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The Oakland Raiders have joined the free-agent pickup party.

After cutting seven players in salary-cap dumps, Oakland added former St. Louis cornerback Ronald Bartell and former Houston guard Mike Brisiel on Friday.

Let’s be frank. These signings aren’t going to cause a wave of worry in the NFL as neither is an upper-echelon player. But they fill holes in Oakland and that’s important.

Bartell missed all but one game last year with a neck injury. He has started 66 career games. He will start for Oakland, which entered the day with no experienced starters at cornerback. The Raiders have also shown interest in New Orleans cornerback Tracy Porter, who played for new Oakland coach Dennis Allen when Allen was the Saints’ secondary coach.

I could see the Raiders trying to sign Porter to pair with Bartell. The Raiders, who have lost veterans Nnamdi Asomugha, Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson since last July, are rail thin at the position.

If Porter isn’t signed, Oakland could switch safety Michael Huff to cornerback, but the Raiders would have to come up with a replacement for Huff. Second-year cornerbacks DeMarcus Van Dyke and Chimdi Chewka will also get the chance to develop.

Brisiel will start at guard. Former Houston offensive line coach Frank Pollack was hired for the same job in Oakland this year and the Raiders are going to employ a zone-blocking scheme, which Houston ran. Brisiel is known as a tough, smart player, but he has had injury issues. Oakland could still potentially add to the offensive line at guard or center. Second-year guard Stefen Wisniewski could be moved to center.

The Raiders have several holes, because of their salary-cap moves, so expect more signings. Because the Raiders have limited cap space, expect the next moves to be of the modest variety like Friday's signings. But if the Raiders can continue to find experienced starters, they will be better off for it.

We have our first reported visit by the Oakland Raiders as they clear cap room to pursue free agents.

The Houston Chronicle reports Texans’ guard Mike Brisiel is visiting Oakland. It makes total sense. Former Houston offensive line coach Frank Pollack has taken over as the Raiders’ offensive line coach and former Houston quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp is Oakland’s offensive coordinator.

The Raiders will move back to a zone-blocking scheme, and Brisiel is skilled in that area. Brisiel has started 47 games in six NFL seasons. He’s been a part-time starter the past three seasons after starting all 16 games in 2008.

He would be a candidate to start in Oakland. The Raiders cut Cooper Carlisle in a salary-cap move Wednesday. He could potentially come back at a lesser price, but he will look at other options.

Another name to keep on eye an in Oakland is St. Louis cornerback Ronald Bartell. The Raiders badly need cornerbacks and he is on the team’s list.

NFL.com reports cornerback Stanford Routt will visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday. The Oakland Raiders cut Routt on Thursday. ESPNDallas first reported the Chiefs’ interest in Routt last Friday.

Routt was in Buffalo on Monday for his first visit since becoming the best available free agent on the open market. He has several other visits planned and the process could take some time to develop. If the Chiefs, who have more than $62 million in salary-cap room, sign Routt, it will be an indication they are not interested in signing Brandon Carr, who is going to be one of the better free-agent cornerbacks available on the market. The Chiefs could be looking at Routt to compare what he wants to what Carr is looking for in a deal.

Like Carr, Routt would be a good fit with Kansas City No. 1 cornerback Brandon Flowers. Routt was better as the No. 2 cornerback to Nnamdi Asomugha before he became the lead cornerback last season when the Raiders chose to give Routt a big contract instead of Asomugha. Oakland’s new leadership cut Routt last week.

Meanwhile, Oakland guard Cooper Carlisle is considered a candidate to be salary-cap causality. However, there are indications the Raiders will consider keeping him. New Oakland offensive line coach Frank Pollack tried to recruit him to Houston few years ago as a free agent and Carlisle is a natural fit for the zone-blocking scheme Pollack coaches.

Jack Bicknell Jr. will reportedly be the Chiefs’ offensive line coach. He was the Giants’ assistant offensive line coach.

Now that the Oakland Raiders have hired Stanford co-defensive coordinator Jason Tarver and they have filled their major assistant spots on Dennis Allen’s staff, let’s look at some remaining questions for the team:

Will the Raiders be a 4-3 or a 3-4 defense? Allen ran a 4-3 defense in Denver last season. Tarver’s defense at Stanford was a 3-4 and Tarver was an assistant in a 3-4 defense in San Francisco. Allen said last week that schemes can be overvalued and the Raiders will show multiple defensive alignments. I’d guess the Raiders would mostly use 4-3, but show some 3-4 looks as well.

Who will call the defensive plays? There were rumblings during Allen’s search for a defensive coordinator that he could reconsider and call the defensive plays. Allen said last week that he won’t call the defensive plays and he’d be a game manager. However, Tarver didn’t call the plays at Stanford. So, it will be interesting to see what Allen does.

Will the Raiders run a zone-blocking offense? The Raiders hired Frank Pollack from Houston to coach the offensive line. The Texans used the zone-blocking scheme and it would make sense that Pollack would do the same in Oakland. The Raiders transitioned from the zone to power-blocking under Hue Jackson and running back Darren McFadden seemed to fare better. McFadden, however, has also had some success in the zone-blocking scheme.

The Raiders made seven coaching moves Thursday; none of them is shocking.

Running backs coach Kelly Skipper and assistant offensive line coach Steve Wisniewski will remain in their roles. Meanwhile, former Houston assistant offensive line coach Frank Pollack will run the Raiders offensive line. Pollack worked with new Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp in Houston the past two seasons.

The team also announced that Al Miller will be the strength coach and that he'll be assisted by John Grieco. Miller – who worked with new Oakland coach Dennis Allen in Atlanta – is one of the most respected strength coaches ever, and was with the Broncos during the early John Elway days.

Former Raiders fullback Justin Griffith, who played for Knapp in four different NFL cities, will be the offensive quality-control coach. Eric Sanders will be the Raiders’ defensive quality-control coach.

Dennis Allen’s lengthy search for a defensive coordinator in Oakland marches on.

The focus is now on Green Bay cornerback coach Joe Whitt Jr. His name emerged late Wednesday and it became even more relevant in the search when FoxSports.com reported Thursday that Greg Manusky -- fired as the Chargers’ defensive coordinator last month -- became the coordinator in Indianapolis on Thursday. He interviewed with Allen on Tuesday. Talks broke down late Wednesday and the Colts emerged.

Allen, formerly the Broncos’ defensive coordinator, has been having trouble securing a candidate. He was denied permission to talk to several candidates. The search winds its way to Whitt, who worked in Green Bay with new Oakland general manager Reggie McKenzie. Thus, the Green Bay coaching connection may finally develop in Oakland.

Whitt may be considered a risky choice since he is a position coach and is just 33. Normally, you’d like to see a candidate with more experience. But McKenzie clearly saw something in him and relayed it to Allen. Whitt was well respected by his players in Green Bay.

"Trust me," Green Bay cornerback Tramon Williams once told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The guy knows his stuff. He will be a coordinator or a something one day. I don't know exactly when it's going to be, but I think he's definitely going to have one of those upper spots."

We’ll see where his candidacy goes, but Allen may be running out of options, so perhaps Whitt will emerge as the guy.

Honestly, I don’t think the Raiders should be too broken up over it not working out with Manusky. I know folks in San Diego would have loved to have seen Manusky stay in the division. His one-year stint as defensive coordinator there was a disaster.

Meanwhile, the Oakland Tribune reports assistant offensive line coach Steve Wisniewski will remain on the staff and work in some capacity with new offensive line coach Frank Pollack. Good move. Wisniewski is well respected and he did a nice job last year.

Lame-duck former Oakland offensive coordinator Al Saunders met with the Kansas City Chiefs about their open offensive coordinator job, according to Bob Gretz.com.

Saunders has been replaced by Greg Knapp in Oakland, but the Raiders haven’t said what they plan to do with Saunders.

“Al is there today talking with Romeo (Crennel),” former Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil told the site. “He wants to see if there’s any chance to go back to Oakland, but if not he’d love the Chiefs job.”

Saunders is a former Kansas City offensive coordinator. Chiefs quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn also reportedly has interviewed for the job. The Kansas City Star reported Zorn may quit if he is not given the job. He and Saunders worked together in Baltimore in 2010

• Fox Sports has reported Oakland is hiring former Chiefs’ special teams coach Steve Hoffman. He was just fired by the Chiefs. He replaces the highly respected John Fassel, who took a job with St. Louis. Hoffman is taking over one of the better special teams in the NFL.
• The Raiders’ defensive coordinator decision could come soon. The team interviewed Greg Manusky, fired in San Diego last month, this week. If Manusky is not the Raiders’ guy, other names should soon surface.
• The Raiders hired Houston’s Frank Pollack to run the offensive line. That could mean the Raiders will return to a zone-blocking offense, which they ran during a lot of Tom Cable’s regime. It should be an easy transition if that is the way the Raiders go.

The Kansas City Chiefs announced that offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Muir will retire.

Muir, 69, wasn’t going to be brought back as the coordinator, but the Chiefs had interest in him to stay as the line coach. Muir denied a report last week that said he was going to retire. Yet, he has, indeed, decided to pursue other life interests. He spent 34 years in the NFL.

“I am excited for Bill as he moves into retirement,” Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel said in a statement released by the team. “I have known him for a long time and he is one of the finest coaches I’ve ever been around and an even better person. Bill is a very good friend and I have a great deal of respect for the way he worked. It was a privilege to work alongside him.”

Added Muir in the statement: "It has been an honor to be a part of this great league for so long. Over the years I've made a lot of great friends and worked with many talented players and coaches. This was a personal decision for me, the timing was right. The Chiefs are in great hands with Romeo and Scott (general manager Pioli) and I wish them nothing but the best.”

The Kansas City Star reported that Chiefs quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn has interviewed for the offensive coordinator opening. Crennel has been considering candidates for several weeks. The Chiefs reportedly recently denied the Bears permission to talk to Zorn about their quarterbacks coach job, which signaled that the Chiefs could be interested in promoting Zorn. He worked well with Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel last season.

FoxSports.com reports Oakland is hiring Houston assistant offensive line coach Frank Pollack as offensive line coach. He worked with new Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Knapp the past two years. Bob Wylie coached the Oakland offensive line last season and he did a nice job. It will be interesting to see where this decision leaves assistant offensive line coach Steve Wisniewski. He is a former Raiders great and is the uncle of Oakland guard Stefen Wisniewski, who starred as a rookie last season.

Meanwhile, former Oakland coach Rod Woodson is being considered as the defensive backs coach in Cincinnati. Woodson was a first-year coach with the Raiders last year. There was a report that Oakland coach Hue Jackson was going to fire Woodson before Jackson was fired himself.