The Las Vegas Raiders are ushering in a new coaching staff this season, including offensive line coach Brennan Carroll, the son of new head coach Pete Carroll. The majority of Brennan’s coaching experience has been while working for his dad, leading to some concern that this was a nepotism hire by the Raiders.
Recently, a Silver and Black Pride commenter posed a mailbag question about the offensive line coach’s track record. Luckily, the younger Carroll has spent eight years in the college ranks, which weren’t under his father’s watch and are worth exploring.
Carroll spent 2011 through 2014 at the University of Miami, serving as the tight ends coach during his first two years and leading the wide receivers during his last two, as the Hurricanes hired Mario Cristobal to coach the tight ends in 2013. For record-keeping purposes, Cristobal didn’t end up coaching at Miami that year, leaving the school just six weeks later to join Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. Still, Carroll remained the receivers coach.
From the ‘11 and ‘12 squads, ‘The U’ sent three tight ends to the pros: Clive Walford, Chase Ford and Asante Cleveland. Ford and Cleveland were undrafted free agents who didn’t do much in the NFL, making Walford the most significant of the bunch. He spent his redshirt freshman and sophomore seasons under Carroll’s guidance before becoming a second-team All-ACC performer as a senior and, coincidentally, a third-round pick by the Raiders in 2015.
During Carroll’s two years as Miami’s receivers coach, he helped send six wideouts to the league, including Phillip Dorsett, Allen Hurns and Braxton Berrios. Granted, Hurns was a senior and already established when Carroll took over the position group, and Berrios was on the opposite end of the spectrum as a true freshman in 2014.
But Dorsett is a success story for the coach. The speedy wideout battled a knee injury during his junior season in South Beach, recording just 13 catches for 272 yards and two touchdowns. However, he bounced back under Carroll’s guidance, logging 36 grabs and 871 yards while leading the ACC with 24.2 yards per catch and 10 receiving touchdowns before becoming the Indianapolis Colts’ first-round pick in 2015.
After four years away, Brennan went back to working for Pete with the Seattle Seahawks from 2015 to 2020 as an assistant offensive line coach (‘15 to ‘19) and run game coordinator (‘20). Then, he joined Jedd Fisch’s coaching staff at the University of Arizona, serving as the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for three years.
Carroll’s time in the desert bodes well for his ability to develop offensive linemen, as he helped develop a couple of Top 40 draft picks.
NCAA Football: Arizona at UCLA Jonah Savaiinaea, Brennan Carroll
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Jordan Morgan went to Arizona as a three-star recruit, per 247Sports, and left as a first-team All-Pac 12 performer before becoming the 25th overall selection of the 2024 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers after working with the Raiders’ current o-line coach for three years.
Similarly, Jonah Savaiinaea was also a three-star recruit, via 247Sports, and blossomed into an honorable mention All-Pac 12 selection while playing two positions (right guard and tackle) under Carroll. Savaiinaea went on to earn more recognition this past fall, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and becoming the 37th overall pick by the Miami Dolphins of last April’s draft. Granted, Carroll spent the 2024 campaign with Fisch at Washington.
Last season doesn’t bode well for the coach’s résumé, though. The Huskies struggled up front, ranking 17th out of 18 teams in the Big Ten with a 46.9 team pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus and were 15th in the ground game at 56.0.
To be fair, Washington’s new coaching staff was tasked with replacing all five starters from the previous season. Tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten went on to the NFL, while center Parker Brailsford followed Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, and guards Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow transferred to Ole Miss.
So, Carroll’s previous campaign was a tough one, but his development of Morgan and Savaiinaea provides some optimism when it comes to the Raiders’ offensive line, especially with rookies Caleb Rogers and Charles Grant.