Pete Carroll builds coaching staff of new, familiar faces to create seismic culture change in building

May 28, 2025 at 03:38 PM

Levi Edwards

Digital Team Reporter

When Pete Carroll was hired to be the Las Vegas Raiders head coach back in January, one of the first things he addressed was how he planned to put together his coaching staff.

Fast forward to OTAs, that staff is firmly in place and much as he described.

"I'm really looking for people that have been with me, that understand the philosophy to some extent," Carroll said in his introductory press conference. "I want guys that have never been around me before so they have to learn what we're all about and we can watch the process of them learning what we're all about and what we expect, and then I'm hoping that we can maintain some of the terrific coaches that are on the staff, too, so we can have the benefit of the insights that they bring and the continuity that they can generate for us.

"It's a combination of people that we're looking for, but it's all going to fall back into the same thing. We want ball people. We want guys that love the game."

Carroll has brought in a lot of new faces he's never worked with, many from the college level. At the NFL Combine, Carroll said this was a strategic choice – believing that coaches who've recently been at the college level provide valuable intel in scouting and ability to relate to younger players.

This includes running backs coach Deland McCullough, who was with a Notre Dame team that played in the CFB National Championship Game last year. Ironically, he was defeated by an Ohio State team which new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was with. McCullough previously interned with the Seattle Seahawks while he was a running backs coach at Indiana, but is excited for his first opportunity to work directly under Carroll.

"The expertise and the resume speaks for itself," McCullough said. "The energy is outstanding and that was was one of the draws for me when I came here. ... When the opportunity came up to come here, to me over the last few years it was always about the right fit and the right opportunity if I was going back to the NFL. Pete Carroll was somebody who I definitely had a high level of respect for and a reverence for and I thought that I could not only help him with what he's doing here, but he can help me with some of the goals I have."

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As for Carroll's hope to "maintain some of the terrific coaches," seven were retained from the previous staff, including tight ends coach Luke Steckel who coached Brock Bowers to a historic rookie campaign that resulted in an AP First-Team All-Pro selection.

With Patrick Graham coming back to be the team's defensive coordinator, defensive line coach Rob Leonard was also retained. Last season, Leonard's third with the team, the defense totaled 38 sacks and a 21.2 quarterback pressure percentage despite missing starters Maxx Crosby, Christian Wilkins and Malcolm Koonce for long periods of time.

Considering Carroll's desire to add a breath of fresh air to the building, both Steckel and Leonard were humbled to be asked to play a part in his new direction.

"I'm just extremely grateful to have the opportunity. I know the significance of what it means to work for the Raiders organization," Steckel said. "Love being here, family loves being here, getting to put on the Silver and Black everyday is a honor and I'm very fortunate to have another opportunity to do it."

"You want to do a good job and try not to focus on all the extracurricular of things that happen after the season. You win, there's guys getting promoted, you lose and there's guys getting fired," Leonard said. "I just try to focus in on my job and be the best at what I do and whatever the heck that happens, happens. ... But I love this organization, I identify [with it]. It's the Raiders, it's the Silver and Black. It's a little bit of the outcasts and I think we have a lot of those personalities in our room."

Among the new coaches, several are entering their second or third stint with the Raiders organization. Quarterbacks coach Greg Olson was the team's offensive coordinator on two occasions over a span of six seasons. Olson's last season in Las Vegas was in 2021 when the team went 10-7 and clinched a playoff berth while ranking 11th in offensive yards.

Defensive backs coaches Joe Woods and Marcus Robertson were also previously with the team, both starting with the Silver and Black in 2014. While Woods spent one season with the team before heading to the Denver Broncos, Robertson spent three seasons with the Raiders.

One thing Olson and Robertson have in common is their love for the Silver and Black.

"I'm aging myself here, but you grow up as a kid and there were very few organizations that were like the Raiders and what Al Davis built in Oakland," Olson said. "Fortunate or unfortunate, I've worked for a lot of organizations but none has been as special as the Raiders organization in terms of the history and everything they've brought to pro football. ... It's one of the most franchises in all of sports, not just pro football."

"I grew up on the Raiders, grew up in Los Angeles in the Pasadena area and I really enjoyed my first experience here," Robertson said. "I would like to say, if you look at what I did when I first walked in the door and when I walked out, I [helped] take us from having a top five pick to being a playoff team. And I'm hoping for that same success here.

"I do believe that Pete is doing a hell of a job and we will change this culture."

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Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Andre Carter II (99) at an Organized Team Activity (OTA) at Intermountain Health Performance Center.