After a disappointing season offensively for the Oakland Raiders, could offensive coordinator Todd Downing be on the outside looking in?
Jason La Canfora of CBS reported the Oakland Raiders are expected to make a change at offensive coordinator by season’s end.
According to a source per La Canfora, players are growing frustrated with the coordinator and the front office is unhappy with the results on the field.
Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing is under increasing pressure with his unit struggling and is coaching for his job down the stretch. He is unlikely to be back with the team in 2018 at this point and the situation could come to a head before then. Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports
Downing was promoted to the offensive coordinator position this past off-season after impressing as the Raiders quarterbacks coach. Quarterback Derek Carr improved significantly under Downing who was also named Quarterback Coach of the Year by PFF in 2015. Downing was rumored to be on the short list for a few offensive coordinator positions and the Raiders did not want to lose him. In doing so, Oakland cut ties with Bill Musgrave and promoted Downing to oversee the whole offense.
Downing has had a rough start as the offense has regressed significantly under his leadership. Oakland ranks 16th in yards per game and 21st in points per game going into week 14. At the end of last year, the Raiders offense finished 6th and 7th in the same categories.
With head coach Jack Del Rio getting a lucrative contract extension prior to the season, it’s very unlikely ownership would make a move there. However, the construction of the staff is expected to look much different in 2018…One possibility on offense is Mike McCoy Jason La Canfora on possible future changes to the coaching staff
La Canfora recently spoke to Greg Papa on 95.7 The Game and added that “It’s going to be an uphill climb for the people on that staff to perform to a degree where there’s not some other changes made there,”. You can listen to the entire podcast here.
It will be interesting to see if any there are any changes in regards to Downing given the recent resurgence by the team. Downing and company will be given another opportunity to succeed once again in Week 14 against a Kansas City Chiefs defense that allowed the Jets to score 38 points and rack up nearly 500 yards of total offense.