Now that the Raiders have their head coach, they’re moving quickly to their coordinators. It’s believed that Jack Del Rio is trying to bring in Mike Smith as his defensive coordinator and Marc Trestman as his offensive coordinator. Both should be within reach.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport speculated yesterday that Smith could end up in Oakland. Of course, Smith was Del Rio’s defensive coordinator in Jacksonville from 2003-2007. And contrary to Wikipedia, has not already joined the Raiders’ coaching staff.
As for Trestman, he interviewed with Cleveland on Tuesday, but little is known about their conversation other than that there was no deal.
Trestman makes a lot of sense for the Raiders. His stock was soaring two years ago, and of course he still has a strong resume with quarterbacks not named Cutler. After his disaster in Chicago, the “quarterback whisperer” may have to wait a while for his next head-coaching opportunity. If he can lured back to Oakland, Trestman could become a mainstay in the development of Derek Carr.
As of now, no scheduled interview has been reported involving Smith or Trestman, although it appears Del Rio remains in contact with both. I’d expect to hear something on that at some point on Thursday.
