A whiz kid on the Raiders coaching staff?

At age 31, offense quality control coach Conner McQueen is a promising young assistant

Working under accomplished and well-respected football minds in Chip Kelly and Lincoln Riley, it was no surprise to see Conner McQueen go from graduate assistant to offensive coordinator five short years.

Learning from two of the most creative and high-octane offensive minds in college football, McQueen’s ascension to Incarnate Word play caller and quarterbacks coach seemed inevitable.

And thus, when Kelly was hired by head coach Pete Carroll to run his Las Vegas Raiders offense, the reunion with McQueen was equally as predestined. Initially announced as becoming the Silver & Black’s assistant wide receivers coach back in February, the Raiders official website lists McQueen as an offense quality control coach.

At age 31 and nine years deep into his coaching career after being a collegiate walk-on at Texas A&M (2012-16), “rising star” is attached to McQueen’s name and perhaps, the Raiders do have a whiz kid on the coaching staff.

Of Like Minds

Cutting his teeth under Kelly — who was the head coach for the UCLA Bruins from 2018-23 — and Lincoln Riley — twice, once with the Oklahoma Sooners from 2020-21, and again with the USC Trojans in 2022 — as a graduate assistant, McQueen learned under two creative and productive offensive minds in the game.

He got to see up close what it takes to develop, call, and refine high-powered offenses which he took with him to Incarnate Word.

“You find things you like and don’t like,” McQueen said of his coaching journey and work under both Kelly and Riley, during a Q&A session with TexAgs.com last week. “The things I appreciated with Lincoln Riley and developing the relationship were the ability to have an adaptable and mobile offense. These are the plays we run, and we will run them. It’s saying each year, your team will be different, and it’s becoming the case with the transfer portal and revenue sharing, and it’s a brand-new roster every year.

“You have to be able to adapt your scheme offensively to mold your personnel. What can our players do well instead of running 60 plays, and this is what you’ll do. We rebuild every year, but not from ground zero.”

The portion about adapting the scheme to mold your personnel sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? That’s what Kelly said during one of his media sessions with the Raiders.

Cardinals’ Shot Caller

During his tenure at Incarnate Word, McQueen dialed up an offense that scored 336 points (33.6 per game average) in 2023 and 471 points (33.64 average) in 2024. The Cardinals’ finished 9-2 overall and 11-3 overall in those two seasons with McQueen orchestrating a top-performing offensive unit in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).

Lauded for innovation and fostering team cohesion, McQueen paired with head coach Clint Killough for deep FCS playoff runs.

McQueen took a balanced approach in his two seasons as Incarnate Word’s offensive coordinator. In 2023, the team ran the ball 335 times while throwing 371. In 2024, McQueen’s offense ran the ball 494 times while throwing 540 times.

In his final season as Cardinals’ play caller, Incarnate Word had two 1,000-yard receivers — Jalen Walthall (85 receptions, 1,290 yards, 14 touchdowns) and Roy Alexander (100 receptions, 1,108 yards, 13 touchdowns). Quarterback Zach Calzada was the distributor of the football throwing for 3,791 yards, 35 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions with a 65.72 percent completion rate. Running back Dekalon Taylor paced the run game with 909 yards and nine touchdowns (a long of 97 yards).

Now in Silver & Black

The role of quality control coach will suit McQueen well. That was his title in his first coaching gig out of college with Texas A&M and his familiarity with Kelly will certainly facilitate a smooth transition.

While quality control coaching duties can range from team-to-team, it usually entails film break down and analysis, scouting reports, communication and collaboration, and game day support.

Breaking down tendencies and charting them for Kelly and other offensive coaches is right up McQueen’s alley and so is communication and collaboration. As a former play caller — despite what you may think of FCS-level of football — will help McQueen if he’s tasked with scout team duties. Scout team simulates the opposing offense in practices and is a valuable preparation tool.

“With the Raiders, especially, I’m around a ton of great minds in football,” McQueen noted.

We’ll see if he can bring the “lightning” which he was well known for in college to the pro game. And with how NFL teams are always looking for the next up and coming star in the coaching ranks, don’t be surprised if McQueen ascends the Raiders ranks or is plucked from Las Vegas by another pro team or collegiate squad.