By Ezekiel Trezevant IV Sports Illustrated Las Vegas Raiders News, Analysis & More
The Las Vegas Raiders are taking a step or two weekly to fully fill their coaching staff with coaches who want to be in Las Vegas.
After losing former offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo to the New York Giants, the Raiders dutifully found his replacement, veteran coach James Cregg.
In nearly all of Coach Antonio Pierce’s hires for his staff, Pierce has chosen coaches with diverse coaching backgrounds. However, one of the constants with all the coaches the Raiders have hired so far is that they have hired very experienced coaches.
The Raiders decided to hire Cregg as their new offensive line coach. Cregg will replace Bricillo, who helped lead the Raiders’ offensive line to two straight seasons of solid play.
The Las Vegas Raiders have hired a new offensive line coach.© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
This will mark a return for Cregg, who began coaching in the National Football League in 2007 with the then-Oakland Raiders as an assistant offensive line coach. His first stint with the Raiders lasted two seasons.Cregg was on former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin’s staff while he was with the Raiders.
When Kiffin and the Raiders parted ways, Cregg followed Kiffin to his next two destinations, the University of Tennessee and the University of Southern California.
Both times, Cregg served as the team’s offensive line coach. Cregg then returned to the NFL and worked out for the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers. After returning to the professional level, Cregg returned to college football.
This time, Cregg would become the offensive line coach at Louisiana State University. He would also serve as the team’s running game coordinator. He played both positions for two seasons and won a national championship with the team in 2019.
During the 2019 season, LSU’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award. The award goes to the most outstanding offensive line in college football.
Cregg is heading to a situation in Las Vegas where he could almost have an entirely new offensive line next season. How he adapts to that situation will be critical to the Raiders’ chances of success next season.
