The Oakland Raiders recently fired its defensive coordinator. John Pagano has been tasked to fill that role for the rest of the season. Those are the facts as we know them.
For John Pagano, though, he has to turn the idea of a currently iffy Raiders defensive into something far more competent.
“I talked to these guys this week about we need to do simple better,” Pagano said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “What is simple? It’s fundamentals of covering. It’s tackling. It’s communicating. It’s catching the ball when it comes. We’ve had opportunities. It’s not like we’re out there struggling and straining to dive and layout for the thing. It’s hit us in the hands where we’ve had many, many opportunities.”
It is always tough for a guy to be randomly promoted to a coordinator position in the middle of the season. While it would be funny to laugh at the obvious “fixes” he recommends like “tackle better,” it isn't as if he has a full offseason to scheme a new defensive strategy.
More or less, and it is usually more, coordinators who take over at this point in the season are only being given that position due to a franchise attempting to win in public relations. Ken Norton Jr., the recently fired Oakland DC, wasn't canned because anyone thought a huge uptick in defensive play would follow. He was fired to appease fans who wanted blood.
Through 10 games this season, the Raiders have exactly as many interceptions as you and I do (0), and we're not even an NFL franchise.
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