The Las Vegas Raiders have turned over their coaching staff again, but this time the mission is less about a reset and more about building something that can actually stick.
Head coach Klint Kubiak has assembled a group he believes can help push the roster toward doubling its win total and maybe more, and the pressure lands squarely on the assistants who will shape the team’s most important units. That includes a quarterback room with a veteran signal-caller and rookie passer Fernando Mendoza, plus a run game that needs to become a real weapon.
One of the biggest jobs belongs to offensive line coach Rick Dennison. Las Vegas added three new offensive linemen this offseason, and all three could see the field this year after the Raiders finished with one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season.
Dennison brings 30 years of experience and arrives after serving as the run game coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks last year. Kubiak is counting on him to overhaul the line’s performance, especially with Mendoza needing better protection.
On the other side of the ball, coach Smith has a chance to make a real impact even if the Raiders’ defensive front wasn’t a glaring weakness to begin with. Smith was the defensive run game coordinator for the Tennessee Titans last year, when the unit posted the 10th-best run stuff rate in the NFL at 17.4%.
Las Vegas doesn’t have a Jeffrey Simmons, but it does have young players who could grow into something more. Smith’s assignment is to get Jonah Laulu and Tonka Hemingway moving forward while squeezing more production out of Thomas Booker and Adam Butler.
Another assistant worth watching is Young, who has started to build a reputation as a coach on the rise. His track record includes a stint as assistant wide receivers coach with the Chicago Bears in 2023, when D.J.
Moore put up career-high numbers, and a role helping Iowa’s run game become one of the Big Ten’s top units last fall. Now he’s being asked to help turn Ashton Jeanty into the kind of star he can become and lift the league’s worst rushing offense to at least average production.
If that happens, the passing game should benefit too.
The quarterback development side of this staff also matters plenty. Mendoza is being placed in what was described as one of the better situations for a first overall draft pick in recent years under Kubiak.
Helping guide that process are offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko and Sullivan, whose background includes stops as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach with the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers. Sullivan will be tasked with helping Mendoza become one of the NFL’s biggest stars, and the Raiders are hoping for a different outcome than the one he had in Pittsburgh.
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