The Raiders wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Wednesday after two “productive” days, according to head coach Antonio Pierce. In his first full year as coach, Pierce rewarded the team’s hard work by canceling the final day of camp on Thursday, sending the players home before training camp begins in Costa Mesa at the end of July. Pierce made it clear that the team was not “going backward” when they start back up again in just over a month, but rather, that they will pick up right where they left off and hit the ground running.
AP and an assortment of Raiders coaches spoke to the media this week, offering a plethora of great insights, funny stories, and exciting comments on how camp went and what the league should expect from the Silver and Black this year.
Why OL Coach James Cregg Chose Las Vegas
New offensive line coach James Cregg joked in Wednesday’s presser that when he came to Las Vegas last year for the Super Bowl as the 49ers’ assistant offensive line coach that he did not anticipate he was going to be staying. However, as he prepared to face the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive line in the Super Bowl, something caught his eye.
“The Raider game against Kansas City really stuck out to us," he said. "I was watching those (Raiders) guys for two weeks on tape, and as soon as I got a call from Luke Getsy to see if I were interested in taking this opportunity, I jumped at it ... back in a great organization, I didn’t think twice about it.”
Cregg goes on to mention specific players like Thayer Munford and Andre James who stood out to him in the Raiders' late-season victory over the Chiefs. He also points out that Kolton Miller was the “missing piece” in that game because he left after only playing two snaps. Obviously, this job was a promotion for Cregg, but it has to fire Raider fans up that he wanted this job and acknowledged the talent already in the room. This is now Cregg’s second stint with the Silver and Black, as he was an assistant offensive line coach for the team in Oakland during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. He also won a Super Bowl in the same capacity with the Broncos in 2015.