Tarver could end up calling the Raiders' defenses
If all goes according to plan, Jason Tarver will be responsible for defensive play-calling for the first time in his coaching career when the Raiders open the 2012 season.
The surprising choice of coach Dennis Allen to be Oakland's defensive coordinator, Tarver held that role for the first time in the 2011 season at Stanford University in a shared role with Derek Mason.
Mason, however, was the co-coordinator who called the plays on game day.
Although Allen's background is in defense -- he was a first-time defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos last season and worked both the defensive line and secondary for New Orleans and Atlanta -- he said at the press conference announcing his hiring he didn't intend to be the defensive play-caller.
Allen's reasoning is that a head coach has enough to do with just managing the game to also be the play-caller. His job will be that of philosophy, scheme, direction and leadership.
The Raiders or Allen have made no public comment on their search for assistant coaches, but there were apparently roadblocks in the form of existing contracts for NFL candidates who weren't allowed to interview for a promotion.
One assistant, Emmitt Thomas, a mentor for Allen in Atlanta and currently working for the Kansas City Chiefs, reportedly decided to stay put as defensive backs coach.
Among those who Allen reported wanted to interview but was denied included Denver linebackers coach Richard Smith, New Orleans defensive line coach Bill Johnson and Green Bay cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr.
Tarver, 37, is a local story in that his career has played out almost entirely in the San Francisco Bay Area.
He spent 2001 through 2009 on the staff of the 49ers, and was highly regarded enough to be retained through the regimes of Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary, serving as a quality control coach, running backs and outside linebackers.
When Jim Harbaugh came aboard and imported Vic Fangio from Stanford to be his defensive coordinator, David Shaw, his successor at Stanford, reached out to Tarver and made him a co-defensive coordinator along with Mason.
Stanford finished in the top one or two in eight defensive categories in the Pac-12, including rushing defense.
Tarver attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton and went to Santa Clara just as the school dropped football. He played two years at West Valley College in Saratoga before getting his degree at Santa Clara, and coached at West Valley in 1996-97.
From there, Tarver spent three seasons at UCLA as a graduate assistant, getting master's degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, before being hired by the 49ers.
Copyright (C) 2012 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
