Al Saunders Al Saunders ( born February 1 , 1947 ) an American football coach , currently employed by the Oakland Raiders . Early life and playing career . Born in London , England , he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1960 , and is one of four foreign - born coaches in the NFL . In college played defensive back and wide receiver for the Spartans of San Jose State University ( SJSU ) from 1966 – 1968 where he was a three - year starter , team captain , and an Academic All - American . Saunders also joined Theta Chi fraternity while at SJSU . Coaching career . In the 1970s , Al Saunders joined the coaching staff at USC and San Diego State University ( SDSU ) , whose SDSU Aztecs were then under the control of Head Coach Don Coryell . Saunders would go with Coryell to NFL when Coryell became the head coach of the San Diego Chargers . From 1983 – 1985 , Saunders was the wide receivers coach for the Chargers . He became the assistant head coach for the 1986 season , and was tapped as the Chargers ' head coach when Coryell resigned during the middle of the season . Saunders would eventually hold the head coaching position from 1986 - 1988 . From 1989 – 1998 , Saunders was with the Kansas City Chiefs , where he served as the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach under Marty Schottenheimer . Saunders would then join the St . Louis Rams coaching staff . From 1999 - 2000 he served as the wide receivers Coach under Dick Vermeil and later as assistant head coach under Mike Martz . During this period , the Rams won Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 . Saunders would rejoin the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001 as the offensive coordinator when Vermeil came out of retirement . In his second stint with the Chiefs , Saunders built the NFL ' s top offense , which was ranked # 1 in the NFL from 2002 – 2005 . On January 19 , 2006 , he joined the coaching staff of the Washington Redskins as the Associate Head Coach - Offense , reuniting him with fellow Don " Air " Coryell alumnus , Joe Gibbs . At the time , his 3 - year , $ 6 million contract made him the second highest paid assistant coach in the NFL behind Gregg Williams . Players such as recent additions Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd have claimed that the signing of Saunders to the Washington coaching staff was a major pull factor in their decision to sign with the Redskins . In this role , he served the team like he did in Kansas City , as the primary play caller and offensive coordinator . Saunders ' offensive playbook reportedly had approximately 700 pages of various plays . Beginning with the third game of the regular season , Washington ' s offensive production increased but later fell . In 2007 , Jason Campbell dislocated his left knee in a week 14 game versus the Chicago Bears . Veteran back - up Todd Collins , who took over the reins and was very effective as he led the Redskins to four straight victories and into the playoffs . Collins ' success can be attributed to the fact that he had been studying under Saunders ' offensive scheme since 2001 . After Joe Gibbs retired as head coach of the Redskins on January 8 , 2008 and Jim Zorn was hired as the new offensive coordinator by Redskins ' owner Dan Snyder on January 25 , Saunders was fired by Snyder on January 26 . On January 30 , 2008 , Saunders was hired as offensive coordinator for the St . Louis Rams . After Steve Spagnuolo was hired as head coach in January 2009 , Saunders was informed he would not be retained for the upcoming season . In 2009 Saunders was hired as an offensive consultant with the Baltimore Ravens . On January 20 , 2011 , Saunders was hired as the Offensive Coordinator for the Oakland Raiders . Saunders was not the primary play caller , as Head Coach Hue Jackson called offensive plays during his lone season as Raiders head coach . On January 31 , 2012 , following Hue Jackson ' s firing , new coach Dennis Allen named Greg Knapp as the team ' s offensive coordinator , replacing Saunders . After interviewing for several vacant offensive coordinator positions with other organizations , Saunders agreed to return to Oakland as Senior Offensive Assistant for the 2012 season . External links .