The Las Vegas cleared house in their coaching staff, firing over a dozen coaches, including quarterbacks coach and interim offensive coordinator Greg Olson, along with both of the sons of fired head coach Pete Carroll, Brennan and Nate.
As strange as this mass firing was, the way it was reported was equally unusual. Normally a firing this comprehensive would be leaked to a major outlet like ESPN, then picked up by other outlets. Instead, this one was reported by Tristan Kuhn of Silver and Black Pride, who also referenced tweets by Mike Garofolo and Ted Nguyen in his report.
A lot of coaches got fired here, so let’s start with the most important ones. Olson is at the top of the list—he was originally brought in at the quarterbacks coach, but when a rift surfaced between Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, he stepped in and served as interim OC after Kelly was fired. He’s now rumored to be a leading candidate for the Philadelphia Eagles QB coach position.
Wide receivers coach Chris Beatty was also let go after an unproductive year from the Raiders’ young receivers, and so was inside linebackers coach John Glenn. Safeties coach and assistant defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson was also let go, as west assistant special teams coordinator Derius Swinton and Kade Rannings, plus running back coach Leland McCullough and tight end coach Luke Steckel.
The list of those who will be joining them in the unemployment line is also lengthy, and it includes the following coaches:
Andy Dickerson, Asst. OL Coach
Kyle Fuller, Offensive Quality Control Coach
Joe Philbin, Senior Offensive Assistant,
Tyrone McKenzie, assistant inside linebackers coach
Connor McQueen, Quality Control Coach
Rob Leonard, DL Coach
Kenyon Jackson, Asst. DL Coach
Rip Rowan, Quality Control Coach
Joe Woods, CB Coach
Woods is the only one among this group who could be returning, given that he has a prior association with Kubiak, so it’s hard to tell what sense this particular firing makes, unless Kubiak has already ruled him out.
It’s very unusual to see this many firings revealed the weekend of the Super Bowl, and via a Friday news drop as well. Kubiak hasn’t dropped any hints about his future staff yet, and he insists that he’s totally focused on the New England Patriots and not allowing his new job to become a distraction. Meanwhile, the Raiders continue to roll on as usual, doing things no one else does.