The Raiders made two key hires on Friday as they work to fill out Klint Kubiak‘s new staff. Marquice Williams has accepted a role as the team’s senior special teams coach, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, while Omar Young will oversee the running back room (via a team announcement).
Williams, 40, just finished a five-year stint as the Falcons’ special teams coordinator. He survived the team’s coaching change from Arthur Smith to Raheem Morris in 2024, but was not retained by Kevin Stefanski. Before arriving in Atlanta, he spent time with the Bears, Lions, and Chargers, with assistant special teams coach roles with the latter two clubs.
The Falcons has the 16th- and fourth-highest special teams grade from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) in Williams’ first two years in Atlanta, but fell to the bottom 10 in each of the last three seasons. However, he also coached long snapper Josh Harris (2021) and wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge (2024) to Pro Bowls during his tenure.
Young spent the 2025 season as Iowa’s running backs coach, where Kamari Moulton led the backfield with 79.8 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. Young previously worked for the Packers, Bears, and Patriots, with stints at a number of college programs earlier in his career.
The Raiders will be hoping that 2025 No. 6 pick Ashton Jeanty, who disappointed as a rookie with just 57.4 yards per game and 3.7 yards per attempt, can break out in 2026. A weak offensive line was a huge factor in those struggles, as Jeanty still forced 61 missed tackles, the sixth-most among NFL RBs, per PFF.
Kubiak brought in Rick Dennison as the Raiders’ new offensive line coach in the hopes of boosting that unit as the two did in Seattle in 2025. Young will be tasked with helping Jeanty learn the new offense and hold up his end of the bargain in reigniting Las Vegas’ ground game.