James Cregg will have a lot of responsibilities as the Raiders’ new offensive line coach.
The starting lineups at center, right guard, and right tackle might be replaced up front; therefore, they are very noticeable.
James Cregg (left) is not a rookie in Silver & Black. In 2007 and 2008, head coach Lane Kiffin’s assistant offensive line coach was the current offensive line coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jermaine Eluemunor, Greg Van Roten, and Andre James. For the majority of the Las Vegas Raiders 2023 season, that will be the starting center, right guard, and right tackle. Additionally, the contracts of all three of them are about to expire, and they will all become free agents.
Building an offensive line that might have a different look in 2024 and determining which of those three players should return are two of the toughest tasks facing Raiders offensive coordinator James Cregg.
The new offensive line coach has a long list of players to consider, including the three players who are expected to become free agents, the prospects in the 2018 NFL Draft, and increased evaluation of house options. The installation of philosophy and strategy is a completely separate animal.
Thankfully for Las Vegas, Cregg’s familiarity with moving parts and his education from some of the greatest in the industry should work in his favor.
Cregg started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Colorado State in 1997. He came from the San Francisco 49ers, where he spent the previous two seasons as the assistant offensive line coach. The fifty-year-old, who assisted Tom Cable in 2007 and 2008, is not new to Silver and Black.
Cregg followed former head coach Lane Kiffin to Tennessee to manage Kiffin’s offensive line after Kiffin was fired by the Raiders. Additionally, Cregg joined Kiffin as head coach at USC to oversee the Trojans’ offensive line.
Following that, Cregg worked as an assistant offensive line coach for the Denver Broncos from 2014 to 2016 and the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017 until taking over as offensive line coach at LSU from 2018 to 20.
With two games remaining in the 2008 season, James Cregg left the Raiders as an assistant offensive line coach in 2007–08 to rejoin Lane Kiffin at Tennessee.
At the moment, interim coach Tom Cable said, I’m furious. It’s better expressed that way. That’s the only way to explain it, quite honestly.
During that period, Cregg picked up knowledge from a number of Alex Gibbs’s students. Gibbs is widely regarded as the father of the contemporary zone-blocking technique.
Along with his father, previous coach Mike, and current 49ers head coach and play caller Kyle Shanahan, Cable also got his start in that ideology.
The Niners used a variety of blocking ideas at Cregg’s most recent stop on Kyle Shanahan’s staff, including power, counter, inside zone, duo, and of course the wide zone that Gibbs and Mike Shanahan are known for.
The younger Shanahan contributed his own unique pre-snap alignments and actions that initially display one thing but change when the ball is snapped. Offensive linemen are pulling, some are going one-on-one, combo blocks are being used, etc.
Throughout his tenure in San Francisco, Cregg was exposed to the adaptability of Shanahan’s offensive philosophy: a team capable of transitioning from bully ball with a forceful power play to the wide zone strategy, which involves swiftly reaching the edge and punishing the defense.
The 49ers anticipated that all players, including tight ends, wide receivers, full backs, and half backs, would block the front-row linemen.
It will take time for Cregg’s mindset and plan in Las Vegas to become clear, but it is imperative that he put all of the knowledge he has gained over his career into action.
particularly for an offense led by Luke Getsy, the offensive coordinator for the Raiders, and a head coach in Antonio Pierce, who desires for his squad to rule the three phases of the game: offense, defense, and special teams.
