Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is, for the second time, set to sit down and talk with the Oakland Raiders about the possibility of taking over their beleaguered football program, according to a report from ESPN.
Del Rio is the first candidate to be granted a second interview by Raiders owner Mark Davis.
Del Rio has been the defensive coordinator for the Broncos for the past three seasons. This year, Denver's defense ranked third in the league and led the NFL in forcing three-and-outs.
"Del Rio had been considered the leading candidate for the Raiders' head job," Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports, but due to league rules, was barred from a second interview with the team until after the Broncos' season ended, which it did, in fantastically futile fashion via a 23-14 loss at the hands of quarterback Peyton Manning's old team, the Indianapolis Colts.
When asked about the initial interview with Raiders brass on Thursday, Del Rio was evasive.
"Not much to report since I've just been working on the Colts, but I think it went well," he said, per ESPN.
Interestingly, Del Rio joined the Broncos after the 2011 season, replacing Dennis Allen, who had just accepted the head coaching position with Oakland.
Del Rio, a native of California, was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for nine years prior to joining the Broncos. His regular season record, 68-71, wasn't particularly inspiring, but he led the team to the postseason twice and won one playoff game.
The Raiders may be feeling pressure to make a decision soon as the contracts of all of their assistant coaches - other than interim coach Tony Sparano, who has also interviewed for the job - expire on Tuesday.
Davis has said that he prefers coaches with NFL track records - a departure from his father, late Raiders owner, Al Davis, who loved young, up and coming coaches - but also allowed that he wasn't married to the idea.
There was also chatter that the team's somewhat unsettled front office situation could be hindering their sales pitch to interested candidates, but Davis disputed that notion.
