Just Now: Raiders QB fully return back

The UCLA Bruins might have a much different staff heading into the 2024 season. There have been plenty of rumors surrounding head coach Chip Kelly heading back to the NFL. He interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders and is a candidate for the Washington Commanders OC position. The Raiders appear to be bringing in high-level college coach talent, and that started with the team bringing in USC Trojan’s QB coach Kliff Kingsbury, also a former NFL coach. Now, the team has announced they are hiring UCLA’s assistant head coach. Former NFL running back and UCLA Bruins assistant head coach DeShaun Foster is now heading to the Raiders. He will become the team’s running back coach. Foster became a coach in 2012 as an undergraduate assistant for UCLA. After working his way through the college system as a running backs coach for Texas Tech and UCLA, he will now move to the NFL. The Bruins have had many moving parts in their coaching staff, which started when USC hired Bruins defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. The proverbial dominos appear to be falling on Kelly’s staff, and he might also be heading to a new team. UCLA is set to enter the Big Ten conference in 2024, and they may be doing so with a brand-new coaching staff. Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Raiders are adding a couple of former players as assistant coaches on Antonio Pierce’s staff.

Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, Las Vegas will hire DeShaun Foster as running backs coach. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport notes the Raiders are also expected to hire Andre Carter as a pass-rushing specialist.

Foster has been coaching running backs at UCLA — where he played his college ball — since 2017. But the year before, he worked under new Raiders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury as the running backs coach at Texas Tech.

Foster played 79 games with 42 starts over six years with Carolina and San Francisco from 2003-2008. He rushed for 3,570 yards with 11 touchdowns and caught 142 passes for 1,129 yards with five TDs.

Carter served as the Dolphins assistant defensive line coach from 2017-2018 and was the Jets defensive line coach from 2019-2020. He also served as LSU’s defensive line coach in 2021.

The No. 7 overall pick of the 2001 draft, Carter played in 184 games with 147 starts, recording 80.5 sacks. He played 12 games for the Raiders in 2012, recording 19 tackles, five tackles for loss, seven QB hits, and 2.5 sacks.

Las Vegas Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby recently spoke with Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post about why he reportedly could’ve forced his way to a different club had the Raiders not given interim head coach Antonio Pierce the full-time job. “I mean, sometimes being a leader isn’t the most popular thing… it’s not the easiest thing,” Crosby explained. “It’s not always about doing the easiest and most popular route. And for me, I know I spoke for myself — that’s what being a leader is. And I was speaking for the guys, I was speaking for the organization. And that’s all that matters to me.”

Noteworthy Raiders players such as Crosby and All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams publicly campaigned for Pierce to win the gig after he notched a 5-4 record as interim coach. The Raiders ultimately granted Crosby and Adams their wish in January. “I want to win,” Crosby told Lemoncelli. “If I got to take heat for standing up for what everybody believes in, I’ll do that every single time, because I know I’m coming from a good place and I just want to win. I put in work all year round. I’m here in the building more than coaches, more than execs. I’m here every single day, sacrificing myself and my body and putting my body on the line to help this team win and I want everybody else with that same mentality.”