Las Vegas Raiders could be interested in hiring someone already on the staff for the DC position and it's not who you think
With Pete Carroll now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, the team is now set on looking for their staff. That means he needs to find an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, and the position coaches under those two. Looking at some of Pete Carroll's background from his time with the Seattle Seahawks […]
With Pete Carroll now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, the team is now set on looking for their staff. That means he needs to find an offensive coordinator, a defensive coordinator, and the position coaches under those two. Looking at some of Pete Carroll's background from his time with the Seattle Seahawks where he won a Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos and went to another against the New England Patriots, we can make a few educated guesses at who some of these guys will be.
But, at the same time, we are being told things that make it seem like Carroll wants to keep some of the defense in-house.
The Raiders need a great staff around Carroll in order for this whole thing to work. Without a great staff, with the combination of things that Carroll has told us he values — youth, learning ability, and experience with Carroll — the Raiders could fall right back in their old ways, similar to what they did last year.
But, as we all know, as even Carroll said this during his introductory press conference, there are a lot of great football minds already in the building from the last year or so. And, by that, he meant defensively, because those are really the only good pieces of the staff the last two years.
And so, we have heard that Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator for them the last few years, is still in play for the DC position on this team. But, we haven't heard anything other than that. He may want a fresh start and to move on elsewhere, especially considering how things ended, and how he wasn't the one chosen by Mark Davis to be the interim head coach.
But recently, the Raiders interviewed someone for their defensive coordinator position who is already in the building, and it's not Graham, and that could surprise some people.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Raiders have interviewed Raiders defensive line coach Rob Leonard for their defensive coordinator position. This comes just a day after the Raiders introduced their new head coach and general manager, so it's safe to say they are getting right to work.
Leonard has heralded praises from guys like Maxx Crosby for his brilliant defensive mind. If Carroll is calling the plays, the Raiders should be all for Leonard being their DC.
