The Raiders’ three-day minicamp concluded Thursday, bringing to a close the team’s offseason program. The next time the team gets together will be at the start of training camp in July.
Over the past couple of months, a few things have come become apparent. Rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper, by all accounts, appears as good as advertised. Linebacker Khalil Mack may be poised for an even bigger second season. New center Rodney Hudson has become a leader. And safety Charles Woodson looks as good as ever.
But there’s also this:
After going through a series of head coaches and coaching staffs in a decade of frustration, the Raiders may finally have found a combination that works.
New head coach Jack Del Rio is saying all the right things and bringing a linebacker’s mentality to his new job, intent on restoring the Raiders’ reputation as a physical, tough team – while also being organized and focused. He’s been a head coach before, and it shows.
Plus, he’s surrounded himself with coordinators and assistants who quickly have gained the respect and trust of the players.
In particular, the trio of Del Rio, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. have impressed the team with its knowledge, leadership and attitude.
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“Oh, it’s a lot of great energy, a lot of positive energy,” Mack told Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle Thursday at the end of minicamp. “It’s a great match having them and us. It’s going to work.”
Woodson, in fact, is so excited and upbeat about the new coaching staff and direction of the team that he didn’t miss a single team workout this offseason. He told the Bay Area News Group’s Jerry McDonald recently that it’s the first time in his 18-year NFL career that that happened.
Part of it is because he and Del Rio met soon after Del Rio’s hiring, and Woodson says he embraced completely his new head coach’s philosophy and intent.
“I sat down with (Del Rio) before it all started,” Woodson told McDonald. “We talked about the importance, and what he wanted from this team and wanting me here. … I understood completely what he was talking about.”
Raiders training camp is set to begin July 30.
