The Denver Broncos will be seeing a lot of a pair of former coaches this season, as new Las Vegas Raiders coach Klint Kubiak hired Joe DeCamillis his new special teams coordinator, according to a report written by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.
Both coaches have ties to the Broncos. Kubiak was an offensive assistant back then, while DeCamillis was Denver’s special teams coordinator. Apparently the two formed a bond that was lasting enough to spark this hire, although it is a surprise given that most of Kubiak’s other initial hires were from the Seattle Seahawks.
Decamillis will likely draw a “who’s that?” reactionn from casual fans, but he’s been in the NFL before. DeCamillis has spent the last two season coaching college teams, first as a special teams assistant for the Texas Longhorns, then for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He won the Frank Broyles Award, which recognizes the best assistant coach in college football, for the Gamecocks last season.
DeCamillis has also bounced around quite a bit since his time in Denver, with his most recent stop being with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. The other teams include the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars, so he was a well-traveled NFL lifer before his college coaching hiatus. He also has a family background as an NFL coach that includes Broncos ties, as he’s the son-in-law former Denver coach Dan Reeves.
As for what the Broncos can expect from DeCamillis, the Rams part of his resume doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Special teams has been the Achilles heal of wunderkind Rams coach Sean McVay, and they’ve been a dumpster fire for a while now. DeCamillis was fired from that job back in 2023, which helps explain his move to the college ranks.
DeCamillis will face a challenge in Las Vegas. Special teams appearances were often a minefield for the Raiders this year, and veteran special teams coach Tom McMahon was a casualty in coach Pete Carroll’s ongoing coaching purge last year. McMahon was fired in midseason after a blocked punt and a missed field goal cost the Raiders one of their few opportunities for a win in one of their two games against the Broncos. Denver got stellar special teams play throughout the year from kicker Wil Lutz and punter Jeremy Crawshaw, and return man Marvin Mims Jr. was one of the most exciting returners in the league.