Jack Del Rio Is the Oakland Raiders' Most Important Addition of the Offseason

Who's more important to a team's success: the players or the coaches?

It's a common argument in sports that's unlikely to reach a conclusion anytime soon. Both sides have a good argument. There may never be a consensus. But one thing that both sides can agree on is that the players and coaches both play an important role, and one can't succeed without the other.

For the Oakland Raiders, there's been a dearth of talent on the field in recent years, and it's undeniable this fact has played a major role in the team's struggles. But what can't be ignored is that the same is true for the team's head coaches over this same period of time.

The Raiders didn't have the talent. They also didn't have the right leader.

Oakland drastically raised its talent level this offseason. But more importantly, the team finally brought in a head coach in Jack Del Rio who's capable of leading this once-proud franchise out of pro football purgatory and back to relevance and success.

Experience Matters

With all due respect to the men who have been head coach of the Raiders since 2007—Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable, Hue Jackson, Dennis Allen and Tony Sparano—they weren't up to the task of leading this franchise back to success.

Each one of these coaches was in over his head while on the job. Not one of them was ready to be the long-term solution.

		Total Experience as NFL Head Coach*
Season	Head Coach	0
2007-08	Lane Kiffin	0
2008-10	Tom Cable	0
2011	Hue Jackson	0
2012-14	Dennis Allen	0
2014	Tony Sparano	62**

*at time of becoming Oakland's head coach

** includes one playoff game

The Raiders attempted to find a diamond in the rough, the new, young, hotshot head coach who could burst onto the scene and make a name for himself as a Raider. In other words, they were looking for their next Jon Gruden.

But lack of NFL head coaching experience proved to be an insurmountable issue.

The one exception was Sparano, who had previously been the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. But with the Raiders, as was the case with the Dolphins, he was only given the job after the head coach was fired.

Sparano had an opportunity, albeit a small one, to secure the job long-term in Oakland. But realistically, he was really just a stopgap until a permanent replacement could be found.

After a lot of swings and misses, the Raiders finally got it right with the hiring of Del Rio. He has a crucial advantage over his predecessors, which is his extensive NFL head coaching experience.

During his nine-year run as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 to 2011, Del Rio coached 142 games, including three in the playoffs. That's more regular-season and playoff coaching experience than Oakland's previous five head coaches combined.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times' Sam Farmer, legendary Raiders head coach and Hall of Famer John Madden had this to say about Del Rio:

"

Jack Del Rio is the right coach for them [the Raiders]. I don't think they needed that guy that's on the sideline with the play card up against his mouth. Those are the guys who ascend quickly. Jack's not that guy. He understands you can help a quarterback as much by building a defense as you can by getting him a receiver. He's going to make them legitimate.

"

Madden touches on the importance of Del Rio's experience. Del Rio won't be learning on the job, making things up as he goes along and hoping he gets it right more often than he gets it wrong. He knows how to build a team. He's coached in high-pressure situations. He's coached in the playoffs.

Simply put, he knows what he's doing, which isn't something you could say about any of Oakland's recent head coaches.

Thanks to his experience, Del Rio already knows what it takes to succeed in the NFL. He has that knowledge, and he can now immediately implement it in Oakland. 

Placing History in Its Proper Perspective

In the same interview with Farmer, Madden made a very important observation: "They [the Raiders] lived on the myth that the Raiders are tough and all that for a long time, when they weren't. Jack sees through that myth."

For too long, the Raiders organization has been hung up on its own proud history. It's become a problem in Oakland because it has frequently clouded the team's decision-making.

Oakland's popular bad-boy image ran its course long ago. Holding on to it has proven extremely detrimental, as it has severely stunted the team's progress and return to relevance.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The fact is that the Raiders were tough. They were bullies. They were a force in the NFL. But they aren't any of those things anymore. And they haven't been for a long time.

In his introductory news conference, via the Bay Area News Group's Jerry McDonald, Del Rio had this to say regarding his approach to coaching the Raiders:

"

Getting to know the front office that Mark Davis has put together and Reggie, these are bright people and I’m really excited to work with them... I’m excited to join this group of men and pursue the idea and the goal of bringing back the Raiders to greatness... We want to create a winning culture... I want to empower the players in the locker room to be accountable, to step forward, to take the team, to take the torch and build this thing great again.

"

There are some very important points that can be gleaned from what Del Rio had to say:

• He refers to Oakland's greatness and success in the past tense.
• He recognizes the organization is not currently successful, and it needs to work its way back to that level.
• Everyone, from the players to the front office, needs to play their part in the process.
• The Raiders' history isn't a bad thing. The current team can use it ("take the torch and build this thing great again") but not live off of it.

While he appreciates the past of the organization, Del Rio recognizes the Raiders' proud history is just that: history.

The current reality is that the culture in Oakland has become one of losing and failure. It's important for the team's leader, the head coach, to recognize the true state of the team so he can then create a realistic plan for a return to success.

For the Raiders to finally turn things around, they must admit the harsh reality of the team's current state and recognizing the problems in the organization. And in a subtle way, Del Rio has already done that.

Raiders Will Reap Benefits of Del Rio's Growth As a Coach

With all of the positives that come with Del Rio's hiring, there are also some negatives that can't be ignored about his nine-year head coaching history.

• He's led a team to the playoffs only twice.
• He's finished a season with a winning record only three times.
• He didn't have a winning season over his last four years as Jacksonville's head coach (combined record of 23-36).
• He was fired with five games to go in his final season.
• For his career, he has a sub-.500 regular-season record (68-71) and playoff record (1-2).

Over nine seasons, Del Rio was a good coach at best, but never elite. And there were times, such as when he suffered consecutive losing seasons in 2008 and 2009 while compiling a 12-20 record, when he was fortunate to keep his job.

But his time in Jacksonville shouldn't only be measured in wins and losses. Those nine years as an NFL head coach are indispensable going forward, as they also give him the advantage of both knowing what he was successful in and what he must improve.

Now in Oakland, with more experience and a solid roster that includes stars-in-the-making in Derek Carr, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, Del Rio is primed to make the leap from good to great.

Del Rio spent the three years following his time in Jacksonville as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. Yes, it was a demotion. But as he pointed out in his introductory press conference, Del Rio also saw it as an opportunity, per McDonald:

"

I feel like the last three years have been very beneficial in terms of me being re-energized, rejuvenated, whatever you’d like to call it. I was able to collect myself, go through some things that went well [and] that didn’t go well. I was able to make sure that my thoughts going forward were to not make mistakes again where I had made mistakes, to do the things that I did well even better. Basically just grow from the experience.

"

Del Rio has plenty to prove. He had some ups and downs during his previous tenure as head coach. Now, he has the advantage of not having to learn on the job. He's had time to reflect on his years in Jacksonville and learn from them. He's grown as a head coach and as a leader, and it's Oakland that will benefit.

The Oakland roster has been vastly improved. For the first time in a long time, the Raiders have enough talent to challenge any other team in the NFL. And in Del Rio, the team finally has a head coach who knows how to lead the way to victory.

The Raiders have made several important additions this offseason. But Del Rio could prove to be the most important one of all.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats taken from Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL.com.

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