Daily Democrat (Woodland)

Bisaccia ready to guide Raiders

Interim head coach was Las Vegas’ special teams coordinato­r

- By W.G. Ramirez

HENDERSON, NEV. » Derek Carr walked onto the practice field Wednesday waiting to hear one voice.

“I was waiting for him to click in the headset and start talking to me. Make a joke, make me laugh, get me going, fire me up.”

But there’s an abrupt new era in Las Vegas, where Jon Gruden is no longer making jokes about anything, and special teams coordinato­r Rich Bisaccia is now the interim head coach of the Raiders.

“He’s got as much respect in the locker room — in our locker room — as any coach I’ve ever seen in my life,” Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said about Bisaccia at the team’s practice facility on Wednesday.

Bisaccia, now in his 20th season as an NFL coach, steps in for Gruden, who resigned Monday after reports surfaced of emails he sent before being hired in 2018 that contained racist, homophobic and misogynist­ic comments.

Mayock said he’s endorsed Bissacia for head coaching positions in the past. And that Bissacia will be a natural fit for the Raiders because of the relationsh­ips he’s built in all three phases of the team, saying that since Bisaccia has been the special teams coach he’s involved with more players on the team than any other coach.

“It’s easy to get emotional ... this is certainly an exciting moment,” said Bisaccia, whose first NFL job was under Gruden in 2002, when he was hired as special teams coordinato­r for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“No one wants to be a head coach in this particular situation, no one wants to be put in front of this under these particu

lar circumstan­ces. But it’s an incredible opportunit­y, not only for me, but for all the other coaches to see what we can do with this adversity, see what we can do with this challenge.”

Bisaccia’s resume includes 19 seasons of experience as an NFL special teams coordinato­r, with the Raiders (2018-20), Dallas Cowboys (2013-17), San Diego Chargers (2011-12) and Buccaneers (2002-10). Bisaccia was on Gruden’s staff when Tampa Bay won Super Bowl 37 in his first season as an NFL coach.

Both Mayock and Bisaccia said since Monday’s revelation­s about Gruden rocked not only the Raiders, but the entire NFL, they’ve addressed the locker room, along with owner Mark Davis and the team’s captains.

Davis has declined to speak to reporters, other than a statement that he accepted Gruden’s resignatio­n.

Along with Mayock and Bisaccia, Carr, tight end Darren Waller and defensive end Maxx Crosby spoke to reporters after practice, all with the same thought process: it’s time to move on, bring on the Denver Broncos.

The Raiders and Broncos, who are tied for second in the AFC West just one game back of the Los Angeles Chargers, meet Sunday in Denver.

Bisaccia said he doesn’t believe the timing will be an issue because of the coaching staff in place.

Defensive coordinato­r Gus Bradley and defensive line coach Rod Marinelli both have head coaching experience, as does offensive line coach Tom Cable. Offensive coordinato­r Greg Olsen takes over play-calling duties, which could see changes in allowing Carr to expand the playbook with a more prominent passing game, rather than Gruden’s run-first scheme to set up the pass.

“I’ve been in this situation, I think this is my fifth head coach in eight years, so I do know the feelings of when it’s a good football team and when it’s not,” Carr said.

“This team, the way we came in today was everything’s still out there for us. We’re a good football team, we believe that.”

 ?? DAVID BECKER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia speaks during a press conference after practice on Wednesday in Henderson, Nev.
DAVID BECKER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia speaks during a press conference after practice on Wednesday in Henderson, Nev.

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