The Raiders announced last week that Steve Wisniewski was leaving the coaching staff, and Raiders head coach Dennis Allen wants to make it clear that he didn’t push Wisniewski out.
“Number one is, it was a little bit of a surprise,” Allen said. “Obviously he has his personal reasons as to why he made that decision. I will say this, it was totally his decision. It was nobody else’s decision.”
There’s no word on what the personal reasons for Wisniewski leaving were, although Wisniewski -- who was an eight-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman for the Raiders before joining their coaching staff -- told his players about his decision weeks ago.
"[Wisniewski] texted me a couple of weeks ago, he texted me and I was surprised to hear it,” right tackle Khalif Barnes told CSNBayArea.com. “He wished me all the best. I wished him all the best. Wiz, I know he was special to me. When he first came in, he gave me some of his 13 years of experience and knowledge, and how it was to be in the trenches, and I don’t think anyone did it better than him when he was with the Raiders. Talk to some old defensive players and they’ll tell you they didn’t like to play against that guy at all. He was rough in there. I wish him all the best and I hope to see him around from time to time.”
Wisniewski is expected to stay with the Raiders in some capacity. Allen said he doesn’t expect to hire anyone else to fill Wisniewski’s place on the coaching staff.