The Las Vegas Raiders’ coaching staff possesses countless years of professional coaching and playing experience. Coach Antonio Pierce strategically surrounded himself with as many coaches with various amounts of coaching experience as possible, which has led to a well-rounded coaching staff. The Raiders hope the combination of coaches with experiences at different levels of football will help get the most out of a diverse roster.
Passing Game Coordinator Scott Turner has been with the team since last season. He joined the Raiders after spending time with the Washington Commanders, the Carolina Panthers, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Cleveland Browns over the last decade. However, Turner’s coaching days started well before he officially took up coaching. Turner said that even when he went to UNLV to play football, he always wanted to be a coach.
"Yeah, so I liked playing football,” Turner said. “I wasn't a great player; I was a backup quarterback at UNLV and I kind of knew college football was probably my last stop. So, when I made my decision, I always knew I wanted to coach. My dad was a coach; I just love football, and I wanted to be around the game.
“So, when I made my decision to go to college, a lot of that was based on learning how to be a coach, and when you're around a guy like that, that's obviously a College Football Hall of Fame coach, had a great career at the [Los Angeles] Rams as a head coach there as well, it was great.”
Turner noted multiple coaches who positively impacted his career trajectory, including decorated coach Bruce Snyder, who coached for UNLV during Turner’s collegiate playing days. Turner credits the many coaches he’s been around with teaching him how to connect and communicate with players. The Raiders’ coaching staff has desperately needed those traits over the last couple of seasons.
“We had guys like Bruce Snyder, who, unfortunately, passed away a while ago,” Turner said. “But he had been the head coach at Arizona State and a great coaching staff. And just watching those guys and Coach [John] Robinson, in particular, just the way he connected with players. The way he communicated was really great to see, and that's something I try to keep with me and take with me as I've as I've gone through my career."
