In his postgame press conference, Jack Del Rio said that following the team’s 30-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders decided to fire him. This ends his three-year tenure after a disappointing 6-10 record in this season.
After the Raider’s 30-10 loss to Chargers on Sunday, Del Rio said, “Today was a microcosm of our season. The opportunities and lack of production not good enough, really disappointing.”
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter reported on Saturday night that Mark Davis, the Raiders owner was prepared to get Jon Gruden as the next head coach of the Oakland Raiders with a strong offer that could include an ownership stake in the team. Notably, Gruden coached the Raiders before being traded to the Buccaneers. Several rumors are floating around Gruden becoming the next Raider coach since months, weeks and years owing to his connection to both the Buccaneers and the Raiders in the recent weeks. However, Gruden shrugged off all such rumors but did not refute them outright.
Del Rio said that Mark informed him about his firing after the Sunday’s game got over. Mark told him that he loved him and appreciated all he did to get the team going in the right direction. But he somehow felt the need to change. To this, Del Rio told him how much he appreciated the opportunity he gave him and that he is very grateful. The Raider players were surprised about Del Rio’s firing. Players like Star quarterback Derek Carr, linebacker NaVorro Bowman, expressed their disappointment and said that at the end of the day, ‘It’s business.’
Del Rio scored 25-23 in his three seasons with the Raiders. He lasted longer than any other Oakland coach after Gruden. In fact, Del Rio is one of the only Oakland coaches to depart with a winning record.
