Count Steve Mariucci among those who were surprised when the Raiders traded receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.
“I didn’t think the Raiders, when I heard rumors about this, were going to get a No. 1 pick, I really didn’t,” Mariucci said Monday appearing on 95.7 The Game. “And the way Dallas is playing, that first-round pick is going to be relatively early, or at least in the middle of the first round. So that’s a win for the Raiders.”
We know from Mariucci’s time as head coach of Cal and the 49ers that he is an upbeat, glass-half-full kind of guy. Most people, upon learning of the Cooper trade were surprised because it was a sure sign that the team’s rebuild would be preceded by a full-on teardown. First Khalil Mack. Now Cooper. If I was Derek Carr, I’d stop by the post office on the way home from work today and pick up a few change of address forms.
That’s the cynical side of our brain at work. Mariucci, currently an analyst for the NFL Network, is drawing from his nine years as an NFL head coach. Steve Young and Jerry Rice were injured in his first game with San Francisco. He coached Terrell Owens. He was fired after leading the 49ers from consecutive losing seasons to playoff seasons of 12-4 and 10-6. He coached the Lions for heaven’s sake. He’s seen how the sausage is made. Very little is going to surprise him, short of the Cowboys dropping a first round pick for a load of damp dynamite.
“This is big,” he said. “As an outsider you hope it’s a win-win, that both teams can benefit tremendously. We all know the Dallas Cowboys need another receiver. This will be a good way for (Cooper) to reboot and get a new start.”
Interestingly enough, Mariucci and Cooper go way back.
“I got to know Amari Cooper when he was in high school,” Mariucci said. “He played in the Under Armour All-America game that I coach. He played on the other team and I saw him catch a touchdown from Jameis Winston, and I saw him return a punt for a 91-yard touchdown. I mean, the kid is special. He’s just got to get on track, and I think he will. He’s had some great games, he’s just been inconsistent.”
The plight of Raiders fans, who are now saddled with a lame duck team currently under demolition, is not lost on Mariucci. That said, they aren’t likely to be comforted by what he sees as the team’s upside.
“Oakland Raiders fans are saying, ‘What’s going on? This year is going to suck.’ And that’s OK,” Mariucci said. “Because to have three No. 1’s next year, the future should be bright. This is how the Dallas Cowboys got rich, with the Herschel Walker trade (in 1989). You got all these draft choices. You’ve got to hit on them. But if they do, look out. Raider nation just has to wait a year or two.”
Easier said than done when you’ve been waiting since Amari Cooper was in third grade.