Getty Luke Getsy with Justin Fields.
The Las Vegas Raiders had to move quickly after Kliff Kingsbury left them at the altar. Instead of reopening their search, the team decided to hire a candidate who they had previously interviewed.
The Raiders are planning to hire Luke Getsy as their offensive coordinator, per a February 3 X post from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Sources: The Raiders are working on a deal to hire ex-Bears OC Luke Getsy as their new offensive coordinator. The highly-respected Getsy was in the mix for a bunch of OC jobs in this cycle.
Pretty wild day in Vegas.
Getsy was just recently fired as the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears after two bad seasons so this was a bit of a controversial choice. He’s never had an offense finish better than 18th in the NFL so Raiders fans aren’t exactly thrilled with the hire.
After watching the offense struggle to hit 20 points almost every week, it bothers me to see that the Raiders hired an OC that has never coached a good offense. No articles, tweets, or clips needed about Luke Getsy. Hard to get excited about the 2024 Raider offense. #RaiderNation
One fan lamented that the Raiders had to go with their second choice as offensive coordinator.
You asked the “baddest chick” to the prom she said yes… The day of the prom she says I have a better option… So you pivot to the most mid 2nd option out there to accommodate you to the dance… Your 2024 Raiders OC position 👏🏼 #RaiderNation
A big problem is that it’s hard to see how Getsy upgrades the Raiders’ offense over what they previously had.
What’s curious is they hired an OC who trailed them in offensive ineptitude the past two seasons. I’m just interested to hear what they say about the why. That’s all. Logically, it’s just so weird.
The Raiders’ offensive coordinator has added importance considering head coach Antonio Pierce has a defensive background. He’s going to rely heavily on his offensive coordinator to own that side of the ball. Kingsbury was appealing as he had called plays for top-15 offenses before and had head coaching experience. Getsy is coming from a similar situation in Chicago and didn’t have success so it’s difficult to see the appeal.
Justin Fields Not Coming to Las Vegas
The only logical reason the Raiders would trust Luke Getsy to run the offense would be if they think Justin Fields is a bad quarterback. He’s been a popular name linked to the Raiders this offseason but The Athletic’s Vic Tafur thinks that won’t happen now, per a February 3 X post.
Last thought: To me, Getsy means no trade for Fields.
He also added that the Raiders feel like it wasn’t Getsy’s fault the Bears couldn’t move the ball.
With Fields likely crossed off the list, it’s difficult to know who the Raiders might target at quarterback. It’ll be hard to draft a top prospect with the No. 13 pick and Getsy can’t be trusted to develop a young quarterback. Perhaps a player like Kirk Cousins becomes more realistic as he’s less dependent on his offensive coordinator than a young quarterback would be. Regardless. the Raiders’ offense faces some major question marks this offseason.
More Background on Luke Getsy
While Raiders fans aren’t pleased with the Luke Getsy news, he’s still only 39 years old and has previous experience working under Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, who is considered one of the better offensive minds in the NFL.
There’s a chance that Getsy truly wasn’t to blame for the offensive woes in Chicago. The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain previously defended the coach.
“Usually in Chicago, it seems like a good play for the offense is because of [Justin] Fields and a bad one is because of Getsy,” Fishbain wrote in a December 28 column. “The Bears won two games with a Division II undrafted rookie quarterback. Does Getsy deserve credit for that? Fields remains, statistically, one of the worst quarterbacks in the fourth quarter. Where’s the blame for Getsy?
“In the end, it’s never that simple. When an offense fails to reach expectations, everyone can be at fault.”
There’s a chance that Justin Fields truly is just a bad quarterback and Getsy didn’t know how to work with him. That’s what the Raiders have to be banking on.