Sanders has a tie to the Raiders franchise as he was a defensive coordinator in Green Bay while Reggie McKenzie was there.

The real challenge will be getting the Silver and Black linebackers back to the basics of defending the run. That has been a problem for the last decade no matter the players or the coaches. The end of 2012 saw Jason Tarver’s defense show some real improvement. If the franchise can re-sign Philip Wheeler and continue to develop Miles Burris then there is reason to believe the unit should improve.

The real problem will be finding a true leader and playmaker in the middle. Rolando McClain is as good as gone and anyone else that played the position last season was just a temporary solution.

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Dennis Allen is getting a mulligan on his coaching hires from a year ago, specifically on the offensive side of the ball. The second the season ended Greg Knapp and a few other assistants were shown the exit. Last week Oakland hired Greg Olson as its new offensive coordinator and now Olson has his offensive line coach in former Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano as confirmed by the team yesterday.

Where it gets interesting is that not only will Sparano be in charge of getting Oakland’s O-line up to snuff be he’ll also serve as Allen’s assistant head coach. It’s hardly an uncommon practice in the NFL to have assistant head coaches. Tom Cable left Oakland to take the exact same job/title in Seattle as Sparano has now.

Where it gets interesting in that Sparano’s career has been in reverse the last three years. He went from being a head coach in Miami, to an offensive coordinator in New York for the Jets and is now an O-line coach in Oakland. However his added title as assistant head coach would indicate Reggie McKenzie felt Allen needed additional help after the debacle that was last season.

Allen has openly said he has no problem hiring assistants with head coaching pedigree. Sparano certainly has that. He also has a tough task of getting the Raiders back to where they were in the trenches before Allen blew up a successful scheme.

Something else that will be interesting to keep an eye on is the personnel moves McKenzie makes in the coming months. Men like Mike Brisiel and Tony Bergstrom were signed and drafted with the zone blocking scheme in mind. Having had no success in Allen’s preferred system the Raiders are reverting back to what once worked. Will Brisiel and/or Bergstrom still be around for Sparano to coach up? We’ll have to wait and see.

Olson’s hiring announces the return of the power running game lost last season in Dennis Allen’s preference to switch to a zone oriented scheme. His past experience coordinating some explosives offenses in St. Louis and Tampa Bay makes Olson an ideal coach to maximize the most of Oakland’s talent very much unlike the hatchet job Greg Knapp did last season.

As for April, he arrives with a great pedigree in coaching special teams in the NFL. Twice during his lengthy career April has been named Special Teams Coach of the Year. In addition during his years of service he’s coached players that have gone to the Pro Bowl as special teamers and has helped turn around under performing units much like Oakland’s last season.

There are still a few more hires to be made but as of now the biggest one of all, offensive coordinator is locked in as the Raiders staff heads off to Alabama to coach in the Senior Bowl.