Interest from other teams led to Downing’s promotion
New coordinator has strong working relationship with Carr
ALAMEDA — Life is good for Todd Downing.
Instead of stepping in to fix the wreckage of someone else’s disaster, the Raiders new offensive coordinator takes over the NFL’s sixth-ranked offense with a quarterback in Derek Carr who merited MVP consideration.
No meeting and greeting with a new staff or installing an entirely new system. He’s got a very good offensive line and a handle on what his players can and cannot do.
“It’s an incredible blessing to have my first opportunity this way,” Downing said in a conference call with Bay Area reporters Wednesday.
When coach Jack Del Rio opted to promote Downing on Jan. 22 from quarterbacks coach rather than strike a new deal with offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, it raised some eyebrows throughout the league.
The Raiders were coming off a 12-4 season, went to the playoffs for the first time 14 years and were exciting and explosive. Downing had a year to go on a contract which contained a provision to allow him to interview elsewhere for a coordinator’s job.
“There was some interest in my availability to get either an interview or a coordinator’s job in other places, and that became evident and apparent to Coach Del Rio,” Downing said.
It helped that Downing, 36, has forged a strong relationship with Carr. David Carr, the quarterback’s brother, recently said Downing had served as a go-between between Derek and Musgrave, and that the change would liberate his brother in terms of having more freedom within the offense.
“There’s been a lot made of his command of the line of scrimmage,” Downing said. “There is certainly going to be opportunities for Derek to do that, but that’s not something I feel we’ll even have to get in to until we’re much further into this offense and in to training camp.”
Downing wants Carr to keep progressing in terms of reading his progressions, being efficient and using proper footwork while at the same time being more vocal in terms of his input into game plans.
“I think my relationship with him is something that’s going to give him the opportunity to voice his opinions and I look forward to him really taking charge of expressing his thoughts on the offense,” Downing said.
While Carr is the center piece of the offense, there were signs of occasional strain between Del Rio and Musgrave last season regarding the running game. The Raiders went from the No. 28 rushing attack to No. 6, but there were instances where Del Rio didn’t think the Raiders used it enough, referencing the need for more “big boy football.”
“I am as committed to the run game as I am to the pass game,” Downing said. “My vision for this offense is right in line with how we see it as a staff and how Coach Del Rio sees it as the leader of our staff. I don’t anticipate that as a rocky road to walk down.”
Downing said tweaks to the offense will be subtle and that terminology will remain the same. He has never been a play-caller but is anxious to take it on and confident he has the background to succeed.
He broke in to the NFL with Minnesota as a lowlevel assistant when Raiders line coach Mike Tice was the head coach and coached quarterbacks in Detroit and Buffalo before coming to Oakland on Del Rio’s staff.
He considers Dallas offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, with whom he worked at Minnesota and Detroit, as a mentor.
“I’ve collected a lot of information and learned as much as I could,” Downing said. “I’m in tune to the needs of the quarterback position and what it needs to be successful. It’s a quarterbackdriven league and we’re very, very fortunate to have the one we have in Oakland.
“You combine all those things, and I believe I’m up to the task to lead an offense and be able to call a game on Sunday in a very efficient and hopefully explosive manner.”