And so we apparently finally have an offensive coordinator and quarterback coordinator. The 49ers have reportedly (per Adam Schefter) gone in the way back machine and hired former New York Jets running back Jimmy Raye as Mike Singletary's new offensive coordinator. Elsewhere, Jim Trotter at SI.com is reporting that the 49ers have also hired former Ravens WR coach Mike Johnson as quarterbacks coach. Neither man has signed a contract yet, so the 49ers have not made announcement.
Given the convoluted nature of this offensive coordinator search, maybe we shouldn't be surprised it ended up with the hiring of Jimmy Raye. I'm not saying we should have been able to predict Raye specifically. Rather, it shouldn't be surprising that it went to the relatively young bucks that seemed to be lined up. Yesterday I was sufficiently convinced Hue Jackson was going to get the job that I made no mention of Jimmy Raye coming in for an interview. So much for that thought. Jimmy Raye interviewed for the job yesterday and apparently was offered the job the same day. He must have really knocked Mike Singletary's socks off.
First, a quick rundown of his coaching experience, which is quite extensive. There are some gaps in there but the Internet is revealing what goes in those gaps. He was an Eagles coach at one point and had a third tour of duty with the Rams at some point as well:
1977 - WR Coach, San Francisco 49ers
1977-79 - Detroit Lions
1980-82 - Atlanta Falcons
1983-85 - Offensive Coordinator, Los Angeles Rams
1985-86 - Offensive Coordinator, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1987-89 - Atlanta Falcons
1990 - Offensive Coordinator, New England Patriots
1991 - Offensive Coordinator, Los Angeles Rams
1998-00 - Offensive Coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs
2001 - Offensive Coordinator, Washington Redskins
2004-05 - Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator, Oakland Raiders
2006-2008 - Running Backs Coach, New York Jets
So what does this tell us? Well, if he is in fact the guy, the 49ers are getting a guy with a whole ton of experience. Maiocco points out that in eight years as an OC Raye's teams never made the playoffs, and only once did he have a team finish above .500. People have picked up on that, but I'm not sure if it's worth worrying too much about yet. I'll leave the statistical review to Danny, but a quick glance shows he's had some pretty bad offenses and some decent offenses (see the Chiefs teams).
Mike Sando had his own take on the hiring:
But if you've been paying attention to 49ers head coach Mike Singletary, you know he isn't into perceptions so much. He is doing things his way, unapologetically. Raye has extensive experience as an assistant coach, including as a coordinator. That was important for the 49ers because Singletary lacks coaching experience and offensive expertise.
Assuming this hiring goes down, I'm very curious to hear what Singletary has to say at the press conference. He's usually a fairly up front individual at press conferences, so hopefully he won't beat around the bush about this hiring.
And let's not forget the hiring of Mike Johnson as quarterbacks coach. He was out of the league last year, which certainly makes for an interesting situation. There was talk about bringing in a OC/QB coach combination so that the eventual successor would be in place. However, the hiring of Jimmy Raye makes me start to wonder if maybe this boosts Rathman's chances. Raye did not go the QB coach route. Maybe we have two potential successors in Rathman and Johnson. It's really all just speculation at this point, but who knows.
There will be plenty of discussion going forward. In the meantime, just remember that there is but one question to ask next time you run into what seems like our new OC: