Football - Oakland Raiders Hire Offensive Coordinat

The Oakland Raiders have gone ahead and hired Greg Knapp, Atlanta’s former offensive coordinator, as the offensive coordinator for the Raiders and by doing this, they have given their rookie coach Lane Kiffin an experienced and seasoned coordinator who can help ease Kiffin’s transition from college football to NFL.

Knapp had spent three seasons with the Falcons and he was let go when Jim Mora was fired after the season came to an end. Knapp ran a West Coast offense in Atlanta and it did not always work with quarterback Michael Vick.

Kiffin said that he aware of Knapp’s success as offensive coordinator and he thought that Knapp’s vision and passion would help elevate Raiders’ offense to a different level. Kiffin also stated that he would be calling the plays which effectively meant that Knapp would be assisting in putting together game plans and other activities.

Raiders need all the help they can get with it comes to their offense. Last season, they scored the league’s lowest points with 168 and allowed 72 sacks. They scored 12 offensive touchdowns and ended their fourth successive losing season.

The Raiders need to look at their quarterbacks when it comes to offense as Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walters really struggled the last season. In the 2007 NFL Draft, the Raiders have an option of picking a quarterback in the first round and they may opt either for Brady Quinn of Notre Dame or JaMarcus Russell of LSU.

Knapp, himself, is quarterback from Sacramento State and he was with the San Francisco 49ers from 1995 to 2003. In his last three seasons with the 49ers, he was the offensive coordinator.