The Las Vegas Raiders are in the middle of an organizational makeover following their 2021 season.
The Raiders made splashes in the front office and along the sidelines when they hired Dave Zeigler and Josh McDaniels away from the New England Patriots, which could have ripple effects across the roster. Derek Carr will head into the 2022 season as the presumed starter, though a formal contract extension has yet to be offered as both sides feel each other out.
Las Vegas may just need to tinker around the edges after making the Wild Card round, with their defense surprisingly being one of the main reasons they made the postseason. Former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley turned the unit around, but after McDaniels was hired he left for the Indianapolis Colts and Patrick Graham was brought in as his replacement.
Graham was previously with the New York Giants and since coming to Las Vegas he has begun to shape his staff. According to Vincent Bonsignore of Las Vegas Review-Journal, Frank Okam is set to become the team’s new defensive line coach:
The Raiders are hiring Frank Okam as their defensive line coach.
Okam played for four teams in a six-year NFL career and has been coaching since 2014. In his most recent stint, he was the Carolina Panthers’ defensive line coach, first as an assistant in 2020 and then taking over the position in 2021.
Okam has not been in the NFL coaching ranks long, serving the past two seasons with the Panthers yet has quickly risen the ranks. Prior to his stint with Carolina, Okam spent four seasons in college with Rice and Baylor in the same role.
To his credit, he coached a Panthers defensive line that recorded 39 sacks which was tied for 15th in the league. Okam has big shoes to fill after legendary defensive line coach Rod Marinelli retired, so it will be interesting to see how the d-line looks in the 2022 season.
