HEADLINES

DeShaun Foster

Raiders Updates: Foster, Pierce, Armstead

February 17th, 2024 at 4:12pm CST by Ely Allen

Last we had heard, with former Raiders running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu heading to Seattle for the same position, Las Vegas had selected long-time UCLA staffer DeShaun Foster to take over as their new running backs coach. With Chip Kelly shockingly stepping down as head coach of the Bruins to take the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coaching job at Ohio State, Foster has been selected as Kelly’s replacement in Los Angeles, per Pete Thamel of ESPN, forcing the Raiders to go back to the drawing board for their next running backs coach.

To fill the role, the Raiders are turning to a name millennial NFL fans will recognize. Las Vegas dipped back to the college ranks, confirmed by Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, hiring Auburn associate head coach and running backs coach Carnell Williams, known during his playing days as “Cadillac.” The 2005 Offensive Rookie of the Year’s playing career ended after seven seasons in the NFL. He would eventually turn to coaching as a career, starting off at small colleges like Henderson State and West Georgia before spending a year at the high school level at the prestigious IMG Academy.

Williams followed that up with a year as a running backs coach in the Alliance of American Football league before first arriving at his alma mater in 2019. Williams has coached running backs at Auburn for the last five years, spending a stint in 2022 as interim head coach and earning the title of associate head coach this past season. The most notable name coming out of his position group in Alabama would’ve been Tank Bigsby, a third-round rookie for the Jaguars last year.

With star back Josh Jacobs, Ameer Abdullah, and Brandon Bolden all bound for free agency, Williams inherits a room that is currently only slated to hold third-year rusher Zamir White. Perhaps Williams’ input will be crucial in how the position group is formed this offseason.

Here are a few other staff updates coming out of Sin City:

  • The Raiders were also able to secure their new offensive line coach, hiring former 49ers assistant offensive line coach James Cregg to the role, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Cregg, who has been in San Francisco for the past two years, will get his first full position coaching opportunity in the NFL with Vegas. He has held the assistant role with the Raiders, Broncos, and Chargers in the past and the offensive line coaching title at three different Power 5 schools at the collegiate level, but this will be his first NFL offensive line coach title.
  • Also on offense, the Raiders have added new head coach Antonio Pierce‘s son DeAndre Pierce to the coaching staff, according to Myles Simmons of NBC Sports. The younger Pierce, who served in 2023 as a defensive quality control coach at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, will be an offensive quality control coach for the Raiders in 2024.
  • Lastly, the older Pierce reportedly reached out to an old teammate from New York, Jessie Armstead for a potential front office role in Las Vegas. Armstead, who currently works as a special assistant to the general manager for the Giants, was offered a similar role with the Raiders. Las Vegas was under the impression that Armstead was going to be on staff, but the Giants were reportedly able to block the lateral move, since Armstead is still under contract, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.

Coaching Notes: Patriots, Raiders, Jets, Dolphins

February 3rd, 2024 at 9:37am CST by Ben Levine

Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo worked in tandem to guide the Patriots defense during Bill Belichick‘s final years in New England. With the older Belichick gone and Mayo having been promoted to head coach, the younger Belichick was facing an uncertain future with the organization. While there were some rumblings that Mayo was interested in keeping Steve Belichick on staff, the Patriots linebackers coach is set to interview for a job at the University of Washington, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

While the Patriots didn’t have a traditional defensive coordinator in recent years, Belichick and Mayo were both credited with running the group. Steve Belichick was the defensive play-caller over each of the past four seasons, leading some pundits to wonder if he could earn a promotion to full-time DC with Mayo now leading the way. There were also rumblings that the younger Belichick could join his father in a new landing spot. Ultimately, neither of those scenarios came to fruition, and Steve Belichick is now eyeing a role elsewhere.

Patriots RB coach Vinnie Sunseri is also set to interview with the University of Washington. The coach has experience working on both sides of the ball, and he worked alongside Jedd Fisch when the two were in New England.

Elsewhere on the Patriots staff, assistant special teams coach Joe Houston is leaving for the University of Florida, according to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com. Houston was set to be named Alabama’s special teams coach in 2020, but the Patriots convinced him to join their coaching staff. He’s spent the past four seasons in New England.

More coaching notes from around the NFL…

  • The Raiders are hiring DeShaun Foster as their new running backs coach, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. After finishing his playing career with more than 4,500 yards from scrimmage, Foster joined UCLA’s staff in 2012. He’s spent most of the past 12 seasons with the Bruins, including the past seven as their running backs coach. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport adds that he expects the Raiders to also add Andre Carter to their staff. The former first-round pick previously served as the Jets defensive line coach.
  • The Jets have added Shawn Jefferson as their new wide receivers coach, according to Josina Anderson. Jefferson has been coaching since 2006, and he’s had stints as the WRs coach with the Lions, Titans, Dolphins, Jets, Cardinals, and (most recently) the Panthers. He had a previous stint with New York’s coaching staff, serving as the WRs coach/assistant head coach in 2019 and 2020.
  • The Dolphins are making some significant changes to their coaching staff. According to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe, the organization has parted ways with offensive assistant Kolby Smith. Wolfe adds that offensive assistant Ricardo Allen, offensive assistant Mike Judge, and assistant special teams coach Brendan Farrell also won’t be back in 2024. Smith is a somewhat notable departure. After working alongside RB coach Eric Studesville this past season, he was interviewed for the Jaguars RB coach job.
  • The Rams have hired Giff Smith as their defensive line coach/run game coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The long-time coach had been with the Chargers since 2016, serving as defensive line coach and linebackers coach. He took on the role of interim head coach this past season following the firing of Brandon Staley, with the Chargers going winless in his three games at the helm. Per Pelissero, a number of teams reached out to Smith about joining their staffs, but the coach ultimately decided to stick in Los Angeles.