Raiders Officially Hire Jack Del Rio As Head Coach

Update:

The Oakland Raiders made the hiring Jack Del Rio as their next head coach official on Thursday.

Jack Del Rio has been named head coach of the Oakland Raiders: http://t.co/XAREYV0uwE pic.twitter.com/35fivLOq2Q

— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) January 15, 2015

“After a thorough interview and evaluation process, we are excited to announce Jack Del Rio as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders,” said Owner Mark Davis. “I have no doubt that he will make a significant impact and help reach the goal of everyone in this building, which is to win championships.”

“Jack Del Rio brings a strong leadership presence to this organization,” said General Manager Reggie McKenzie. “He has developed an excellent reputation as a coach in this league and we are happy that he is a Raider.”

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Raiders have officially hired former Broncos DC Jack Del Rio as their new head coach.

Chris Mortensen reported earlier this morning that the Raiders were expected to hire Del Rio, so this is really just a confirmation from Schefter.

• Jason La Canfora reports that Del Rio received a four-year contract from the Raiders.
• Ian Rapoport reports that the Raiders decided late last night that they won’t retain Tony Sparano as their head coach.
• Rapoport adds that Del Rio had the support of John Madden and owner Mark Davis.
• According to Jeff Darlington, Madden had a larger say in the hiring of Del Rio than GM Reggie McKenzie.

Last night, Dianna Marie Russini reported that the Raiders head coaching job was a “shootout” between McKenzie and Davis.

According to Russini’s sources, McKenzie’s preference was to keep Sparano in place for the 2015 season while David preferred to hire Del Rio.

• Mike Garafolo and Alex Marvez are reporting that Del Rio has been recruiting former Bears HC Marc Trestman to be his offensive coordinator.
• Steve Corkran reported that if the Raiders were to hire Del Rio as their next head coach, his top choice for defensive coordinator would be former Falcons HC Mike Smith.
• Corkran points out that Smith was Del Rio’s defensive coordinator during the first five seasons he was head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Del Rio was the only candidate to get a follow up interview with the Raiders, which was a pretty clear indication that he was going to be the guy.

He was the Jaguars head coach from 2003-2011 and led them to a regular season record of 68-71 (48.9 percent) and franchise to two playoff appearances.

Del Rio grew up a Raiders fan in California and attended the University of Southern California. On top of that, his family has been season ticket holders for the team for some time now, so this is really a bit of a homecoming for him.