In a flurry of news regarding Oakland Raiders assistant coaches, defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson has reportedly been fired.
According to Alex Marvez of Sporting News, the Raiders have decided to dump Robertson.
This comes after it was reported that defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. will be retained for the 2017 season.
Robertson joined the Raiders staff when Jack Del Rio was hired before the 2015 season. There has been no word yet on who might replace him moving forward.
Oakland's defense struggled in 2016, particularly against the deep pass. They gave up the most pass plays of 20-plus yards (61) and 40-plus yards (16), as communication breakdowns in the defensive backfield occurred with regularity. This led to the Raiders fielding the NFL's 24th-ranked defense against the pass (257.5 yards allowed per game) and 26th-ranked defense overall (375.1 yards allowed per game).
Despite the team's struggles against the pass, the Raiders were great at taking the ball away. Oakland's defensive backs recorded 14 interceptions and recovered four fumbles, as the team finished second in the NFL with 30 total takeaways in 2016.
The disparity between the yardage surrendered and takeaways accumulated illustrated the problem. The Raiders clearly had talented players in the secondary, but they were under-performing. This became evident when you examined the personnel. Veteran safety Reggie Nelson, for example, made the Pro Bowl.
The Raiders still have a lot of promising talent in the defensive backfield, from Karl Joseph at safety to Sean Smith and David Amerson at cornerback. Oakland's next defensive backs coach will have a decent opportunity to succeed, if he can get this unit on the same page.
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