Late Friday afternoon, the Oakland Raiders gave head coach Jack Del Rio a four year contract extension. This comes during the same off-season that saw Raider rusher Khalil Mack win the Defensive Player of the Year award and general manager Reggie McKenzie win Executive of the Year.
Oakland Raiders Extend Jack Del Rio
Raider Resurgence
A long-time Raiders fan, Jack Del Rio has played a big part of the Raider resurgence. Before Del Rio became the head coach, the Raiders hadn’t a winning season since 2002. In Del Rio’s first two years, the Raiders have a record of 19-13, with seven and 12 win seasons. Del Rio’s Raiders had the best record in the AFC West last year, and only missed out on the division via tiebreaker.
Believe
Every coach before Jack Del Rio told his players the same thing. Each and every single coach told the Raiders that he was going to make them competitive and teach them how to win. And no matter what, year by year, they all failed. Lane Kiffin couldn’t do it, Dennis Allen couldn’t do it, and Hue Jackson couldn’t do it.
If the Raiders fell behind early, it was obvious that the game was over. They would completely implode, and it would take a miracle for them to win. There’s a reason they only won 11 of the previous 48 games. Jack Del Rio changed all that.
Del Rio taught the Raiders to believe. Never was this more evident than early against the New Orleans Saints in week one this season. The Raiders found themselves down 14 points to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The 2014 Oakland Raiders would collapse. The 2016 Oakland Raiders? Came back and won.
And not only did they win, they won on a ballsy decision by Del Rio to skip the game-tying extra point, and instead go for two, to make it 35-34. Del Rio’s quarterback, Derek Carr, set the NFL record for game-winning touchdown passes in a season.
Moving Forward
Jack Del Rio got the Oakland Raiders over the hump in 2016, but they have to keep getting better. Their 2017 schedule is tough, but great teams beat good teams when it matters most. Jack Del Rio absolutely deserved the contract extension he’s been given, but he needs to make sure he earns the next one.
