Defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. has been fired in Oakland
A long season full of disappointment has finally gotten to head coach Jack Del Rio, as he has made the decision to fire defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.
The Oakland Raiders fired their former defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. on Tuesday afternoon. Assistant head coach John Pagano will take over the play calling duties from here on out with this defense.
The Raiders are coming off yet another embarrassing loss when they have had 10 days to prepare. This time they fell at the hands of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, 33-8. The Patriots’ offense had its way with the Raiders defense. The Raiders had no answers to stop them, let alone slow them down.
#Raiders fire DC Ken Norton Jr. Oak tied for fewest takeaways ever thru 10 games (6), only team w/ no INTs in 1st 10 games and on pace for 2nd worst marks ever in opponent completion % (72.3) and rating (113.3)
— Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) November 21, 2017
John Pagano will take over as Raiders DC
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) November 21, 2017
This move has been long overdue. Out of all the coaches from last season, most people thought Norton would be the one to go instead of former offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. Now, we are 12 weeks into the regular season and the move finally comes. Staring at a disappointing 4-6 record, head coach Jack Del Rio needed to make a change.
The hiring of Pagano during the offseason put a timer on Norton’s tenure as the defensive coordinator. The only real question here is why did it take so long to fire him? It has been clear that Norton can’t call a defense. This has the makings of a scapegoat move by Del Rio. He has a history of when the season is going rough, he would fire coaches. It is traceable all the way back to his days leading the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Regardless of whether Norton is the scapegoat or not, he needed to go. His response to the reasoning behind the defense’s lack of interceptions was that “Offenses are trying hard not to throw interceptions” which is such a comedic quote. Leading up to the game against the Patriots, he added to his list of comedic quotes by saying that he has had “success against them in the past”.
More from Just Blog Baby
- Raiders news: Free agent TE Foster Moreau diagnosed with cancer
- Order your Jimmy Garoppolo Las Vegas Raiders gear now
- Las Vegas Raiders: 2023 NFL Draft will make-or-break David Ziegler Era
- Raiders news: Jimmy Garoppolo offered a different kind of deal
- Raiders 2023 NFL Draft: Trading down for an elite DT on Day 1
Raiders outside linebacker Bruce Irvin reacted negatively to the news of Norton being fired. While it might come as a surprise that he feels this strongly connected to Norton, Irvin did play for Norton when they both working for the Seattle Seahawks.
Norton was a huge reason Irvin signed with Oakland in free agency two years ago. If he was that close to Norton he should have played better. This team is past the point of having a players’ coach. Now they need someone who actually knows what the word scheme is.
Norton was not the guy to lead this defense. When the Raiders hired him, it was at a time that no one wanted to take the job. Now that there are a few pieces in place on the defense, hopefully Del Rio can replace him with someone who has experience at calling plays so they can finally have a respectable defense.
Next: Paxton Lynch to start at QB for Broncos vs. Raiders
Pagano was the former defensive coordinator for the division rival San Diego Chargers before coming over this past offseason. It will be on Pagano to right this sunken defensive ship the rest of the way in 2017.