It looked like the Las Vegas Raiders‘ coaching staff was struck with a blow when offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo left for the New York Giants but that may have not been the case. According to ESPN’s Jordan Raanan, players weren’t vibing with the coach.
“He wasn’t a favorite of players in Las Vegas, according to multiple sources,” Raanan wrote in a January 18 column. “There were questions about his coaching techniques, and the Raiders didn’t exactly put up a fight to retain his services, given his connection to coach Josh McDaniels, who was fired Oct. 31.”
This news is a bit of a surprise as many believed the Raiders’ offensive line overperformed. The team has been top 15 in the NFL in sacks allowed in each of the past two seasons and Zoltan Buday of Pro Football Focus ranked the Raiders as the 10th-best offensive line in the NFL for 2023.
Based on Raanan’s report, it sounds like the team likely wouldn’t have brought him back regardless of who the head coach ended up being. Considering the Giants are dealing with their own toxic environment, bringing in another coach who’s had issues with the players could be a problem. Regardless, it’s not the Raiders problem anymore but they do need to find another offensive line coach.
New England Patriots Purge Has Been Expected
Until the Raiders officially hire a head coach, it’s hard to know who might be on the coaching staff. If interim head coach Antonio Pierce gets the job, he could be looking to move on from coaches who were tied to former head coach Josh McDaniels and the New England Patriots.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic predicted as much during the regular season
