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Raiders Mailbag: What's next as the team heads into the offseason?

Roi Manoogian asks:

"When are you going to announce the head coach?"

There's no definite date as to when an announcement could come, but expect it to be a thorough process.

There haven't been any reported interview requests yet made by the Raiders for the head coaching vacancy, but Antonio Pierce will almost certainly be a candidate. The Raiders linebacker coach was promoted to interim head coach in November and finished with a 5-4 record while serving in the position. This will be the most interesting development to follow within the next few weeks.

Les Rowlatt from Ontario, Canada asks:

"How do you plan to fix the secondary? It's better than in past seasons, but still a problem."

It definitely can be improved, but saying it's a "problem" is inaccurate – in my opinion.

The Raiders defense increased their number of takeaways from 13 to 22 over the span of a season, with 13 of those 22 coming off interceptions. Additionally, the Raiders passing defense surrendered the 12th fewest passing yards to opposing offenses among the league.

The members of the secondary returning next season under contract include Nate Hobbs, Tre’von Moehrig, Marcus Epps and late-season addition Jack Jones, who returned two interceptions for a touchdown. Statistically speaking, these four played some of the best football of their young careers in 2023. Draft classmates Hobbs and Moehrig combined for four interceptions and 15 pass deflections.

Looking into the 2024 season, the Silver and Black could also see a rise in production from safety Isaiah Pola-Mao, who had a sack, interception and 14 solo tackles in 130 defensive snaps played.

Erik Spence from California asks:

"Why was Hunter Renfrow underutilized in our offense?"

In 2021, Hunter Renfrow had a Pro Bowl season with over 1,000 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. In the two seasons since, he's totaled nearly 600 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

His 2022 season was riddled with various injuries, however I believe what affected his production in 2023 was the emergence of rookie Tre Tucker. The third-round pick from Cincinnati saw an uptick in snaps toward the latter half of the season, finishing third on the team in receiving yards (331) and receiving touchdowns (tied with two). While Tucker is poised to take a leap in his upcoming sophomore campaign, Renfrow is still a proven receiver in the league who can bounce back in 2024.

Preview the Raiders' 2024 home and away opponents with a look back at past matchups.

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