NFL News: Oakland Raiders Hire Jack Del Rio As Head Coach

The Oakland Raiders are done with their coaching search and picked Jack Del Rio as head coach and he’ll take over the spot after interim Tony Sparano, who took over for Dennis Allen.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was among the first who broke the news on Twitter and the deal is expected to become official with an team announcement on Wednesday.

Raiders expected to name Jack Del Rio as their next head coach as early as today, per sources.

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 14, 2015

Del Rio was the defensive coordinator (DC) for the Denver Broncos, who recently lost in the divisional round match-up against the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday. The disappointing result for the Broncos cost them their head coach, John Fox, who left the team and put veteran quarterback Peyton Manning’s return in doubt. Del Rio now follows the path of Fox and possibly, Manning, in leaving the team.

Del Rio played in the National Football League (NFL) suiting up for the New Orleans Saints (1985–1986), Kansas City Chiefs (1987–1988), Dallas Cowboys (1989–1991) and Minnesota Vikings (1992–1995) as a linebacker. Del Rio also has a vast coaching experience as the strength and conditioning coach for the Saints (1997-1998), linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens (1999-2001), defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers (2002) and head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-2011). Del Rio was part of the coaching staff when the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001.

Del Rio takes over a Raiders team which has been a disappointment the recent years with a combined record of 11-37 in the last three seasons. The Raiders, which started the 2014 regular season with 10 straight losses, were 26th in the league in average passing yards, 204.7 per game and 32nd in average rushing yards, 77.5 per game for the year.

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