The Las Vegas Raiders are still filling out the remainder of their coaching staff under Antonio Pierce. Former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was brought on in the same position, but who will coach the quarterbacks is still unknown.
The QB coach is an extremely important position, especially for a Raiders team that has struggled to find their franchise player at that spot. The franchise has narrowed down its choices and now seems to be honing in on their guy.
According to NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, the Raiders are set to hire former Kentucky offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello as the team’s new quarterbacks coach:
The #Raiders hired Rich Scangarello as their quarterbacks coach, per source.
The onetime #Broncos OC most recently was helping Caleb Williams with pre-draft prep. Now, Scangarello returns to the AFC West, and joins a team in the market for a young QB … pic.twitter.com/fcbxFMDcdr
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 20, 2024
Scangarello has a long coaching history which started back in 1998 as a graduate assistant at UC Davis. Since then he has had a number of stops at both the NFL and collegiate level, getting his first NFL experience with the Raiders as the team’s offensive quality control coach in 2009. He has also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos where he was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2019.
The biggest question for the Raiders on the roster is who will be the quarterback. Aidan O’Connell showed some promise as a rookie, but the franchise knows they need to bring in other talent. The team has been linked to Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but would have to make a trade up in the draft in order to be in a position to take him. And as Pelissero noted, Scangarello has been working with presumed top pick Caleb Williams so perhaps the Raiders could be eyeing a move for him as well.
Regardless of who is at the position, the Raiders QB coach will need to be someone who can coach the talent up and get the best out of them. Scangarello has a lot of experience, and now it looks as if he will get another opportunity to show what he can bring to a franchise.
Raiders QB Jimmy Garoppolo suspended for first two games of 2024 NFL season
The Raiders hoped they had solved their quarterback issues when they signed Jimmy Garoppolo last offseason, but things did not turn out well. Garoppolo was eventually benched down the stretch of the season, and the franchise will release him this offseason.
But the Raiders might save some money as well as it was announced that Garoppolo is suspended for the first two games of next season for violating the NFL’s Performance Enhancing Substances Policy. Due to this violation, it is possible that Garoppolo’s base salary for next year could be voided, which would save the Raiders around $10 million.
