Over the last few years, the Oakland Raiders have shown several signs that the franchise was changing philosophically under the direction of owner Mark Davis and the guidance of general manager Reggie McKenzie, attempting to alter the course from the final miserable seasons under Mark’s father, the late Al Davis.

But despite their efforts to adapt to the current NFL trends that had passed the once great Al Davis by, losing has prevailed in Oakland and the team’s performance has steadily gotten worse over the last three seasons.

However, after parting ways with overmatched coach Dennis Allen in the middle of last season, the Raiders made a coaching hire this offseason that further signaled the franchise’s change of direction and sets them up to play to the strengths of their roster at the linebacker position.

The Raiders roster is still very much a work in progress and there’s nothing that could have happened in Oakland this offseason that would’ve made the team into a contender in the near future. But by hiring Jack Del Rio, a defensive-minded coach with a stronger pedigree and better track record than Allen before him, the Oakland front office sent a message about how they want to build their team.

Prior to hiring Allen, the last defensive-minded coach of the Raiders was John Madden. It had been a while. But despite the debacle that was Allen’s two-plus year tenure, Oakland didn’t shy away from going back to the well with another coach with a defensive pedigree. That’s at least in part because Del Rio convinced Raiders management, particularly Davis, that he was more than capable of handling an offense as well.

“When we first had a talk about even having the meeting, I told Jack that I think I’m going to go in a different direction and I’m thinking about going more offensive as the head coach, because we have a young quarterback and everything,” Davis recalled during Del Rio’s introductory press conference. “And Jack said, ‘Woah, woah, woah, stop. I know about offense as well.’ When we met and he dissected the Raiders’ roster and was able to tell me about each offensive player and tell me how he thought they ranked and how they did, it was pretty amazing to me that he had just spent a whole season up in Denver but knew our offensive roster as well as anybody. That showed me that he’s ready to be here and take that part of the anxiety out of me about going with another defensive coach.”

Certainly Del Rio can cultivate an environment for young Oakland quarterback Derek Carr to thrive in. He’s already begun to do so by bringing in Bill Musgrave to be his offensive coordinator and he’ll likely be heavily involved in the draft process as the Raiders attempt to obtain more weapons and better protection for Carr. But when the time comes, he will hand the keys to the offense to Musgrave. Because make no mistake, Del Rio is in Oakland for one reason, and that’s to turn a Raiders defense with some talented players into one of the league’s best defensive units. It’s something he’s done at prior stops with the Ravens, Panthers, Jaguars and most recently as defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos.

Last season, Oakland ranked 21st in yards allowed and allowed the most points in the league, allowing, on average 28 points or four touchdowns per contest. The advanced statistics weren’t any kinder to the Raiders, who ranked 24th in Pro Football Focus’ defensive ratings and 26th in DVOA (Defensive-adjusted value over average) according to Football Outsiders.

On the other hand PFF ranked Del Rio’s Broncos defense as the best in the league and they were fourth in DVOA. Though they ranked mid-pack in points allowed,  only two teams allowed fewer yards per game.

Del Rio has also brought in Ken Norton Jr. — a teammate of his at the University of Southern California before both enjoyed long and successful playing careers, then both transitioned to the coaching ranks — to serve as his Oakland’s defensive coordinator. Norton spent the last five seasons as linebackers coach with the Seahawks, helping to mold one of the league’s preeminent defenses over the last several years.

The Raiders don’t have nearly the talent in place on defense that the Broncos or Seahawks do, but they do have some bright spots and rising stars to build around, especially in the middle of the defense at the linebacker position.

That group is led by SAM LB Khalil Mack, the No. 5 overall pick in last year’s NFL Draft. Mack starred in his rookie season and earned Defensive Rookie of the Year praise, though he ultimately finished third in the NFL voting behind Aaron Donald and C.J. Mosley.

But while Mack’s traditional stats, which showed just four sacks and 75 tackles likely hurt his status in those discussions, the advanced stats showed he merited more praise than he received. Pro Football Focus had Mack as the second highest rated defender in the league last season, behind only Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. He was particularly excellent against the run, as no other NFL defender came close to his 46.9 PFF run defense rating.

Mack is, by all accounts, a defensive star and cornerstone piece of the Raiders defense, and Del Rio knows it. Entering his second season, Mack will be at the center of everything the Oakland defense does going forward.

“We do think that Khalil is a special young man with truly special abilities,” Del Rio said. “We’re looking forward to working with him to develop those talents. He’s a powerful young man. He plays with strength at the point of attack that’s rare even in this league.”

Where the new Raiders coach and his coordinator Norton can help Mack improve most is through turning his 54 pressures and 22 hurries, which ranked fifth in the league, into more sacks. Del Rio certainly has plenty of experience in that area from his time in Denver, where he helped mold Von Miller into a sackmaster on the strongside of a base 4-3 defense, the exact position where Mack is currently stationed. Miller ranked second only to Mack among 4-3 outside linebackers last year according to PFF, and Miller was by far the best 4-3 OLB at rushing the passer by the same ratings. Likewise, Norton worked with pass rushing OLB Bruce Irvin in Seattle, so the two can provide beneficial input for Mack as he enters year two.

“We’re going to teach him how to bend and finish at a higher rate, so he can get that sack total up,” Del Rio said when asked about Mack at the NFL owners’ meetings. “We feel like that’s where he has a chance to take off and grow. Adding some of that bend on the edge and finishing capability around the quarterback will take him from someone who is close all the time and breathing down the neck of the quarterback to someone who is getting the passer on the ground, forcing fumbles, and creating turnovers.”

Though Mack is listed as a linebacker and played the SAM spot in Oakland’s base defense, he was utilized in more of a hybrid role by the Raiders last season, particularly in sub packages. Del Rio expects to keep him there to start the season. But the new Raiders coach did acknowledge that Mack could end up making a full-time switch to defensive end depending on which option gives the Raiders the opportunity to best utilize their personnel.

“However it helps the team best, he’s gonna play,” he said. “The number of sub snaps in the league has gone up dramatically each year. I think we’re up to close to 70 percent now of your snaps you’re facing three and four receiver sets. So your sub package, where Khalil is an end, is the one that really is the most prominent. He definitely has shown he’s got the ability to be an edge rusher, a defensive end in that capacity. I feel like it’s however we want to be utilize him and who we have around him as well.”

Of all their defensive personnel, Oakland is by far the strongest at linebacker. In addition to Mack they have Sio Moore, a 2013 third rounder, at weakside linebacker. They also signed OLB Malcolm Smith, the Super Bowl XLVIII MVP and one of Norton’s protégés in Seattle. Smith is likely to start the season on the weakside with Moore recovering from a season ending hip injury, but his presence could ease Mack’s move to defensive end once Moore is back in the picture.

In the middle of the linebacking corps will be another one of the team’s offseason acquisitions, former Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton, who had been the quarterback of the New Orleans defense the last three seasons. Lofton finished with 145 tackles last season, the second highest total of his career and represents a clear upgrade for the Raiders at the middle linebacker spot. Miles Burris, an outside linebacker by trade, was forced into action in the middle and started all 16 games there last season after projected starter Nick Roach suffered a season ending injury. Burris went on to grade out as the worst MLB in the league according to PFF. So the addition of an experienced player like Lofton, who also offers stability having played in all 16 games each of his last seven seasons, should prove crucial.

Linebackers are the specialty of both Del Rio and Norton so it’s fitting that they adopt a defense with a core strength at the position and have quickly made it even stronger. If nothing else, it gives them options.

Pairing Mack on the defensive line with Justin Tuck, who has a good first season in Oakland despite his advanced age, would make for a formidable duo. The Raiders also gave former Cardinals nose tackle Dan Williams a four-year, $25 million to play the three-technique. The ability of Williams to eat space and his performance as a run stopper should free up both Tuck and Mack to get after the quarterback more. Beside him, the Raiders have 2014 fourth round pick Justin Ellis, a monster one-technique and another player to take up space and blockers, which will give the team’s playmakers room to roam.

Oakland does have some glaring weaknesses in the secondary that they’ll need to address one way or another. But with so many holes to fill, building the way they already have begun to, from the inside-out, is a great start. It’s also a strong sign that these Raiders actually are going to be different down the road, and they’ll be better for it.