Chris Ash

Raiders Announce Finalized 2024 Coaching Staff

February 24th, 2024 at 2:40pm CST by Ely Allen

When the season ended, the Raiders stayed true to the wishes of many players, hiring interim head coach Antonio Pierce into the permanent role for the 2024 NFL season. Today, Las Vegas officially announced the entirety of the new staff under Pierce, cluing us into some developments that we hadn’t yet reported on. We were aware of the hires of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, offensive line coach James Cregg, senior offensive assistant Joe Philbin, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, assistant quarterbacks coach Fred Walker, and running backs coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams on offense as well as the hiring of assistant head coach Marvin Lewis. Here’s a rundown of the remaining staff updates.

On the offensive side of the ball, with quarterbacks, running backs, and offensive line covered, Getsy made the call to retain Edgar Bennett as wide receivers coach. Bennett has an extensive history with star wideout Davante Adams as the two have spent time together in both Green Bay and Vegas. Last year’s tight ends coach Jerry Schuplinski is now a senior offensive assistant with the Rams, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, so former Bears assistant offensive line coach Luke Steckel has been hired in his place. Steckel previously coached tight ends in Tennessee in 2021 and 2022, mentoring Chigoziem Okonkwo to an impressive rookie season. Steckel will be assisted by newly promoted assistant tight ends coach Mitch Singler, who served the past two years as offensive quality control for the Raiders.

Additionally, pass game coordinator Scott Turner has officially been retained after being considered a candidate for the Patriots offensive coordinator position, and former Bears assistant tight ends coach Tim Zetts has been added to the staff with the title of assistant offense. Lastly on offense, we were aware that the new head coach’s son, De’Andre Pierce, would be joining the staff, but whereas his initial position was reportedly going to be offensive quality control coach, we now know that he will be an offensive assistant.

On the defensive side of the ball, we had some idea of the fate of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who had been permitted to take interviews for head coaching jobs but was being blocked from lateral moves, and those ideas are now confirmed as he’ll be retained as coordinator. The team’s announcement shows that defensive line coach Rob Leonard and senior defensive assistant Rob Ryan have been retained, as well. Additionally, Matt Feeney, who has spent the past two seasons as a defensive quality control coach, has been promoted to assistant defensive backs coach.

Also on defense, we knew of the hiring of Mike Caldwell as linebackers coach, but today’s announcement informed us that he’ll hold the additional title of run game coordinator, as well. We also saw initial reports that Ricky Manning Jr. was being brought on as defensive backs coach, but he is officially listed now as cornerbacks coach with former Steelers assistant defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander being hired to coach safeties. Alexander assisted with a secondary in Pittsburgh that included Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Damontae Kazee, and Keanu Neal. Together, the two will replace Chris Ash, who was not retained as defensive backs coach, and Jason Simmons, who was recently hired as defensive pass-game coordinator in Washington. Also, we had reported the addition of former Jets defensive line coach Andre Carter to the staff, and we now know his new title in Las Vegas to be pass rush specialist.

Lastly on defense, we were informed of the hiring of Marcus Lewis as assistant linebackers coach and Josh Phillips as assistant defense. Lewis has recent experience as a defensive analyst at Arizona State and NFL experience after spending five years with the Bengals as an assistant working with the defensive line and linebackers. Phillips most recently served as head coach at Sarasota HS (FL), leading the team to a 1-9 record in his only season at the helm.

On special teams, we officially received word that both special teams coordinator Tom McMahon and assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton II would both be retained under Pierce. It appears that former NFL wideout Danny Amendola, who had been brought on as a coaching assistant to work specifically with returners, has not been retained, and Kade Rannings has been added to the staff as a second assistant special teams coach.

Lastly, the team announced that former director of football research and strategy Matt Sheldon will be on the sideline in the role of game management coach. Also, Jon Gruden‘s son, Deuce Gruden, is a surprising holdover as an assistant strength and conditioning coach after being retained by McDaniel’s staff following his father’s resignation in 2021.

There you have it. Though, much will remain the same with Pierce taking over the full-time role as head coach, plenty of changes were necessary. After another short head coaching stint by Josh McDaniels, Pierce seemed to rejuvenate a deflated squad to close the season. With a new staff of his own and a full offseason to work together, it will be interesting to see what Pierce will be able to accomplish in Las Vegas in 2024.

AFC West Notes: Mathieu, Broncos, Raiders

March 7th, 2022 at 9:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

As expected, the Chiefs prioritized Orlando Brown Jr. as their top free agent. Kansas City tagged its left tackle, which will likely lead Tyrann Mathieu to free agency. It is not a lock Mathieu departs Missouri; the Chiefs met with his camp at the Combine. But the All-Pro safety is expected to test the market, Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Mathieu will turn 30 this offseason, but he had a transformative effect on a Chiefs defense that was one of the NFL’s worst before his 2019 signing. The nine-year veteran should do very well for himself on the market. Mathieu’s Chiefs tenure re-established his value, with it coming after the Cardinals cut bait on his extension in 2018. The Honey Badger, who came to Kansas City after playing on a one-year deal in Houston in 2018, made two All-Pro teams on his three-year, $42MM Chiefs contract. Mathieu joins Marcus Williams and Quandre Diggs as the top safeties available. The Bengals tagged Jessie Bates on Monday, keeping him off the market.

Here is the latest from the AFC West:

Brown will not sign his franchise tender until he decides on representation, and Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets the four-year veteran is considering acting as his own agent. This should not be too surprising, given Brown’s quest to move away from right tackle and establish himself as a high-end left tackle. Brown will earn $16.662MM on the tag this season, unless he and the Chiefs agree to an extension by July 15. A Brown re-up would help the Chiefs on the cap front. While moves can be made, including another adjustment to Patrick Mahomes‘ team-friendly contract, the Chiefs are $5MM over the cap after Brown’s tag.
A Broncos–Aaron Rodgers trade would be quite costly, though Denver’s high volume of post-Peyton Manning quarterbacks does well to convey the team’s desperation here. A Denver deal for Rodgers would cost the team at least two first-round picks and a Pro Bowl-caliber player on a manageable contract, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes, adding that the Broncos should be prepared to give Rodgers a record-breaking extension like the Packers are. The Broncos should also be expected to include a second-round pick, Mike Klis of 9News writes. The Broncos have Jerry Jeudy and Bradley Chubb as potential trade chips in this scenario, while productive wideout Tim Patrick is tethered to a $10MM-per-year extension. Denver holds four Day 2 picks this year (two seconds, two thirds), the extra two coming by way of its Von Miller trade. Miller is on the radar to rejoin the team as a free agent.
With Justin Herbert tied to his rookie deal through at least 2022, the Chargers have an opportunity this offseason. They are a team to watch for a splashy cornerback addition, with Garafolo tweeting they could be in the mix for J.C. Jackson or Stephon Gilmore. The Patriots may actually be ready to let Jackson hit the market, and Rapoport notes (video link) Gilmore should be expected to test free agency after playing out his Patriots-constructed contract. The Panthers would still like to retain Gilmore, but it will be costly. Gilmore will turn 32 in September.
Ex-Josh McDaniels Patriots coworker Jerry Schuplinski is now on the Raiders‘ staff as a senior offensive assistant. A Pats staffer from 2013-18, Schuplinski was the Giants’ QBs coach the past two seasons. The Raiders have also hired ex-Jaguars DBs coach Chris Ash to the same position, added ex-Packers special teams coordinator Maurice Drayton as their assistant ST coach and hired Cameron Clemmons as their assistant O-line coach. Additionally, Las Vegas is keeping Jon Gruden‘s son, Deuce, on staff as a strength and conditioning assistant.

Coaching Notes: Steelers, Jags, Bruschi, Jets

February 2nd, 2021 at 2:58pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Offensive line coach Mike Munchak left the Steelers for Denver after the 2018 season, and Pittsburgh’s O-line immediately declined. Shaun Sarrett initially replaced Munchak, but after two disappointing seasons he wasn’t retained this offseason. It was a big hire for Mike Tomlin that was talked about a lot, and in the end he opted to promote from within. The Steelers are promoting Adrian Klemm to the role, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Klemm had spent the past two seasons as an assistant offensive line coach. A second-round pick of the Patriots back in 2000, Klemm spent a handful of years in the league as a player. He then started coaching in the college ranks, and was the run game coordinator and associate head coach at UCLA for a while under Jim Mora.

Here are a few more coaching notes from the NFL universe:

Urban Meyer continues to build his inaugural Jaguars staff, and now he’s settled on a secondary coach. Chris Ash has agreed to fill that role, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Ash, the former head coach at Rutgers, is a pretty big name by secondary coach standards. Meyer continues to surround himself with guys who have coordinating and head coaching experience, most recently adding Brian Schottenheimer to the staff. Ash has an extensive college coaching history, but this will be his first NFL gig. He was Meyer’s co-defensive coordinator for a couple of years at Ohio State, so there’s plenty of familiarity here. He’ll work under new Jacksonville DC Joe Cullen.
Legendary Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi is getting into the college coaching game. He’ll serve as a senior adviser to new Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch, the university announced. Bruschi is an Arizona alum and Fisch served under Bill Belichick as the Patriots’ quarterbacks coach this past season, so this isn’t totally out of left field. Bruschi will apparently be staying on as an analyst at ESPN, so you’ll still be seeing him on your TV screens.
Robert Saleh is adding two people he’s familiar with to his new Jets staff. New York is hiring Marquand Manuel as safeties coach and Tony Oden as senior defensive assistant/cornerbacks coach, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweets. As Pelissero points out, Manuel and Saleh coached together in Seattle while Oden was DBs coach in San Francisco with him last year. Manuel was the Falcons’ defensive coordinator for two seasons from 2017-18, and spent last season coaching DBs in Philly.