunders, they have not mentioned the names for any potential defensive coordinator’s. They also haven’t announced that they have brought anyone in for an interview.

This would leave me to believe that their targeted coach is still coaching. The logical name here is, Winston Moss. Moss is currently the linebackers coach with the Green Bay Packers. He played for the Los Angeles Raiders in 1991-1994. More importantly, Moss interviewed for the head coaching position for the Raiders before Al Davis lifted Tom Cable’s interim tag prior to the 2009 season.

Moss began his coaching career in 1998 with the Seattle Seahawks. He is currently a coach of a 3-4 system, but he has coached the 4-3 system as well.

Hue Jackson, Raiders Reportedly Hire Al Saunders As Offensive Coordinator

Within a day of interviewing for the position, Al Saunders has reportedly been hired as the Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator. Although Hue Jackson indicated he will be the primary play-caller, Saunders will likely have a lot of input in his offensive coordinator role. However, it remains to be seen what Saunders’ specific role will be. He’s well-respected around the league, and as his resume below shows, he’s got a ton of experience on the offensive side of the ball.

It will be interesting to see how a former offensive coordinator like Hue Jackson can handle working with an offensive coordinator who has done a lot in the NFL. There’s the potential for some great things with the Raiders offense. If Jackson and Saunders can work well together, the Raiders could take the next step.

Al Saunders Resume
1970-71 – USC – Graduate Assistant
1972 – Missouri – Wide Receivers
1973-75 – Utah State – Running Backs
1976-81 – Cal – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks/Assistant Head Coach
1982 – Tennessee – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
1983-86 – San Diego Chargers – Wide Receivers
1986-88 – San Diego Chargers – Head Coach
1989-98 – Kansas City Chiefs – Wide Receivers/Assistant Head Coach
1999-00 – St. Louis Rams – Wide Receivers/Assistant Head Coach
2001-05 – Kansas City Chiefs – Offensive Coordinator
2006-07 – Washington Redskins – Assistant Head Coach
2008 – St. Louis Rams – Offensive Coordinator
2009-10 – Baltimore Ravens – Offensive Coordinator

Oakland Raiders Offensive Coordinator Search: Al Saunders Interviews

The Oakland Raiders search for an offensive coordinator is in full gear. Al Saunders interviewed with the team on Tuesday after the Raiders requested and were granted permission from Baltimore to speak with him. Saunders spent last season on the Ravens staff as an offensive consultant.

Saunders cut his teeth on the Air Coryell offensive system and this has drawn the admiration of Al Davis over the years. Saunders has himself interviewed for the head coaching position with the Raiders several times. It now looks like he will finally join the team as the offensive coordinator.

Saunders was Jason Campbell’s offensive coordinator for Campbell’s first 20 games as a starter. It was there that Saunders offense was mocked for having a play book over 700 pages long.

I like this move. Saunders won’t be calling the plays, but his experience will help build game plans and ease the load off of Hue Jackson, who will be in his first year as a head coach and only his second as a play caller. Saunders is famous for his attention to detail and I think this is something that could really help the Raiders young wide receivers.

Oakland Raiders Defensive Coordinator Search: Cross Off Chuck Pagano's Name

Many people had speculated that Chuck Pagano, the former secondary coach for the Raiders and co-worker of Hue Jackson, would be headed to Oakland to become the Raiders next defensive coordinator. Well, now that the Baltimore Ravens have promoted him from secondary coach to defensive coordinator, I think it is safe to say, that he is not going to come to Oakland and the Raiders can go ahead with their search. The Ravens announced the move early Wednesday morning.

In light of Pagano’s statements, it is apparent he was never coming to Oakland in the first place. I am also fairly certain he will not be allowed anywhere near the team headquarters now. Pagano was asked by the National Football Post about his candidacy for the coordinator job in Oakland. “Two years was plenty,” Pagano said referencing his two years as secondary coach in Oakland.

He did congratulate Jackson for his new job, but also used that as another chance to take a shot. “He will earn every cent that they pay him, and it won’t be much.”

Hue Jackson 2011 Raiders Coaching Staff: Jackson Will Be Calling The Offensive Plays

Yesterday, Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson was introduced as the new head coach of the team. During his press conference, Jackson stated that he would be the primary play-caller on offense for the Raiders. This somewhat follows what we've seen in San Francisco where new head coach Jim Harbaugh stated he would be involved in the play-calling. While Jim Harbaugh used a play-calling committee of sorts at Stanford and will potentially do something similar in San Francisco, Jackson's work as offensive coordinator makes it sound like he'll basically be operating as the head coach and offensive coordinator in its entirety.

The departures on the coaching staff have already begun as offensive line coach Jim Michalczik is leaving the Raiders and returning to Cal to coach their offensive line. Given Jackson's existing presence with the team it will be interesting to see how many current Raiders coaches he retains. Jim Harbaugh was new to San Francisco so it made sense that he would want to bring in a lot of his own guys. The staff in Oakland was brought in by Tom Cable, but Jackson's been able to develop working relationships with these coaches.

One name that was brought up early in the press conference was Al Saunders:

"I'm going to be the primary playcaller, but we're going to do everything we can to recruit the best staff for the Oakland Raiders,'' Jackson said. "Obviously the name you just mentioned (Al Saunders) is someone who's out there that we would love to talk to, but there's several people that we're going to talk to. We're going to do everything we can to put the best staff we can here in Oakland.''

Jackson was also the one to confirm the 49ers had hired Ed Donatell to be their secondary coach. I'd imagine this information came to him when he attempted to contact Donatell about interviewing for a position with the Raiders.

However it plays out we'll be keeping an eye on the Raiders coaching staff plans over the coming weeks. For more on the Raiders, head over to Silver and Black Pride.