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ALAMEDA Dolphins Jerome Baker Jersey , Calif. (AP) John Pagano found out his 15-year tenure with the Chargers ended last offseason on social media, when it was reported that new coach Anthony Lynn wanted to go a new direction for his defense.

The Oakland Raiders were the beneficiaries of Pagano’s firing after five years as coordinator.

The Raiders added Pagano to their staff in the offseason as an assistant and he took over as the play-caller late last month after Ken Norton Jr. was fired as coordinator 10 games into the season.

The transformation on defense the past five weeks under Pagano’s leadership in Oakland has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing season for the Raiders (6-9).

Pagano will hope to extend that run of strong play in the season finale when Oakland visits the Chargers with hopes of spoiling Los Angeles’ playoff hopes.

”I’m excited to be here,” Pagano said Thursday. ”I’m excited for the opportunity that’s in front of me now. That’s football. It was time to move on.”

The Raiders were a mess when Pagano took over from Norton following a 33-8 loss in Mexico City to New England. Oakland had become the first team in modern NFL history to fail to intercept a single pass in the first 10 games, ranked last in the NFL in defensive takeaways (four) and 31st in third-down defense (46 percent).

The Raiders had allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 72.3 percent of their passes for a 113.3 passer rating, both of which would rank as the second-worst of all-time.

In the five games since the change, the Raiders rank third in third-down defense (27.7 percent) Dolphins Mike Gesicki Jersey , fourth in yards per play allowed (4.63) and passer rating against (72.1), fifth in yards per game allowed (287) and tied for fifth in sacks (16). Oakland also has five interceptions in that span after getting none under Norton.