AP

Once upon a time, Jack Del Rio tried to motivate his team with an ax, and he nearly ended up with a one-legged punter.

So it’s probably for the common good that he’s using something softer, like positive vibes this time.

Via Tom Pelissero of USA Today, the new Raiders coach is trying to change the atmosphere around a perennial losing team by not talking about all the losing that happened before he got there.

“I told them, ‘You guys can really help us by not referring anymore to negative things that have occurred here,’ ” Del Rio said of coaches and former players who are hanging around camp. “Let’s just talk about what we’re going to do going forward and the positives and bring us that great energy. That’ll help.”

Del Rio has also hired a “mindset coach” to work with the coaching staff, who is emphasizing nutrition, exercise, sleep and recovery to help keep the coaches positive, and create a better work environment.

While it sounds a little new-age for the NFL, players seem to enjoy the new approach so far, and it can’t hurt. Since Florio hasn’t hired a mindset coach for us yet, this is where we’re obligated to point out the Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since 2002, and are 56-136 with nine head coaches since then.

So no wonder they’re trying to get their zen on, and Del Rio has his new consultants working with all areas of the organization.

“We’re trying to hit the Raiders from all sides, really trying to build a sustainable, winning team,” said Scott Peltin, who co-founded the executive performance firm TIGNUM. “A big part is teaching coaches to be better problem-solvers, role-model a high-performance mindset and have more energy and resilience.”

Del Rio’s a high-energy guy anyway, so trying to shake things up fits with his personality. And it’s certainly better than chopping your foot off. So even if it sounds a little corny, it can’t possibly hurt, because they’ve been really bad for more than a decade.

Oh wait, we weren’t supposed to say that.