nfl roundup

Raiders: Hue Jackson officially began his career as Oakland head coach, vowing to take the team back to the playoffs and beyond. Owner Al Davis says he picked Jackson to replace Tom Cable because he proved as offensive coordinator that he could get the Raiders offense into the end zone. Oakland finished sixth in the league in scoring with 410 points, more than doubling their total from 2009. Jackson is the sixth Raiders coach since 2003. The Raiders have gone eight straight seasons without a winning record in the worst stretch in franchise history.

Rams: St. Louis hired former Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels as their offensive coordinator. The 34-year-old McDaniels replaces Pat Shurmur, who was hired by the Cleveland Browns as head coach last week. “We are happy to announce that Josh will be a part of our staff,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said in a statement. “I’ve always recognized that he is one of the top offensive minds in the NFL. We think he is a great addition to our organization.” McDaniels parlayed success as an offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots into his first head coaching job and at age 32 was the NFL’s youngest coach in 2009. He favors the spread offense, run by quarterback Sam Bradford in college. McDaniels was let go by the Broncos on Dec. 6, with four games left in the regular season and in the midst of the franchise’s worst slump in four decades. After winning his first six games of his rookie season, the Broncos lost 17 of the last 22.

Vikings: Two members of the Monsters of the Midway defense from Chicago’s famed championship team are reuniting in Minnesota. Ex-San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary is joining former teammate Leslie Frazier’s staff with the Vikings. Singletary will be the linebackers coach and assistant head coach under Frazier, who was named head coach two weeks ago. Singletary told ESPN 1000 in Chicago during a radio interview earlier in the day he’s coming to Minnesota. Singletary was 18-22 in two-plus seasons in charge of the 49ers, who fired him last month before their final game. Singletary, a linebacker, and Frazier, a cornerback, were part of the dominant defense that led the Bears to a Super Bowl title after the 1985 season.

Seahawks: Jeremy Bates was fired on Tuesday as the Seattle’ offensive coordinator, ending a rocky one-year return to the NFL for Bates during which the Seahawks ranked among the worst offenses in the NFL.

Associated Press