John Pagano should stick around as defensive coordinator for Raiders

With Jon Gruden putting together his own staff should he take over the Oakland Raiders, he should consider keeping John Pagano as his defensive coordinator.

A new era of Oakland Raiders football is upon us. Owner Mark Davis fired former head coach Jack Del Rio shortly after the Raiders lost in Week 17 to the division rival Los Angeles Chargers. Going 6-10 was not good enough for Del Rio to keep his job.

With ESPN analyst Jon Gruden reportedly going to take over this sunken Raiders ship, he should consider retaining at least one member of Del Rio’s staff: recently promoted defensive coordinator John Pagano.

This was Pagano’s first year with the Raiders. He came aboard as an assistant head coach after being let go by the San Diego Chargers in 2016. Pagano had been with the Chargers organization since 2002 and had been their defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2016. His knowledge of the AFC West and ability to put his players in position to succeed should not be overlooked by Gruden.

Keep in mind that Gruden has been out of coaching since 2008, when he was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a 9-7 season. Though he has coached the Raiders before, that was last back in 2001. Gruden would win a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay in 2002 with mostly former Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy‘s players.

Must Read: Oakland Raiders fire Jack Del Rio after 2017 NFL season

Even though Gruden has followed the game closely as the color commentator for ESPN’s Monday Night Football since 2009, he must assemble a strong staff to make his supposed first season back with the Raiders not a disaster. Gruden is reportedly putting together his staff, one where he would call plays and have his former quarterback and CBS analyst Rich Gannon as Derek Carr‘s new quarterback coach.

Of course, Gruden has the respect of the NFL coaching community no doubt. However, he must find the right guy to be in charge of the defense. Fortunately, he has an excellent candidate in-house. Pagano was good enough to keep his job with the Chargers, but incoming head coach Anthony Lynn made it clear that he wanted to work with former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley as his first defensive coordinator.

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So it’s not just experience, philosophical continuity and a deep understanding of the AFC West for why Gruden should retain Pagano as his defensive coordinator. Just look at how much the defense improved after Pagano took over for Ken Norton Jr. in Week 12.

Sure, the Raiders went 2-4 in their final six games, but a lot of that was due to horrendous offensive play. We saw the pass rush come to life with Bruce Irvin challenging Khalil Mack as being Pro Bowl caliber. Nicholas Morrow continued to get better playing next to veteran NaVorro Bowman all year. We even saw glimpses that Karl Joseph could be the leader of this secondary in year three out of West Virginia next year.

Obviously, Gruden is going to do whatever he wants to do. Whether that’s stay in the ESPN booth or build his own staff to take over the Raiders, that’s entirely up to him. For all we know, Pagano may want to leave the Raiders after one year. He’ll find work and maybe even reunite with his brother in former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano somewhere.

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Changes in coaching regimes are chuck full of turnover. However, retaining the right couple of guys can always be beneficial. Sean McVay wisely held out to special teams coordinator John Cassel when he took over the Los Angeles Rams. It was only a handful of weeks, but there was way more optimism with Pagano running the defense than at any point it was under Norton’s watch this season.

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