Bill Musgrave Uninspiring Choice to Develop Derek Carr

When the Oakland Raiders made Jack Del Rio their 20th head coach, the hiring of a top-notch offensive coordinator became paramount to their success. As a defensive-minded head coach, Del Rio would need an offensive mind to continue the development of his new young quarterback, Derek Carr.

Del Rio's choice is Bill Musgrave, but he’s an uninspiring option to develop Carr. Short of re-hiring Greg Olson, it’s hard to imagine a worse scenario for the Raiders.

That doesn’t mean Musgrave won’t be successful. Like Del Rio, he deserves a chance to see what he can do in Oakland. Hires derided by the media can work out. Hires praised by the media can flop—as Raiders fans are well aware after slogging through the Dennis Allen era.

Musgrave does come with a set of positives, and he’s not as bad as some will make him out to be. Musgrave just isn’t the best for Carr.



For starters, he’s experienced. This is his fourth offensive coordinator job. He also spent last year with Chip Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles—often praised for being offensive innovators. Additionally, Musgrave is credited with developing Matt Ryan as the quarterbacks coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2006-2010.

Familiar with Del Rio, experienced as a quarterback developer, and he just finished a crash course in Chip Kelly's offense. Sounds like a dream, until you actually look a little deeper.

When Musgrave landed his first offensive coordinator position of the Carolina Panthers, he resigned after four games. Del Rio fired him after two seasons, and then he took credit for Ryan’s development before landing yet another offensive coordinator job in Minnesota. After three years, Musgrave was out of a job again.



Getting fired is par for the course for an NFL coach, but Musgrave hasn’t been anywhere longer than three years as offensive coordinat...

About the Author