In Oakland Raiders news, former Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing was hired as a tight end coach for the Tennessee Titans.
During the 2017 NFL season, Todd Downing served as the offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. Coming off a 12-win season in 2016, the team decided to let go of offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, replacing him with Downing, who had never been an OC in the NFL before.
The 2017 season ended up turning into a nightmare, as both Downing, and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. were fired during the season. In addition, head coach Jack Del Rio was also let go, as the team decided they needed a clean sweep, bringing in Jon Gruden to lead the way.
Downing landed on his feet, getting a job with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2018 season as the tight end coach. In 2019, he will once again be a tight end coach, but this time with the Tennessee Titans and head coach Mike Vrabel.
Gruden gets a win
The North team in the Senior Bowl got the victory on Sunday, as Duke quarterback Daniel Jones helped the team to a 34-24 victory. For Jon Gruden, it was a nice victory, as he not only got to scout some elite talent for the 2019 NFL Draft, but was able to defeat fellow bay area head coach, Kyle Shanahan, who was piloting the South team.
UMass wideout Andy Isabella, who drew rave reviews during practices leading up to the game, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, after hauling in seven catches for 75 yards and a score. There is a real possibility Isabella could be a draft target of Oakland’s, as well as Delaware’s Nasir Adderley, who really stood out at the safety position.
A strange week for Derek Carr
The 2018 season was not kind to Derek Carr in terms of wins and losses, as the team won only four games throughout. However, he was playing behind an offensive line with two rookie tackles, and the team traded away star wideout Amari Cooper at the trade deadline, leaving Jordy Nelson to step up and be the No. 1 option at the position.
For all these issues, Carr still put up one of the better seasons of his career statistically, although it was not enough for media personalities to call him out. ESPN’s First Take took a major jab at Carr, basically calling him soft, so Carr took to Twitter to defend himself.
After defending himself, Carr was attacked by Stephen A. Smith, who also called out general manager Mike Mayock. The best part of the whole story was Mayock backing Carr, signalling that there is no question who the quarterback will be for the Raiders in 2019. Mayock is an elite evaluator of talent, and the Raiders are lucky to have him in the GM role, and they are certainly luck to have Carr.