The Las Vegas Raiders have reportedly found their new offensive coordinator, but it won’t be Kliff Kingsbury calling the plays in 2024.
Mere hours after Kingsbury withdrew his name from consideration, the Raiders – led by first-year head coach Antonio Pierce and first-year GM Tom Telesco – turned their focus to Luke Getsy.
Now this: Raiders are expected to hire former Bears’ offensive coordinator Luke Getsy as their offensive coordinator, as @AlbertBreer and @JFowlerESPN reported.https://t.co/9ymGK9o3tk
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 4, 2024
This will be Getsy’s second opportunity at the OC position after spending the previous two seasons in that role with the Chicago Bears. They fired him on Jan. 10, paving the way for his move to Sin City.
It’s an important hire for the Raiders, especially since Pierce comes from a defensive background and will rely heavily on his OC to run the offense. Time will tell is Getsy can turn that offense around.
What happened with Kingsbury?
Ian Rapaport was the first to report the potential hiring of Kliff Kingsbury, and many in the Raiders’ organization (including fans) were ecstatic at the idea, but it didn’t last long.
The report came out on Feb. 1, but contract talks stalled on Friday, and Kingsbury announced his decision to withdraw the following day. He signed with the Washington Commanders on Sunday night.
So, why did contract talks stall?
Contract length.
"It was a contractual dispute between Kliff Kingsbury and the Las Vegas Raiders..
I think the Raiders were offering a two year deal and Washington was more than happy to offer that third year" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/tYJuBTOinJ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 5, 2024
Kingsbury was reportedly looking for a three-year contract in his return to the NFL, but the Raiders were only willing to offer him two years – despite most new OCs getting a three-year contract this hiring cycle.
With Kingsbury out, the Raiders had two options: hire someone they had already interviewed or expand their options with more interviews.
They chose the former.
What was so appealing about Luke Getsy?
The Raiders interviewed four candidates for their vacant OC position over the past few weeks, and Luke Getsy was one of them – Kingsbury, Alex Van Pelt, and Mike Sullivan were the other three.
Many were quick to criticize the hiring of Getsy, especially considering how he fared with the Bears the past two seasons, but it makes a lot of sense for a variety of reasons.
For a team without a starting quarterback (Aidan O’Connell is their only option right now), bringing in a guy who helped Aaron Rodgers win an MVP a few years ago is a great start. Getsy was the QB coach and passing game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers in 2020, when Rodgers won his third MVP.
Davante Adams praised Luke Getsy when the two worked together in Green Bay. Getsy served as the Packers' receivers coach during Adams' emergence as a lead wideout. https://t.co/x9RGaLoQYN
— Jason B. Hirschhorn (@by_JBH) February 4, 2024
Getsy was also the Packers’ wide receivers coach in 2016 and 2017. For those who don’t remember, 2016 was Davante Adams’ breakout year, and 2017 was much of the same. Now, Getsy is reunited with Adams in Las Vegas (if they don’t trade him).
While he wasn’t able to duplicate that success as OC with the Bears, he’s still a highly respected coach with a wealth of experience and knowledge. We’ll see if that bodes well for him in Las Vegas.
Now, Pierce and Telesco need to find Getsy a quarterback – but that’s a dilemma for a different day.
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