The Oakland Raiders season came to an abrupt end Saturday as they were defeated by the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the postseason.
Despite going 12-4 in the regular season, and reaching the postseason for the first time since 2002, it appears the Raiders are looking to make some changes within their coaching staff.
They are reportedly in talks with former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to join their coaching staff, although his role with the team would be unknown as defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. will likely remain with the team.
Changes on the offensive side of the ball were not expected though, as the Raiders offense was among the best in football in 2016. Despite that, it appears that offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave will not be back with the team next season, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:
Sources: The #Raiders need a new offensive coordinator. Bill Musgrave not expected to return to the team for 2017. Had 6th ranked offense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 10, 2017
The reason for Musgrave’s departure is unknown, but it did not take long for the Raiders to find his replacement as John Middlekauff of Bleacher Report is reporting that they have promoted quarterbacks coach Todd Downing to offensive coordinator:
Todd Downing will be the next OC of the #Raiders, per source
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) January 10, 2017
Downing has been the quarterbacks coach for the Raiders for the last two seasons, and has developed quite the rapport with Derek Carr, who was named to the Pro Bowl in each of those two seasons.
Before coming to the Raiders Downing served as the quarterbacks coach of the Detroit Lions from 2011-13, where he helped develop Matthew Stafford. This will be his first time as an offensive coordinator calling plays though.
Musgrave was the team’s offensive coordinator for the last two seasons, and really made strides in 2016. The Raiders offense ranked seventh in the NFL at 26 points per game, while ranking sixth at 373.3 yards per game.
