49ers settle on Raye for coordinator, sources say

49ers settle on Raye for coordinator, sources say
January 29
San Francisco Chronicle
"Eight was enough for Mike Singletary. The 49ers' coach has hired as his offensive coordinator the eighth man to interview for the job, the experienced and well-traveled Jimmy Raye II.

The NFL Network reported the hire Wednesday night, citing unnamed league sources. A league source told The Chronicle the report was not incorrect. The 62-year-old Raye thus comes full circle, having begun his NFL coaching career as an assistant with the 49ers in 1977.

That was the start of a 32-year odyssey through the NFL for Raye, who has worked for 10 teams in various coaching capacities, including 11 seasons as an offensive coordinator for six teams, most recently the Raiders under Norv Turner in 2004-05. Raye was most recently with the Jets as running backs coach.

Ravens quarterbacks coach Hue Jackson was the presumed front-runner for the job after he came in for a second interview with Singletary on Tuesday, after an initial visit on Friday.

Raye, however, convinced Singletary he was the man for the job in an interview on Wednesday morning in Santa Clara. He is a proponent of a pro-style offense that strives for balance between the run and the pass.

Raye was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984 when the team finished second in the league in rushing as Eric Dickerson ran for an NFL record 2,105 yards. With Kansas City in 2000, the Chiefs had the league's fifth-best passing offense.

Singletary took a full month to decide on a coordinator after firing Mike Martz on Dec. 30 after a 2008 season in which the interim head coach and the offensive coordinator clashed several times on style and approach.

Though the search seemed to drag on, Raye arrives in plenty of time to join the 49ers' coaching staff as it prepares for the NFL combine, free agency, the draft and spring minicamps.

Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi, writing for the National Football Post.com, said before Raye's hire that the 49ers made a mistake in firing Martz.

"Everyone I talked to here in Tampa on Monday (at the Super Bowl) agree that the 49ers will not recover from their decision to fire Mike Martz, and whomever they hire will not be as good or as effective," Lombardi said. "Martz may take a lot of hits in the media, but he's an outstanding offensive coach."

Martz has not found another job since being fired by the 49ers.

In his long NFL career, Raye served as offensive coordinator at Tampa Bay, New England, Kansas City, Washington, Oakland and with the Rams on two occasions."
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