Silver And Black Pride
Who Raiders new head coach assembles around him determines which players stay or go
Retaining Tom McMahon as special teams coordinator Wednesday morning.
That’s the first domino (of many) that fell regarding Pete Carroll’s Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff.
Building the crew around him is a priority and the Raiders began the construction shortly after the Monday press conference that introduced Carroll as head coach and John Spytek as general manager.
Las Vegas interviewed current Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Darrell Bevell on Tuesday. The familiarity runs deep with Bevell and Carroll as the former was the latter’s offensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks. The Raiders requested permission to talk current Seahawks defensive passing game coordinator Karl Scott on Monday, so expect more names to surface.
Who Carroll chooses to surround himself with as a coaching staff will chart the roster course as scheme and system will loom large on the makeup of the Raiders. The coordinators and various assistants are going to point Spytek and Carroll in the direction of keeping, adding, and subtracting players from the roster as the duo will forge a Silver & Black identity — one that was severely lacking the past few seasons.
“My first order of business is going to begin with Coach (Carroll) here. We’re going to talk more about the kind of player we want, what it looks like at every position, the kind of person we want. To me, it’s vitally important,” Spytek said during the introductory presser. “You’re going to hear, I think, both of us continue to talk about that. What does it mean to be a Raider? What are the qualities that we’re going to stand for? What are qualities that everybody that comes into this building is going to stand for? I take that very personally and very seriously as a responsibility of mine.
“The scouts are in charge of finding the right kind of people to bring into an organization. There’s no greater responsibility, I don’t think, than that.”
In McMahon’s case, his side of the ball is relatively set with place kicker Daniel Carlson, punter AJ Cole III, and long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer being at the top of the talent chart at their respective position groups. The return units need work, but special teams is the least of the Raiders’ worries this offseason.
The person calling the plays on offense and defense is what Raider Nation is eagerly awaiting. So let’s take a look at potential fits.
We have to start with Bevell, a play caller for Carroll from 2011 to 2017. Bevell called the plays when Seattle won Super Bowl XLVIII but also dialed in the ill-fated call in Super Bowl XLIX. Bevell has been with Miami since 2022 and helped Mike McDaniel’s offense find its footing.
Another Seattle connection is Shane Waldron, who was the Seahawks offensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023. A Sean McVay disciple, Waldron was popular in Seattle, however, the concern here...
