Las Vegas Raiders News & Rumors

Raiders Hire Chip Kelly As OC

February 2nd, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

10:01pm: Kelly is leaving Columbus for a historic coordinator sum. As the team told candidates it was prepared to make a “serious” cash infusion with help from its new ownership pieces, SI.com’s Albert Breer reports Kelly will become the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator — on a salary of $6MM per year. This price triples what Kelly was earning at Ohio State, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler adds.

An AAV higher than $5MM has not previously been mentioned for coordinators, as the Buccaneers were prepared to venture toward the $4.5MM-per-year number to retain Liam Coen. Kelly has been out of the NFL for the past eight seasons; his return will bring a stunning salary.

4:36pm: The Raiders are continuing to add to new head coach Pete Carroll‘s staff, hiring longtime college and NFL coach Chip Kelly to be their next offensive coordinator, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Kelly recently won a national championship as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator after a six-year stint as UCLA’s head coach. His last NFL job was as head coach for the 49ers in 2016, though he lasted just one season after a 2-14 finish. Before that, he spent three years as the Eagles’ head coach.

Carroll seems to be prioritizing experience for his new staff. He already retained defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and is now adding the 61-year-old Kelly, who is entering his 35th season as a coach between the NFL and college levels. Kelly also was closely tied to the Raiders last year, when he interviewed twice to be Antonio Pierce‘s OC. Luke Getsy wound up with the job Kliff Kingsbury declined, but a Tom Brady-led housecleaning brought Kelly back into the Vegas mix.

The two veteran coaches have spent time as rivals, both in the Pac-12 and the NFC West. Kelly’s time at Oregon overlapped with Carroll’s tenure as USC’s head coach, and the two also coached against each other in 2016 when Carroll was the Seahawks’ head coach. The 49ers lost both games to the Seahawks in 2016, but Kelly’s Oregon squad upset Carroll’s No. 5 USC in 2009.

Kelly will have his work cut out for him in Las Vegas. The Raiders finished 27th in points and 29th in yards last season, due in no small part to an unstable quarterback situation and the midseason departure of Davante Adams. 2024 first-round pick Brock Bowers quickly established himself as one of the league’s best tight ends, but the rest of the Raiders offense lacks high-end talent.

Kelly’s first order of business will be finding a new quarterback. Gardner Minshew is still under contract for the 2025 season, but will be coming off a season-ending broken collarbone suffered in October. Even when healthy, though, Minshew struggled, making it clear that he is not the future of the franchise. With the second-most cap space in the NFL as well as the sixth overall pick in April’s draft, Las Vegas has the resources to substantially improve their quarterback situation this offseason.

Prior to this Kelly hire, it was looking like a Carroll-Darrell Bevell reunion was close. The Raiders had interviewed Carroll’s former Seahawks OC, and after an initial offering suggesting the veteran assistant was the lead candidate to end up as Las Vegas’ play-caller, a Saturday report did not disrupt that. Despite Kelly only being linked to the Jaguars and Texans in this year’s cycle, he will have a big opportunity to help Carroll’s Raiders stabilization effort take shape. Bevell remains on the Dolphins’ staff as quarterbacks coach.

Although Kelly flamed out in Philadelphia after an eventful 2015 in which Jeffrey Lurie gave him personnel power by demoting GM Howie Roseman, he posted two winning seasons with the team prior to that seminal setback. The Eagles won the NFC East in 2013, and they went 10-6 in 2014, doing so despite a season-ending Nick Foles injury. Kelly went 6-9 before being fired after Week 16 during the 2015 season. His immediate 49ers hire continued the NFC West franchise’s mid-2010s descent, and Kelly ended up at UCLA two years later.

OC interest formed for Kelly last year, but he opted to leave a head coaching post — as the NIL and transfer portal components have wreaked havoc on the college game — for a coordinator gig in Columbus. That turned out to pay dividends, as Ohio State stormed back from a Michigan loss to close the regular season en route to a national title.

Kelly’s move to the NFL from the Buckeyes will also stir speculation about the Raiders’ draft plans. Kelly may want to target some of his former players, especially on the offensive side of the ball. That list could include projected first-rounders offensive tackle Josh Simmons and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, as well as quarterback Will Howard and running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins on Day 2. Kelly will have significantly more information and familiarity – along with a proven track record of success – with those players than any other NFL team.

With Kelly hired, the Raiders can now fill out the rest of their offensive staff. He may want to bring some assistants with him from Ohio State, though some of the current coaches in Las Vegas could be retained as well.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Raiders Rumors: Telesco, Davis, Brady, Pierce, Carroll, Belichick, Leonard

February 2nd, 2025 at 9:45pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

After a playoff win drought of more than 20 years, Raiders owner Mark Davis was hoping that adding Tom Brady to the ownership group would result in a transformative offseason.

Indeed, Brady was a key voice in the Raiders’ decisions to fire head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco, as well as the team’s subsequent search processes to fill both positions, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed. Las Vegas ultimately hired Pete Carroll as head coach and John Spytek as general manager, but Brady will continue to play a role in football operations.

Davis praised Pierce’s locker room leadership, but finishing in last place in the AFC West for the first time since 2018 was too much for the 46-year-old coach to overcome. “We just felt it was time for a change,” said Davis (via Reed).

Davis was satisfied with Telesco’s 2024 draft class, which featured star tight end Brock Bowers in the first round and starting offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and Delmar Glaze on Day 2. However, Davis hinted that he was disappointed with Telesco’s free agency signings in the offseason, which included a massive four-year, $110MM contract for defensive tackle Christian Wilkins.

Wilkins played in just five games with two sacks before suffering a Jones fracture in his foot that would require season-ending surgery. The Raiders’ other major signing, quarterback Gardner Minshew, similarly failed to live up to his two-year, $25MM deal. He posted a passer rating of 81.0 before a broken collarbone ended his season. Pierce had benched Minshew on multiple occasions prior to that injury, effectively ensuring the veteran QB would not be back in 2025.

The list goes on: Alexander Mattison (one year, $2MM) averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, while veteran offensive linemen Cody Whitehair (one year, $2.5MM) and Andrus Peat (one year, $2MM) combined for just four starts. Wide receiver signings Michael Gallup (one year, $1.75MM) and Jalen Guyton (one year, $1.29MM) were not on the team’s 53-man roster by the time the regular season started.

Telesco choosing Bowers, who went on to break Mike Ditka‘s 63-year-old record for rookie tight end yardage, only to be fired after one season does seem a bit hasty. At the time of the ouster, it was reported Brady and Davis decided to start fresh to align the team’s next HC and GM. Telesco has been fired twice in 13 months, after seeing a 63-21 Raiders demolition over the Chargers end his stay in Los Angeles. Telesco and Pierce butted heads on the quarterback issue, which effectively went unaddressed — as far as the big picture is concerned — much to the coach’s chagrin.

As Davis did in December, Carroll confirmed Brady will have a significant role in helping the Raiders identify a quarterback. Viewed by most as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Brady is now operating in a historically unusual dual role — lead FOX announcer and Raiders part-owner/personnel exec. Brady, 47, is not leaving FOX after this season; the 23-year veteran QB will try to balance these roles moving forward.

“We happen to have the greatest of all time to help us,” Carroll said, via Reed and The Athletic colleague Vic Tafur. “And we’re going to lean on Tom as much as we possibly can. Because nobody has the insights that he has.”

Davis had eyed Brady to fill a football ops role after Jon Gruden “had his head chopped off,” referring to the latter’s forced resignation in light of the problematic emails that surfaced in 2021 as part of the NFL’s Dan Snyder investigation. Gruden remains embroiled in a lawsuit against the NFL, while Brady and ex-college teammate and Buccaneers coworker Spytek will work together to help rebuild the Raiders.

The Raiders were briefly connected to Bill Belichick to team with Brady, but those rumors did not get far off the ground. Belichick signed his North Carolina contract, and while the $10MM buyout is not believed to have proved to be much of an issue for NFL teams, six jobs are now gone. One going to Carroll, who is seven months older than Belichick, may not be sitting too well with an eight-time Super Bowl winner who passed on a second NFL carousel ride to preemptively enter the college ranks. Talk in NFL circles pointed to Belichick not being pleased about the Raiders hiring Carroll, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes.

While the Raiders moving the bar for oldest head coach ever hired (by seven years) could reopen the door for Belichick, his passing on an aggressive NFL push now will still make matters difficult if he decides to do so in 2026. Belichick would turn 74 before Week 1 of the ’26 season. Carroll is in place as a short-term Raiders fix; it will be interesting to see how Belichick fares in a similar role in Chapel Hill.

Carroll already retained Patrick Graham as DC, and he will keep Rob Leonard in place as D-line coach, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo adds. The Raiders interviewed Leonard for the DC post, and they are adding an additional title — that of run-game coordinator — to his duties for the 2025 season. Leonard has previously coached with the Giants, Dolphins and Ravens.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post

Commanders Block Jets From David Blough Interview; New York Adds Scott Turner, Eric Washington To Staff

February 2nd, 2025 at 8:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former coordinators and those on the coordinator interview circuit will line Aaron Glenn‘s first Jets coaching staff. The team has now added two ex-coordinators to Glenn’s staff, with three other additions having received interest on the coordinator level.

Scott Turner is joining the Jets as their pass-game coordinator, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports. Turner closed the season as the Raiders’ interim OC and had previously called plays for the Panthers and Commanders. Glenn is also bringing 2024 Bears DC Eric Washington on as his defensive line coach, CBS Sports Jonathan Jones adds. The Bears moved on from Washington last month.

The Jets are also following through with the rumored Glenn-Chris Harris partnership, with ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter noting the veteran assistant is heading to New York as Gang Green’s defensive pass-game coordinator and DBs coach. Harris had spent the past two seasons with the Titans. Charles London is also moving from Seahawks QBs coach to the same position with the Jets, Pelissero adds. London worked with Harris on the 2023 Titans staff. A recent report indicated the Titans and Harris were expected to separate.

London is heading to New York after the Jets did not receive permission to meet with David Blough. They had reached out to the Commanders about interviewing their assistant QBs coach, but Pelissero indicates the NFC East club blocked the meeting. Clubs are allowed to block contracted assistants, so long as the interview does not pertain to move up to a coordinator or HC post. Blough, who only ended his playing career after the 2023 season, overlapped with Glenn and new Lions OC Tanner Engstrand in Detroit. The Bears and Jaguars also expressed interest in meeting with him, but the Commanders are prepared to keep him for the 2025 season.

Staying on the subject of blocked interviews, the Jets made such a move as well. They are keeping wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson, SNY’s Connor Hughes adds, pointing out the team blocked other clubs from meetings. A former NFL wideout, Jefferson has enjoyed two tours of duty with the Jets (under Adam Gase from 2019-20 and again last season). He also was a Glenn divisional opponent from 1996-99, as the two would match up as members of the Jets and Patriots. Twice a Super Bowl starter, Jefferson has been a wideouts coach since 2007.

Glenn and Turner have not overlapped, but the latter will be a veteran voice in Engstrand’s first OC season. Turner had come up about possibly joining Bill Belichick‘s North Carolina staff but later emerged on Gang Green’s radar. The second-generation NFL coach will stay in the league as part of the Jets’ staff. Turner served as interim Panthers OC in 2019 and then spent three seasons as Washington’s OC. Ron Rivera fired Turner in 2023, leading the latter to the Raiders as pass-game coordinator. Antonio Pierce bumped him to OC after firing Luke Getsy midseason. Turner has yet to oversee a top-16 offense, but he has 13 years’ experience in the pros.

Washington will return to the AFC East, after his Bears stopover; he previously spent four seasons as Sean McDermott’s D-line coach in Buffalo. Washington did not shift to the play-caller in Chicago until after Matt Eberflus‘ Black Friday firing. The Bears did rank 13th in scoring defense this past season, and Washington also helmed the Panthers’ defense under Rivera from 2018-19. Washington and new Jets DC Steve Wilks were longtime staffers under Rivera with Carolina.

A running backs coach from 2014-20, London transitioned to QBs with the Falcons and has since overseen the position with the Titans and Seahawks. London interviewed with the Commanders to replace Turner in 2023, also meeting with the Titans that year, and met about the Browns’ vacancy last month. He spoke with the Rams about their OC job in 2022. Harris worked with Turner under Rivera for three seasons in Washington but moved to Tennessee in 2023. He has come up for a few DC openings, including the Jets’ this year.

Closing out this sizable Jets staff update, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets they are adding Aaron Curry as their linebackers coach. A former top-five pick, Curry did not pan out as a player. But he has been rising up the assistant ranks in recent years. After a Seahawks stint, the ex-Seattle draftee spent the past two seasons as the Steelers’ inside linebackers coach.

Raiders Interview Jerrod Johnson; Darrell Bevell Seen As OC Frontrunner

February 1st, 2025 at 6:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

This week has seen many coordinator dominoes fall around the NFL. The Raiders are among the teams still in need of an OC hire, though, and their search on that front continues.

Vegas has interviewed Jerrod Johnson for the offensive coordinator vacancy, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports. That marks the third opening Houston’s quarterbacks coach has been connected to for this year’s hiring cycle. The meeting represents the fourth time a candidate has been linked to the Raiders’ opening, although only the second to take part in a known interview.

Johnson has been a full-time NFL coach since 2020, having previously spent time with the Colts and Vikings. He was part of DeMeco Ryans’ initial Texans staff, and he continued in his role as QBs coach this past season. The 35-year-old has a relationship with C.J. Stroud predating their time together in Houston, a factor which helps make him a logical internal replacement candidate for the Texans. Johnson recently interviewed for Bobby Slowik’s former position, while the Jets were also named as a potential landing spot (although they have since hired Tanner Engstrand as their OC).

While Johnson has received consideration for the Vegas gig, he does not appear to be in pole position. Darrell Bevell is expected to be the eventual Raiders hire in this case, per KRPC2’s Aaron Wilson. That update comes as no surprise considering Bevell’s history with head coach Pete Carroll. The two worked together from 2011-17 with the Seahawks, the second of four NFL teams Bevell has served as an OC for. The 55-year-old has spent the past three seasons as the Dolphins’ QBs coach and pass-game coordinator.

Shortly after Bevell’s name surfaced as a strong contender, the Raiders interviewed him. A fifth OC opportunity could soon await him as a result, although as Wilson notes the team’s search is still active. It will be interesting to see if Johnson draws strong interest from Vegas with a Houston promotion still possible as things stand. In any case, the Raiders could still expand their list of candidates during the waning stages of the hiring cycle.

Via PFR’s OC/DC Tracker, here is an updated look at where things stand with the Raiders:

Darrell Bevell, quarterbacks coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/28; frontrunner
Bo Hardegree, quarterbacks coach (Titans): Mentioned as candidate
Jerrod Johnson, quarterbacks coach (Texans): Interviewed
David Shaw, senior personnel executive (Broncos): Mentioned as candidate; hired by Lions

Matt Capurro To Depart Seahawks, Rejoin Raiders

January 31st, 2025 at 12:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

Pete Carroll‘s first Raiders staff is taking shape. To no surprise, a familiar face will be joining him in Vegas for 2025.

VP of coaching operations Matt Capurro is departing the Seahawks to join Carroll and the Raiders, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports. He has a history with Caroll dating back to their time spent together at USC and, later, Seattle. His Seahawks tenure reached its 15th season in 2024, so his absence will be notable.

Capurro’s tenure in the NFL also includes time with Al Davis and the Raiders. He was in Oakland from 2003-08, so he will be no stranger to Carroll or the organization. It will be interesting to see what kind of role Capurro takes on in Vegas, but for the past three years in Seattle he oversaw a number of day-to-day operations as a key figure on the team’s coaching staff. It would come as no surprise if he found himself in a similar capacity with the Raiders.

Carroll took a three-year deal to return to an NFL sideline; the team has an option for a fourth season. The strength of the AFC West has tempered expectations for the Raiders regarding their 2025 outlook, but a notable quarterback addition this offseason could of course change things. Patrick Graham will remain in place for a fourth season as defensive coordinator, while former Carroll colleague Darrell Bevell is the favorite to land the Raiders’ OC gig. Tom Cable could be in line for a Carroll reunion (and third stint with the organization), so plenty of familiar faces could be in place once next season begins.

In other Vegas coaching news, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports John Glenn is being hired as linebackers coach. Glenn served in that capacity for six years under Carroll with the Seahawks before working as an assistant special teams coach with the Commanders in 2024. He will now head to Vegas as Carroll continues to assemble his initial Raiders staff with coaches he has a history with.

Coaching Rumors: Moore, Saints, Rizzi, Cowboys, Bears, Jets, Panthers, Hill, Raiders

January 30th, 2025 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

With Mike McCarthy following Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury out of the Saints HC pursuit, Kellen Moore looms as the presumptive favorite. While SI.com’s Albert Breer agrees with that classification, he does not view Darren Rizzi as being out of the running. Rizzi interviewed for the position, though Mike Kafka and Anthony Weaver have conducted two interviews. Seeing the Saints lose some bigger names could influence them to revisit Rizzi as a viable candidate. While this would be an unorthodox move — both due to Rizzi’s interim status and background in special teams — it is fairly clear the New Orleans job is not viewed as particularly attractive right now.

If Rizzi does not land the job, a reunion with Sean Payton in Denver may await. Here is the latest out of the coaching ranks:

The Jets hired Steve Wilks over Chris Harris for their DC post, but CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones notes that the latter should not be discounted from coming to New York as well. Harris has been a regular on the DC carousel in recent years, Harris stayed with the Titans despite the team firing Mike Vrabel. A role similar to what he holds in Tennessee, that of pass-game coordinator, could await in New York.
Former Chargers DC Renaldo Hill is signing on with the Panthers, according to The Athletic’s Joe Person. This will mark a return to the league after a year off for the former NFL safety; he had previously worked as the Dolphins’ defensive pass-game coordinator under Vic Fangio. Although Person notes the Panthers have a safeties job available, Hill’s title is not known. Carolina is also adding Rams assistant AC Carter as their OLBs coach, the Charlotte Observer’s Mike Kaye adds. Carter has been the Rams’ assistant D-line coach for the past two years. He made his NFL debut as a Broncos quality control staffer under Ejiro Evero in 2022.
The Bears spoke with Lunda Wells about a job recently, but the Cowboys are keeping him. Dallas has reached an extension to retain its tight ends coach, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. We heard earlier this week Brian Schottenheimer would likely keep Wells, who came over along with McCarthy in 2020.
Elsewhere on the Chicago staff, the team interviewed Ohio State assistant Justin Frye for its O-line coach position, per the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs. Frye has only worked at the college level, topping out as UCLA’s OC under Chip Kelly. The former Bruins HC rejoined his ex-assistant at Ohio State last year; Frye has been coaching Buckeyes blockers since 2022, collecting a national championship ring this past season. Tulane O-line coach Dan Roushar is also expected to interview, Biggs adds. Roushar spent 10 seasons with the Saints (2013-22), before making an in-state move back to the college level.
On the defensive side, the Bears are also making a move. Ben Johnson is adding Birmingham Stallions assistant Bill Johnson as his D-line coach, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Johnson, 69, served as both an O-line and D-line coach with the USFL-then-UFL franchise. He has been out of the NFL since 2018, when he served as Rams D-line coach. He was on LSU’s national championship-winning staff in the same role a year later. Bill Johnson’s longest NFL stay came with New Orleans (2009-16), but he has nearly 20 years’ experience in the league.
The Raiders made news Wednesday night by agreeing to keep Patrick Graham as DC; Pete Carroll will be Graham’s third HC in Las Vegas. More continuity is coming for a new regime still, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero adding the team is retaining special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. In coaching for more than 30 years, McMahon has served as ST coordinator for the Rams, Chiefs, Colts, Broncos and Raiders; he has been in Vegas since 2022.
Northern Illinois HC Thomas Hammock is generating some looks from the NFL. At least three teams have reached out about a potential position coach role, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Hammock has been the Northern Illinois leader since 2019 but previously enjoyed a stint as Ravens RBs coach. The Huskies picked up a signature win last season by upsetting Notre Dame.

Raiders Retain Patrick Graham As DC

January 29th, 2025 at 10:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

After looking into a few outside candidates, the Raiders are in position to maintain the status quo at the defensive coordinator spot. Pete Carroll is set to have continuity on that side of the ball for 2025.

Patrick Graham is working out a deal with the team which will see him remain in his role as DC, Bovada’s Josina Anderson reports. The door has remained open to such a possibility in the wake of Carroll’s hire, and as long as an agreement can be reached, that will prove to be the case. Vic Tafur of the The Athletic confirms this situation is trending in the direction of continuity. A deal has now been worked out, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Graham’s previous contract expired, but he has a new one in hand.

Graham has been with Vegas for the past three seasons, having served as a coordinator in the NFL each year dating back to 2019. The 46-year-old was naturally seen as a replacement candidate once Carroll was brought in, given the fact teams often undergo mass changes on the sidelines in the wake of a head coaching hire. A report from yesterday noted, however, that Graham and Carroll would meet to discuss working together in 2025.

It appears that effort will produce an arrangement allowing Graham to carry on with the Raiders. The former Dolphins and Giants DC interviewed twice with the Jaguars for their head coaching vacancy. Jacksonville ultimately hired Liam Coen, and in the wake of that move Graham emerged as a prime candidate for the team’s D-coordinator position. Instead, the Jags will need to look elsewhere.

The Raiders ranked 26th in the NFL in scoring defense during Graham’s first year at the helm, but the unit made a jump to ninth in that department in 2023. Expectations were high for this past campaign as a result, but injuries along the edge in particular helped lead to a regression. Despite overseeing a unit which fell back to 25th in points allowed, Graham is set to receive an extended look.

Vegas requested one external interview (Karl Scott) with respect to potential outside replacement candidates, while also speaking with defensive line coach Rob Leonard. It will be interesting to see what happens in the latter’s case with what was a perceived vacancy now set to remain filled. In any case, the Raiders will have defensive consistency on the sidelines in 2025 provided Graham and the team can come to terms on a new arrangement.

Raiders Never Offered Ben Johnson HC Job; Latest On Team’s Pete Carroll Setup

January 28th, 2025 at 10:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Pete Carroll confirmed Tom Brady was “intricately involved” in the Raiders’ coaching search. The hiring of ex-Brady Michigan teammate and Buccaneers staffer John Spytek confirmed the part-owner’s role in the GM pursuit. This plan may have been Brady’s backup, as reports of a long-running Ben Johnson push emerged.

Brady began scouting Johnson when he covered a Week 9 Lions-Packers game for FOX, and he made a big push to bring the former Detroit OC to Las Vegas. A big offer was believed to have been in play prior to Johnson signing on with the Bears. Although we may never know how closely the Raiders were to landing Johnson, Mark Davis attempted to provide some pushback to the notion he turned them down.

While it can be safely assumed that had Johnson wanted to be the Raiders’ next HC he would be, Davis said (via ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez) he did not offer the job to the high-profile play-caller. Instead of a potential Johnson-Lance Newmark pairing, it will be Spytek and Carroll running the show.

Going from a rising 38-year-old OC to the oldest HC ever hired, as Carroll is 73, represents a massive approach shift. But the Raiders are understandably interested in adding an experienced HC; Carroll installing a strong culture figures to be important after the instability in Vegas since Jon Gruden‘s forced resignation.

It is fairly clear Brady will have a significant say in the Raiders’ dealings moving forward. Davis already declared the all-time QB great-turned-announcer/owner will lead the way as the Raiders search for an answer at that position, and Brady effectively ran the HC and GM searches. Carroll is accustomed to holding final-say power; he was in that role above John Schneider for 14 years in Seattle. The new Raiders HC, however, said (via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed) he and Spytek will work together in running the AFC West franchise.

Carroll had turned some control over to Schneider during his final years as Seahawks HC, but his contract gave him veto power. Tafur and Reed confirm Carroll’s Raiders deal does not include such power, which will make Spytek a more important figure in Vegas. That said, Carroll added that the duo will work with Davis and the Raiders’ minority owners regarding football decisions as well. This can certainly be interpreted as Brady continuing to have a significant say in how the Raiders operate.

Davis used a head coach-centric blueprint during Gruden’s second stay with the team, and while Dave Ziegler held roster control from 2022-23, it was widely assumed Josh McDaniels played a central role in personnel as well. Davis had Tom Telesco controlling last season’s roster. It will be interesting to learn if Spytek will control the Raiders’ 53-man roster this year. If he does end up doing so, Carroll’s experience and Brady’s stature will impact the power the new GM would hold.

Carroll’s age is an unavoidable part of this equation. Only one coach in NFL history (Romeo Crennel, as a Texans interim in 2020) has served as a head coach at 73. NFL teams passed on Carroll joining him last season, but Brady has long respected the former Super Bowl-winning leader. As Carroll prepares to install a culture change in Vegas, SI.com’s Albert Breer indicates he did spend time during his coaching free agency stay looking into an assistant who could potentially succeed him. Bruce Arians had done this in Todd Bowles, and a succession plan to carry on a Carroll culture would benefit the Raiders — if their current plan is successful, that is.

The Raiders have yet to interview an offensive coordinator, but ex-Carroll Seahawks hire Karl Scott met with the team already. How the team’s OC search shakes out may be pivotal regarding any Carroll succession plans. For now, the energetic septuagenarian will enjoy a rare fourth chance to be an NFL head coach.

Darrell Bevell Expected Raiders OC Favorite; Tom Cable Reunion On Radar

January 28th, 2025 at 6:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

TODAY, 6:12pm: The Raiders are moving quickly in their search for a new OC, and that includes meeting with the favorite for the gig. The team interviewed Bevell for the job today, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

TODAY, 4:50pm: Pete Carroll is believed to have studied potential successor options in the event he landed a head coaching job. A familiar name has surfaced for the team’s second-most important coaching role.

Darrell Bevell is believed to be the frontrunner for the Raiders’ OC position, The Athletic’s Tic Tafur and Tashan Reed report (subscription required). Bevell and Carroll coached together for seven seasons in Seattle, with that period doubling as the best in Seahawks history. Bevell served as Seahawks OC from 2011-17. The Raiders have not begun OC interviews, but it should be expected Bevell receives a request soon.

Although Carroll fired Bevell after the 2017 season, the experienced play-caller had helped Russell Wilson develop into one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. Earlier in Wilson’s career, he formed an elite tandem with Marshawn Lynch. Yes, Bevell and Carroll did collaborate on a hotly debated goal-line play call that resulted in the Seahawks blowing a chance to win a second straight Super Bowl. But Carroll kept his OC on for three more seasons post-Super Bowl XLIX. Bevell has worked as an OC twice since his Seattle stay, doing so with the Lions and Jaguars. Both teams then moved him to interim HC after firing coaches in-season.

Bevell, 55, has been the Dolphins’ quarterbacks coach since 2022. This stretch has doubled as a breakthrough period for Tua Tagovailoa, even with injuries frequently slowing the talented passer. An NFL assistant since 2000, Bevell has been an OC for four teams — a five-year Vikings run from 2006-10 began his time in that job — and has 15 seasons’ worth of experience in that role. Bevell met about the Browns’ OC job this month.

Patrick Graham served as Raiders DC under both Josh McDaniels and Antonio Pierce, but he twice met with the Jaguars about their HC post and then completed a coordinator interview. He is viewed as a frontrunner to join Liam Coen. But Carroll will still speak with Graham about potentially staying in Las Vegas, Reed and Tafur add.

The Raiders’ defense tumbled after showing improvement in 2023. After producing the Raiders’ first top-half scoring defense finish since 2002, Graham’s unit fell from ninth to 25th from 2023-24. Granted, the Raiders’ shaky offensive situation did not put Graham’s defense in good spots. And, in terms of total defense, Graham’s troops placed 15th in each of the past two years. Graham lost out on the Bengals’ DC post earlier this month, but he has been a coaching carousel regular in recent years.

Carroll also has a past with ex-Raiders HC Tom Cable, and The Athletic indicates the new Vegas leader is interested in reuniting with his former O-line coach. Cable has already enjoyed two stints with the Raiders. The first was more memorable, as it featured him taking over for Lane Kiffin during the 2008 season and keeping the Oakland HC job through the 2010 slate. Cable went 17-27 as the Raiders’ HC, though a chunk of that time came with JaMarcus Russell at quarterback.

Cable joined Bevell in Seattle from 2011-17, serving as Seahawks O-line coach, and returned to the Raiders to work under Jon Gruden in the same capacity. Cable, 60, has not coached since spending the 2021 season with the Raiders. Reuniting the Carroll-Bevell-Cable trio on offense may not be the most inspiring route for the Raiders, but it certainly would supply experience. The Chiefs’ coaching staff continues to show important that can be. Carroll and GM John Spytek are not at the Senior Bowl presently, with Reed noting they are focusing on putting a staff together. It will certainly be interesting a Seahawks South vibe comes to fruition.

Raiders To Interview Rob Leonard For DC

January 27th, 2025 at 4:29pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Raiders are in position to move on from Patrick Graham after he worked as the team’s defensive coordinator for the past three years. New head coach Pete Carroll has not dismissed Graham, but he is looking into alternative DC options.

At least one of those will be an internal candidate. Vegas will interview defensive line coach Rob Leonard for the coordinator position, as noted by Tashan Reed of The Athletic. Leonard is now the second staffer connected to the gig.

For the first three seasons of his coaching career, Leonard worked at his alma mater (North Carolina State). He has been in the NFL since 2013, with his first pro opportunity coming from the Giants. Leonard worked as a position coach during his six-year New York tenure, one which was followed by time with the Dolphins and Ravens. A veteran of multiple roles coaching players along the defensive front, he has been in place with the Raiders for the past two seasons.

Vegas was hit hard up front by injuries in 2024. Malcolm Koonce faced high expectations entering the campaign, but a knee injury left him sidelined for the entire season. Fellow edge rusher Maxx Crosby was limited to 12 games due to an ankle injury, meanwhile, something which left the Raiders particularly shorthanded to close out the campaign. The team took a step back in terms of sacks recorded this year, but in 2023 Leonard’s unit demonstrated potential in that department.

It is already known that Seahawks pass-game coordinator Karl Scott has received an interview request. Scott is the last remaining Seattle staffer with ties to Carroll, so it comes as no surprise a reunion will be considered. It will be interesting to see if any other in-house options receive a look in addition to Leonard as the Raiders (presumably) expand their search over the coming days.

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