Getty Former Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola played his first four NFL seasons with the Rams.
Former St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola joined the Las Vegas Raiders coaching staff as an assistant/returners coach as of April 4, according to the team’s official website.
It is the first NFL coaching assignment for the 37-year-old Amendola, who announced his retirement from the NFL last July after playing the 2021 season with the Houston Texans.
The Raiders did not have an assistant coach in charge of kick/punt returns last season under head coach Josh McDaniels, who coached Amendola with both the Rams and New England Patriots.
Raiders hire Danny Amendola to Josh McDaniels’ coaching staff t.co/WmY5bK3seI
“It’s a valuable guy, if you can find the right one,” McDaniels told ESPN in regards to hiring Amendola for the position. “He has done it and done it at a high level. He will help our guys.”
Danny Amendola Began 13-Year NFL Career With Rams
Amendola was an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech who bounced around the practice squads of the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles before he was signed by the Rams on September 22, 2009.
He was part of the Rams team that briefly employed McDaniels as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2011, after McDaniels was fired as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
Amendola played the first four seasons of a 13-year NFL career with the Rams, catching 196 passes for 1,726 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also saw time on the team’s punt and kick return teams. As a rookie in 2009, he led the league with 66 kick returns for 1,618 yards. In all, he returned 85 punts for 773 yards and 118 kicks for 2,776 yards during his time in St. Louis.
The Patriots — who were then employing McDaniels in his second stint as the team’s offensive coordinator — signed Amendola in March 2013 as a replacement for wide receiver Wes Welker after he signed to play for the Broncos.
Amendola won two Super Bowl rings over five years while playing in McDaniels’ offense with the Patriots. He caught touchdown passes from quarterback Tom Brady in both the 2015 Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks and 2017 Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons.
For his career with the Rams, Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, and Texans, Amendola caught 617 passes for 6,212 yards and 24 touchdowns. As a returner, he brought back 198 punts for 1,860 yards and 153 kicks for 3,590 yards.
Raiders Loading up on Former Patriots
Amendola is the latest former member of the Patriots to don the silver and black in Las Vegas.
Raiders have hired former Patriots’ WR Danny Amendola as their new coaching assistant/returners. Amendola joins former Patriots employees such as HC Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler, and QBs Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer.
In addition to McDaniels, who is entering his second season as the Raiders head coach, as well as Amendola, Las Vegas also employs former New England player personnel director Dave Ziegler as general manager.
On the field, the Raiders signed former Patriots and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a three-year, $67.5 million contract on March 17 to replace Derek Carr as the team’s lead signal-caller.
12 former Patriots on the Raiders. Plus, you gotta add Zeigler, McDaniels & Danny Amendola.
Las Vegas also signed another former Patriots quarterback on the same day the team retained Amendola’s services, as 37-year-old Brian Hoyer was brought on board to back up Garoppolo.
They will have a pair of former Patriots wide receivers to throw to in 2023, as the Raiders also signed wideouts Jakobi Meyers and Phillip Dorsett from New England this offseason.