Raiders fans have been a patient bunch, and so have the past few losing coaching staffs — to a fault.

Who can forget defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan in 2011 continuing to drop stiff-in-the-hips middle linebacker Rolando McClain farther and farther back into coverage … until he was matched against Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson on a game-deciding play. (Which didn’t go well.)

Or offensive coordinator Greg Knapp preaching in 2012 that the stagnant zone run-blocking scheme just needed more time … in Week 11.

Or even last year, when head coach Dennis Allen and interim head coach Tony Sparano continued to hand the ball to Darren McFadden and watch him run into linemen’s butts … while big and spry Latavius Murray watched on the sideline.

This season, it’s still too early to see what the Raiders (2-3) have cooking, but head coach Jack Del Rio and his staff are not shy about throwing in new ingredients, or throwing out a bad batch after just a taste.

Returning starting linebacker Sio Moore was dumped in the preseason. And though Del Rio and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. talked up replacement Ray Ray Armstrong, he lasted all of two starts before he was out of the lineup.

There are countless examples, from receiver Rod Streater being pushed down to fifth on the depth chart, to the team’s changing its defensive scheme, to moving its best cornerback, TJ Carrie, to safety.

Del Rio said he hasn’t told players they are on short leash; it’s just understood.

“No, I don’t really talk in those terms,” Del Rio said. “I think for us, we’re going to make it competitive all the time. We’re going to look for results. When you play well, you’re going to play more. That’s really how we approach it.”

Previous staffs might have been overconfident of their coaching abilities. Take linebacker Miles Burris, who finally was cut in the offseason. He was a hard-working player who couldn’t shake free of blocks, but he started 15 games in 2012 and 16 in 2014 to similar results.

This year, the window of opportunity for players is much smaller.

Reserve offensive linemen Khalif Barnes has been with the Raiders seven years.

“This staff is smart,” Barnes said. “They’re not going to beat their heads against the wall. They use what works, and if it’s not, they may try a few more times in practice, but they are not afraid to pull the plug.

“And they can adjust on the fly during games as well. We’ve got a staff full of smart guys.”

It’s all about coaching to players’ strengths, and if those strengths aren’t good enough after a few go-rounds in practice and games, it’s “on to the next.” That’s one of Del Rio’s favorite sayings in regard to too many questions after a loss, but it applies to players as well.

“Yeah, we’re going to work hard to put a plan together to utilize the guys we have and the things they can do and try to minimize the things that they’re not going to do real well,” Del Rio said. “I think that‘s imperative for a staff to do, to utilize the talent available to us.”

And that goes from the bottom of the roster to the top.

Safety Taylor Mays was signed and boldly plugged into the starting lineup in Week 2. After a half, the coaching staff realized it had overreached and Mays, cut and signed again this week, has been strictly a special-teams player.

Meanwhile, middle linebacker Curtis Lofton was signed to a three-year, $18 million contract in the offseason. But when his problems covering tight ends couldn’t be fixed in the playbook, he sat and watched rookie Neiron Ball take over that role. Lofton played 22 snaps in the past game, a loss to the Broncos. Ball played 36.

The Raiders also have gone from a 4-3 defensive alignment (four defensive linemen and three linebackers) to a 3-4 and a 5-2 at times to get more pressure on the quarterback.

“They’re just trying to maximize the talent available and put us in the best position to win,” defensive tackle Dan Williams said. “Coach Norton always preaches every day that the game is won at practice, and the guy behind you is pushing hard to get more playing time.

“In this league, you have to win. The staff is pushing us to get better every week, and now we just have to get results.”

Vic Tafur is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vtafur@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VicTafur