John Pagano, the defensive coordinator the past four years with the San Diego Chargers, was added to the Raiders staff Monday with the title of assistant head coach/defense.
Pagano knows the AFC West, having coached for the Chargers since 2002, starting out as a quality control coach, moving on to linebackers and being named defensive coordinator in 2012.
The Raiders struggled on defense in 2016 under coordinator Ken Norton Jr. but when the season ended the only two changes to the staff were promote Todd Downing from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator after Bill Musgrave’s contract expired and to part with defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson.