Raiders assistants not fired right away, but allowed to seek work elsewhere

What a whirlwind for the Raiders coaching staff. Yesterday at this time, they had no idea today they would be looking for work. All of them were blindsided by the sudden firing of Jack Del Rio after the season finale against the Chargers and had to fly back to Oakland with their employment status up in the air.

As of today, Black Monday as it’s called for all the coaching firings that tend to happen on the day after the end of the season, those assistants are still employed by the team. However, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, they will be allowed to seek and accept employment elsewhere while the Raiders figure out if/when Gruden comes aboard and who he will want on his staff.

The first person that comes to mind is John Pagano, who just came aboard this season as Assistant Head Coach - Defense and was given play calling duties just six weeks ago. His work taking over for former Defensive Coordinator Ken Norton Jr has resulted in a significant turnaround for the defense. He figured to be retained and now he could be finding work elsewhere. I would be surprised if he weren’t in high demand.

Others that comes to mind are Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Line Coach Mike Tice who did a masterful job with the offensive line and Special Teams Coordinator Brad Sealy who helped develop Marquette King into one of the league’s top punters. Not many other departures will furrow any brows.