The Raiders haven’t announced Coach Josh McDaniels’ coaching staff, but here’s a look at what he’s been up to since being hired two weeks ago. He still has other positions to fill.
Mick Lombardi
Offensive Coordinator
Lombardi, 33, the son of longtime NFL executive Mike Lombardi, was the Patriots wide receivers coach last season and played a major role in their red zone planning. New England finished seventh in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage – an area the Raiders have failed badly in the past two seasons.
McDaniels is expected to oversee the attack and be the main playmaker, but Lombardi will be heavily involved.
Carmen Bricillo
Offensive Line Coach
Bricillo, 45, has only coached two seasons in the NFL — both with the Patriots — and was most recently New England’s co-offensive line coach. The jump to just overseeing the Raiders’ offensive line is a bit of a leap, but he has college experience at Duquesne and Youngstown State coaching offensive lines.
Edgar Bennet
Wide receiver trainer
Bennett, 53, is the only remnant of staff from last season. The work he did to help the Raiders overcome the loss of Henry Ruggs and the development of Hunter Renfrow, Zay Jones and Bryan Edwards played a major role in his retention. Bennett was interviewed in January for the Bills’ offensive coordinator job, so he’s clearly on the radar for a possible promotion.
Bo Hardegree
quarterback coach
Hardegree, 37, has been coaching since 2008. He was an offensive assistant at New England last season, but coached quarterbacks at Miami from 2016-18, so he has experience in that role. His ability to be the liaison between McDaniels and quarterback Derek Carr will be an important element.
patrick graham
defensive coordinator
Prying Graham, 43, away from the Giants, where he was defensive coordinator the last two seasons, was a smash hit for the Raiders. He was a finalist for the position of head coach of the Vikings.
Graham is a proponent of building schemes and lineups that match the opponent and the situation, so expect plenty of versatility and adaptability with the Raiders. The Giants finished fifth in the NFL in red zone defense last season; the Raiders were last.
Antonio Pierce
Linebackers Coach
A former Pro Bowl and Super Bowl champion linebacker, Pierce, 43, is the newest addition to the staff. He spent four seasons as head coach at Southern California high school powerhouse Long Beach Poly before joining Arizona State as a defensive assistant and scouting coordinator in 2018. He was promoted to defensive coordinator and associate head coach in 2021.
chris ash
Defensive backs coach
The Raiders have accumulated a lot of experience by adding Ash, a longtime defensive assistant and former Rutgers head coach. The 48-year-old spent last season with the Jaguars, but in the previous 10 years he spent nine seasons as a college defensive coordinator or head coach.
Jason Simmons
Secondary Coach
Simmons, 45, played 10 years in the NFL with the Steelers and Texans and has been coaching in the NFL since 2011, most recently as defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach for the Panthers. His safety background likely means he will focus on that position, with Ash overseeing cornerbacks.
Rob Ryan
Senior Defensive Assistant
This is a page from Bill Belichick and Nick Saban’s method for finding roles for experienced coaches to tap into their expertise. Ryan, 59, served as the defensive coordinator for five NFL teams.
Tom McMahon
Special Teams Coordinator
McMahon, 52, has a wealth of experience, having spent the past 16 years coaching special teams for the Rams, Chiefs, Colts and Broncos. Replacing Rich Bisaccia will not be an easy task.
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at [email protected] To follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.