Joe Woods is no stranger to the Silver & Black.
The long-time defensive coach was the Oakland Raiders defensive backs coach for one season in 2014 and the 55-year-old returned last season. And now, Woods is the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Las Vegas variant. In between that time, Woods elevated to defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos (2017-18), Cleveland Browns (2020-22), and New Orleans Saints (2023-24).
Much of the Raiders 2025 staff was cleared out with
only four incumbents being kept by new head coach Klint Kubiak: Tight ends coach Luke Steckel, Rob Leonard (promoted to defensive coordinator), Connor McQueen (offensive quality control coach), and Woods.
Retaining Woods shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Beyond his familiarity with the Raiders, the veteran coach has linked with Kubiak with the Broncos (2016-18) and Saints (2024). NFL coaching staffs a rife with prior working relationships, of course, but Woods being retrained is key for Leonard’s upcoming defense.
In his first year as the defensive coordinator, Leonard has a grand opportunity in front of him to prove Kubiak right. The 39-year-old has learned from sound defensive minds over the course of his career and is lauded for being a player’s coach that brings energy and enthusiasm to the defensive rooms. And the neophyte defensive play caller made no bones about what’s going on this offseason for him and his defensive assistants.
“Yeah, you rely on conceptually the concepts that have started to build here, things you like, things that you trust, things that you know very well. Then you understand why you would call that, you understand the weaknesses of how that would be attacked, and you have the confidence to install it to all 11 guys,” Leonard said earlier this week when asked about the different influences he and his staff gathered over the course of their careers. “So, you know all the stops I’ve been at and picking and choosing and making sure it fits all together, especially from a terminology standpoint.
“And the coaches are the first litmus test for that, like if they can get it, we can coach it. It’s one thing to understand it in the meeting, but can we actually coach this and get it executed?”
Having Woods and safeties coach Matt Robinson in tow — alongside senior defensive assistant Al Holcomb, defensive line coach Travis Smith, and linebackers coach Ronell Williams — will help Leonard’s defense to execute.
Woods in particular is as vital cog in that as he’s renowned for crafting a versatile secondary that can disguise intentions with looking like one coverage pre-snap before doing something else altogether post snap.
That’s something Leonard is keen on doing and the defensive players are steeping themselves in during OTAs. And it’ll be stressed further as the Raiders engage in more offseason work including mandatory minicamp next week and training camp in late July.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s cool, because it kind of keeps offense guessing a little bit,” Chinn said of the defense being installed. “When we have guys who can play in different spots and rotate different ways, it doesn’t necessarily get the offense a heads up of what we’re doing and why certain guys are in certain spots because we can spin anybody down and spin anybody back.”
Chinn, who operates as both a safety and big nickel (he stands 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds), is a the type of interchangeable chess piece defender that Woods cut his teeth with during his run coaching secondaries and as a defensive coordinator. Las Vegas also added intriguing rookies Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson — traditional safeties to can play in the slot — in the 2026 NFL Draft and veteran slot cornerback Taron Johnson who can dabble at safety, too.
“When you have guys who have versatility, it allows you to do so much more things defensively,” Woods said. “Different packages, how you can move guys around on the field, we’re excited about it and we’re kind of tinkering a few things here and there to just see where it goes.”
Woods’ defensive philosophy also is set to align with Leonard’s aggressive, attacking style. The defensive backs coach historically relies on zone-heavy coverages mixed with press coverage concepts. The intent is to disrupt the receivers at the line of scrimmage while also providing smothering coverage on the backend. And defensive backs being able to get down and dirty in run support, too.
Leonard isn’t alone in his quest for installation and execution. Kubiak, the head coach and primary offensive play caller, is doing the same. He noted that he and Leonard are working cohesively as new systems are being integrated, but made it clear, that side of the ball belongs to his defensive coordinator and his staff.
“Yeah, we’re working together. We’re teaming up on these installs, but Rob’s running the show,” Kubiak said. “He’s done a great job. He’s got a lot of talented assistants with Joe Woods, and there’s some veteran coaches on there that are doing a great job, and we’re going to put Coach Robbie in positions to call periods here at OTAs and in training camp so that he’s ready to go come the season.”
Like Leonard, Woods is the type of coach that relates to his players well and it’s that ability to vibe in the defensive rooms, practice field, and locker room that afford both defensive coaches the opportunity to get to a granular level with their group. As Leonard noted above, install is one thing, execution is another and we’ll find out how both are coming along with the Raiders as the offseason proceeds.
What’s unquestioned though is the respect Woods developed with his defensive backs so far.
“It was good. That was another little big thing that I was looking at,” cornerback Eric Stokes said when asked hwo important it was to retain Woods. “But keeping Joe here is unbelievable because everybody loves Joe in the DB room. It’s hard to not love Joe. Joe is a whole entertainment show. Joe is funny, and I love Joe, man.”
