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Raiders’ Special Teams Unit Kicks Off Makeover
Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis against the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Raiders' new head coach Klint Kubiak wants to be great at all phases of the football game. Everyone talks about the offense and defense when they are discussing a football team.

The one unit that most leave out is the special teams unit. The special teams unit plays a huge role for every team, whether it is good or bad. Kubiak wants the Raiders' special teams unit to be the best in the NFL. Kubiak has now brought in a veteran special teams coordinator in Joe DeCamillis.

Per Raiders

Joe DeCamillis has been named Special Teams Coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders, the club announced Monday.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

DeCamillis, a longtime NFL special teams coach, spent the past two seasons serving as the South Carolina Gamecocks’ associate head coach/special teams coordinator. In 2025, he was nominated for the Broyles Award for his work with a special teams unit that was completely overhauled from the previous year.

DeCamillis spent the 2023 season at the University of Texas where he served as a special assistant to the head coach. In his lone season in Austin, the Longhorns tied for 10th in the nation with three blocked kicks, ranked 11th in the nation with a 15.9-yard punt return average and 16th in the country with a net punting average of 41.8 yards. Texas won the Big 12 title and advanced to the College Football Playoffs.

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Prior to his time at UT, DeCamillis spent the previous 34 years in the NFL, including 32 as a special teams coach. He helped lead his squad to seven AFC or NFC Championship Game appearances and four Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl titles with the Denver Broncos in 2015 and the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.

DeCamillis began his NFL career as an administrative assistant for his father-in-law, then Denver Broncos head coach Dan Reeves. DeCamillis was promoted to a position on Reeves’ coaching staff in 1991 as a special teams assistant and spent two years in that post with the Broncos.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

DeCamillis continued to work for Coach Reeves as a special teams coach for the New York Giants from 1993-96 and the Atlanta Falcons from 1997-2003. After Reeves’ departure, DeCamillis remained on the Falcons’ staff through the 2006 season.

DeCamillis NFL Resume

He has also served as a special teams coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2007-08), and as the special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys (2009-12), Chicago Bears (2013-14), Denver Broncos (2015-16), Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-20) and Los Angeles Rams (2021-22). He also held the title of Assistant Head Coach while with the Bears and served as the interim head coach for one game in Denver’s 2016 season.

Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Las Vegas Raiders on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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