Raiders’ Taiwan Jones moves back to offense
Raiders’ Taiwan Jones moves back to offense
Offensive coordinator.
Two years after the Raiders moved the Antioch native from running back to cornerback, the new coaching staff was moving him back.
Jones finds himself in the mix for the backup running back job, along with injured Roy Helu Jr., Trent Richardson and undrafted free agent Michael Dyer.
Jones had three carries for 15 yards in last Friday’s preseason opener.
Jones had some ball-security issues that seemed to scare former coaches Hue Jackson and Dennis Allen.
Jones focused on special teams, and became what general manager Reggie McKenzie calls a Pro Bowl-caliber kick-coverage guy, before he went down with a season-ending foot injury in last year’s season-opener.
Musgrave must have popped in some video of Jones running for 7.7 yards a carry at Eastern Washington in 2011, when he convinced Del Rio to let him have the cornerback.
Speedster Percy Harvin had the best year of his career under Musgrave with the Vikings, when the coordinator moved him around and found ways to get him in open space.
Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.