Las Vegas is hiring former Saints and Browns defensive coordinator
The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Pete Carroll as their new head coach. He is building his new staff. He has reportedly hired Joe Woods as their defensive pass-game coordinator.
Let’s get to know Woods better:
Last job:
Woods was the New Orleans Saints‘ defensive coordinator over the last two seasons, under former Raiders’ head coach Dennis Allen. The Saints never reached the playoffs or finished better than 9-8 during Allen’s tenure, so he was fired midseason and New Orleans is expected to hire Kellen Moore after the Super Bowl. Thus, most of, if not all of Allen’s assistants are looking for jobs this offseason.
Age:
54, he turns 55 at the end of June.
Coaching experience:
After Sean Payton briefly retired for a year before taking over as the Denver Broncos head coach, Allen was promoted from defensive coordinator in New Orleans and hired Woods to fill that role during Allen’s second season as the head coach. Before that, Woods served as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator from 2020 to 2022 under Kevin Stefanski. Woods originally spent 12 years as a college coach before leaping to the NFL. He’s been in the league since 2004, primarily serving as a defensive backs coach, including a one-year stint in that role with the Raiders in 2014.
Why the Raiders would hire him:
Woods has extensive experience coaching defensive backs and has play-calling experience, so he can be a good sounding board for Patrick Graham to help put together the defensive game plan.
