Getty Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis.
One of the unsung heroes of the Las Vegas Raiders‘ coaching staff over the past two years has been offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. Despite not using many resources to fortify the offensive line, the team has been top 15 in the NFL in sacks allowed in each of the past two seasons.
However, he won’t be back in Las Vegas. Bricillo has accepted the offensive line coach job for the New York Giants, per a January 11 X post from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
It’s unclear if the coach had any intention of returning to the Raiders regardless of who the head coach is. He was brought in by former head coach Josh McDaniels and both of them worked together on the New England Patriots. He may have wanted a fresh start elsewhere.
Giants head coach Brian Daboll is another former Patriot so it’s a logical landing spot for him. The Raiders have yet to have a reported interview with a head coaching candidate so as long as they don’t make a decision soon, they run the risk of losing top assistants. Even if interim head coach Antonio Pierce is brought back, it’s unknown what he’ll want his coaching staff to look like as he inherited this staff from McDaniels.
Las Vegas Raiders Ranked as 10th-Best in NFL
The Raiders didn’t have the best personnel on the offensive line this season but Carmen Bricillo was still able to coach up a top-10 unit. According to Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus, the Raiders had the 10th-best offensive line in the NFL for 2023.
“Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising offensive line during the 2023 season, the Raiders’ unit played well above expectations, even when without elite left tackle Kolton Miller,” Buday wrote in a January 10 column.
Bricillo has only been coaching in the NFL since 2019 but he’s quickly becoming a rising star. On that same Pro Football Focus list, the Giants were ranked 30th so he has his work cut out for him.
Will Las Vegas Raiders Undergo Major Coaching Overhaul?
The only coach who the Raiders appear to want to keep right now is defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. The team blocked a request from a team who wanted to interview him for their defensive coordinator job. However, the team can’t stop Graham from taking a head coaching job, which is possible as he has an interview with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Though Antonio Pierce did well last season, it’s possible he might be looking to completely overhaul the coaching staff, especially on offense. It’s hard to imagine Bo Hardegree will stay on as offensive coordinator.
No matter who gets hired as the head coach, the Raiders’ offensive staff will look very different, which is likely why the team wasn’t concerned with blocking Bricillo from taking another job.
On defense, it would seem logical to try to keep the staff together considering the Raiders finished top-10 in scoring defense for the first time since 2002. As a defensive-minded coach, Pierce may want to bring in some of his own guys but it’s looking like he’d want Graham to stay on as defensive coordinator if he doesn’t get a head coaching job.