Earlier this week, there was a report that the Falcons have been blocking interview requests for some of their assistant coaches because they want their incoming head coach to decide whether or not to keep them on the staff in 2015.
One of the assistants mentioned in that report was offensive line coach Mike Tice, who was thought to be a candidate to join the Raiders once Jack Del Rio was officially hired as head coach. Del Rio now has the reins in Oakland and it seems something has changed in Atlanta as well.
Mike Silver of NFL Media reports that Tice will be joining Del Rio as the offensive line coach for the Raiders. Tice spent four years working on Del Rio’s staff in Jacksonville and the two men also played for the Vikings at the same time, which means Del Rio will have at least one familiar face on the staff.
There’s also been talk of former Falcons head coach Mike Smith reprising his Jacksonville role as defensive coordinator, so that familiar feeling might extend to both sides of the ball.
