OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Raiders didn’t look far to find a defensive coordinator, hiring Stanford’s Jason Tarver to take over the same position for the NFL team across San Francisco Bay.
The Raiders announced Monday that Tarver will join new coach Dennis Allen’s staff. Tarver helped shape one of the Pac-12’s top defenses last year, serving as co-defensive coordinator and overseeing the linebackers under rookie coach David Shaw.
Tarver returns to the NFL with a monumental task.
The Raiders struggled mightily on defense last season despite having many high-priced players on that side of the ball. Oakland had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history.
