Raiders Sr. Defensive Assistant Rob Ryan Raves About Coach Rob Leonard

The Las Vegas Raiders have a talented and experienced coaching staff. One coach who is flying under the radar is Rob Leonard, the defensive line coach.

Dec 4, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders Senior Defensive Assistant Rob Ryan walks the field before the start of a game between the Raiders and the Los Angeles Chargers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports | Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

After officially becoming the team’s head coach earlier this offseason, Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce filled out his remaining coaching staff with coaches who possessed many years of coaching experience on various levels. Coach Pierce added a new coordinator and many new position coaches this offseason. 

However, the Raiders have kept several coaches from the past few seasons on their staff, including Senior Defensive Assistant Rob Ryan and Defensive Line Coach Rob Leonard. Multiple players, including veteran defensive lineman Maxx Crosby, have recently spoken about how much they appreciate Coach Leonard.

Ryan recently did the same.

“Well, Robbie Leonard, he's not the biggest cat in the world, but he thinks he's big,” Ryan jokingly said. “He is a technician. Like, this guy is a technician. He preaches technique, he believes in it, and he makes these guys better. Like, when you give him a raw piece of clay, and then he molds them into professional football players.”

Leonard was critical to the defensive line's growth last season, including the development of rookie Tyree Wilson and Malcolm Koonce. However, Ryan points out that Leonard spent time with current Raiders defensive linemen John Jenkins and Christian Wilkins at previous stops before joining the Raiders. Ryan believes Leonard was critical in the growth of both players before they signed with the Raiders.

“Look, he's worked with John Jenkins, ‘Oh, John Jenkins had a meteoric rise.’ No, John Jenkins was great when he was a rookie for me in New Orleans,” Ryan said. “But this guy helped him. He had John Jenkins, he had Christian Wilkins, [with previous teams.]

“So, he developed all those guys, too, when they were young. And he's a great teacher. But he's also a skinny guy who doesn't know how skinny he is. But he thinks he's bigger than those guys. He loves teaching. He works hard. And then you put Andre Carter in that room. My god, that's a good room.”

The Raiders have a position coach in Leonard that has positively impacted each player on the Raiders defensive line. Leonard has successfully helped develop players of various skill levels and helped them all learn how to play with each other. The addition of Wilkins now gives Leonard another player who he’ll be able to help get the most out of. Under Leonard’s leadership, the Raiders defense line is in good hands.

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